Intro to Ocean Issues

Hello all,

Just as my first post to Terra Bloga, I thought it would be suitable to introduce myself and some of the topics I’ll be posting about.

It seems like with the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, heavily polluted waters and coastlines and tumbling fish stocks (not to mention all the mercury and dioxin contamination of fish), the public is really opening an eye to the fragility of our oceans and freshwater areas. There’s a lot going on that we have to watch out for now–whether what we’re eating is sustainable or non-sustainable, healthy or contaminated, and whether the water we’re swimming in is toxic or safe. But it doesn’t just stop there, the list goes on and here on land, we’re not exposed to it as directly–or as much as we can see from here.

Growing up on the southern coast of Nova Scotia, I often saw a lot of junk get washed up onto the shores. It made me wonder where it was all coming from; how much of it is still in the ocean and who on this Earth would ever think or want to pollute something so precious as the oceans. I asked a lot of fishermen I knew about this–they said that often times on the fishing boats, there are no designated garbages, and if there are they’re seldom used. Most of the time garbage was just thrown overboard–tin cans, bottles, plastic packaging–all things that would normally go in a household wastebin. But our oceans aren’t just an infinite garbage can. All these objects have added up, and in the case of the case of the North Pacific Gyre, this becomes all too evident.

And it doesn’t stop there, either. There’s the problem of overfishing, as David here on Terra Bloga also talked about in April. It’s a truly scary thought that up to 80% of what is caught is bycatch (species that weren’t intended to be caught), which are injured or killed during the catching process, and thus don’t survive once they’re returned back into the waters. It’s because of this that I’ve boycotted a lot of seafood, including shrimp and oysters.

Then there’s the problem of bottom-trawlers–it’s sort of like clearcutting the ocean, and it’s absolutely heartbreaking to think that once again, most of what comes up after bottom trawling is discarded back into the ocean.

Now, one of the recently talked about problems we’re having is ocean acidification. Some of you may have heard about it, but it was only a few months ago that a good friend told me about it, and it wasn’t until watching this video(also below) that I realized how much of a problem it really was. The oceans are naturally one big carbon sink, absorbing much of the carbon dioxide emitted by the planet. But now that humans are creating more carbon dioxide through emissions, and according to National Geographic, the oceans have absorbed as much as half of what’s been emitted by man so far. However, the oceans can’t keep up with the rate of which our carbon dioxide levels are accelerating, and this is become far too evident. What once was a natural cycle has now become a burden on many of the ocean life, as seen in one of the most basic and fundamental steps in the food chain–plankton and corals. The shells that plankton form for protection could slowly dissolve away in the acidic ocean environment, as seen in species of terapods. Samples of shells from terapods near Antarctica (where the acidity levels have risen the most) show that the shells are indeed becoming more brittle, thus threatening entire species that are vital to the food chain.

Ocean acidification is posing more problems than just on plankton, however. Coral reefs are collapsing, leaving behind flattened, dead substrate only to show off seaweed and algae. What was once a place bursting with life, is become more and more empty. And it isn’t just the acidification that is threatening these beautiful and fragile ecosystems–unsustainable fishing practices have their own part in it as well. You can watch a video on endangered coral reefs here.

The point is, we have a lot to learn about the oceans and there’s a lot of defending we have to do if we want to keep them beautiful, pristine, sustainable and resourceful. After all, the oceans take up more than 3/4 of our planet’s surface. So what I’m going to do is try to touch on as many of the issues with our ocean as I can. If any of you have any further suggestions or things you’re curious about, drop me a comment and I’ll do my best to keep you informed.

Best regards,

Robyn

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