U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told international leaders that U.S. President Barack Obama planned to use his executive powers to save the ocean.

Kerry appealed to international leaders, while speaking at the Our Ocean summit on Monday, to start taking steps in protecting the oceans. He stated that human beings created "enormous damage" to the oceans that could result in worldwide food shortages.

The summit would last for two days and would be attended by delegates from at least 80 countries. The U.S. government hosted the event in an effort to increase awareness and action in protecting the world's oceans.

According to The Guardian, Pres. Obama would use his executive powers to create and implement new rules to protect the oceans. State department officials, on the other hand, stated that they hoped that the president would impose rules on the creation of new marine protected areas.

Kerry also urged leaders to start taking action in curbing pollution, overfishing, as well as other negative effects suffered by the oceans due to excessive carbon dioxide emissions.

 "If we are going to be able to honor our shared responsibility to protect the ocean, the ad hoc approach we have today, with each nation and community pursuing its own independent policy, simply will not suffice," Kerry said, quoted by Reuters. "That is not how the ocean works."

Campaign groups supporting the advocacy specified that they expected the President to form a new task force to combat illegal fishing. They also hoped that Obama would allocate more funds for research regarding changes in the ocean's chemistry.

The two-day summit was akin to a short course on ocean protection. Scientists and other experts would attend to explain the current condition of the oceans. Most of the audience included government officials and executives from the seafood industry.

The summit identified the most pressing concern that required immediate action; the cessation of the rapid decline of fish populations caused by illegal fishing and overfishing.

"The bottom line is that most people don't realize that if the entire world doesn't come together to try to change course and protect the ocean from unsustainable fishing practices, unprecedented pollution, or the devastating effects of climate change, then we run the risk of fundamentally breaking entire ecosystems," Kerry told The Guardian.