Save the Sea to See the Future!

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What is the ocean to you?

Ocean, the word itself, is music to a musician. Ocean, along with the coast and the wind, is an art for an artist, a poem to a poet, a meditation to a startled mind.

“We are tied to the ocean. When we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail it or watch it, we are going back from whence we came.”

Such beautiful words were spoken by John F. Kennedy in Newport, Rhode Island, on the occasion of America’s cup. What a gospel truth! You, and I, were once just primitive cells floating in the ocean. Though we gradually evolved and moved to land, it still houses millions of known and unknown species from tiny single-celled organisms to the world’s largest animal, the gargantuan blue whale. Furthermore, it provides livelihoods to over 3 billion people around the world. Even though you don’t belong to any of these parties, even though you live miles away from the ocean, you still need it.

Covering 70% of the Earth and containing 80% of the living organisms, this massive blue pond acts as a conveyor belt of heat, absorbing the majority of the solar radiation, and distributing heat around the globe. Ocean currents drive Earth’s weather patterns, mostly outside the equatorial areas. Almost all the rain that falls on land starts in the ocean. Phytoplankton, the single-celled organisms living on the ocean surface, produces about half of the world’s oxygen. Oceans absorb about 30% of CO2 we produce, buffering the impacts of global warming. Over 3 billion people depend on the ocean as their primary source of protein, which is the world’s largest.

The famous Irish songwriter Enya once said, “The Ocean is a central image. It is a symbolism of a great journey.” While evident that she has positively meant this, this can be true in the other way around as well. When looking at the plastic patches, dead zones, and oil spills all over it, humans indeed have marked their footprint in their journey of the last 300 years in the 4.5 billion-year-old ocean.

The ocean had been an inexhaustible resource for food, jobs, entertainment, and energy until the advancement of technology decided to get involved. Now, with modern fishing technologies, global warming, and various chemicals and solid waste released every day to the sea, this giant saltwater ecosystem is in danger than ever before.

Here are how human activities have destroyed, degraded, and threatened marine resources.

Climate Change

Ocean warming and ocean acidification, two of the effects of climate change, are having a global impact on the oceans. The increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide in the past few decades has caused this. Seawater absorbs Carbon Dioxide forming carbonic acid, which makes the calcium carbonates in corals, mollusks, and bivalves more vulnerable to dissolve.

Corals reefs support 1 – 9 million marine species with food, protection, and habitats, half a billion people with their livelihoods. They also buffer shorelines against waves, storms, and floods, preventing loss of life, property damage, and erosion. 50% of these underwater cities have already been destroyed, and up to 90% may die within the next century due to ocean acidification.

This process also impacts on animal behavior. Scientists have found that the Atlantic king scallop loses its ability to escape from predators. Normally the animals’ escape strategy involves fast shell closure and jet-like propulsion enabling them to swim out of the danger zone. With increasing acidification, however, this clapping performance weakens, thus compromising their ability to escape from predators.

Apart from these, warmer and more acidic water can shorten the lifespan of crustaceans and fish.

Overfishing

The ocean had been giving us immense support on reducing poverty and hunger by providing us with fish for ages. But unfortunately, after 1988, the annual global fish catch started to decline and keeps going down year by year. Two-thirds of the world’s fish stocks are either fished at their limit or overfished. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has estimated that 70 percent of the fish population is fully used, overused, or is in crisis. If this trend continues, all the seafood we consume is said to be gone by 2048.

Worldwide, overfishing is one of the biggest threats to the health of the seas and their inhabitants.

How is Overfishing Done?

Commercial fishing ships use radar, sonar, helicopters and spotter planes to find the dwindling schools of fish. Long lines with hundreds of hooks or huge nets round up a massive amount of fish, along with other species such as sea birds, turtles, and dolphins. These unwanted animals, which are called bycatch, are thrown back dead. Shark fin soup has been a delicacy in several counties, making the fins of sharks economically valuable. This tempts the fishermen to fill their boats with fins, throwing millions of shark dead bodies to the sea.  Each year, currently preferred fishing methods results in about 38.5 million tons of bycatch.

Bottom trawling, illegal in many countries, is when a large net is dragged along the ocean bottom, disrupting or destroying seafloor habitats. Illegal and unregulated fishing constitutes an estimated 11 – 26 million tons of fishing worldwide.

Imagine the ocean in 2050. Will it seem nice?

And here’s the good news. We can repair this damage. If we could set quotas and limits on fishing, reduce the bycatch, and protect habitats, nursery, and spawning areas, we can not only restore the damage but also produce more. As an example, Norway has been able to bring its fisheries back by following these simple steps. So, if all the countries get together, we can make the ocean a place full of biodiversity again.

Marine Pollution

While the fish and ecosystems are declining, there’s another hazard that seems to increase each year. That is Plastics.

We dump 8 million tons of plastics to the sea annually. That’s equivalent to the weight of nearly 57,000 blue whales. This debris has formed plastic patches in almost every ocean. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is just one example. Plastic garbage, which decomposes very slowly, is often mistaken for food by marine animals. High concentrations of plastic material, particularly plastic bags, have been found blocking the breathing passages and stomachs of many marine species, including whales, dolphins, seals, puffins, and turtles.

Phosphorus and nitrogen-rich fertilizer runoff end up in the ocean, stimulating an explosive growth of algae.  The more algae are present, the more intensive the process of oxygen-consuming bacterial degradation and the greater the oxygen demand. Eventually, this may create dead zones like the Gulf of Mexico where fish, crustaceans, and bivalves can no longer survive.

Sounds like we’re killing the ocean, isn’t it?

That’s why the UN Environment Programme has decided to take action. By setting Goal 14 in Sustainable Development Agenda, which is expected to be achieved by 2030. They’re encouraging governments, businesses, universities, and civil society groups around the world to promote the protection and sustainable management of the precious marine and coastal environments.

What Can We Do as Individuals to Save the Ocean?

1. Reduce your carbon emission.

In the last 50 years, the ocean has absorbed 90% of the excess heat and CO2 created by burning fossil fuels, resulting in warmer and more acidic water. Decrease the effects of climate change on the ocean by cutting your carbon footprint at home: turn off lights and unplug electronics when you’re not using them, take steps instead of the elevator, and demand renewable energy options in your community.

2. Skip single-use of plastic.

As Sri Lanka has become the fifth most ocean polluting country, releasing 1.6 millions of plastic annually to the ocean, we have to play a crucial role in reducing plastic. To minimize your impact, remove unnecessary single-use plastics, such as non-reusable water bottles, take-out packaging, plastic bags, and straws from your daily habits.

Plastic pollution in oceans

3. Travel smarter

Next time you go to a sea-side for a vacation, be respectful of marine life and habitats, such as nesting sea turtles on beaches and sensitive coral reef systems. And be discerning about your purchases. Purchasing certain items such as coral jewelry, shark products, or tortoiseshell accessories (made from endangered hawksbill turtles) damages fragile ecosystems and threatens critically endangered species.

4. Increase your ocean IQ

The more you learn about the ocean, the better prepared you’ll be to inspire change, and help others do the same. There are many ways to educate yourself about the ocean and the challenges it faces, from books and documentaries to websites, museums, art exhibits, and more.

5 Use your unique skills for good.

Consider joining an organization that works to protect ocean habitats or volunteering at local beach cleanups. You can spread awareness about the threat our oceans face and encourage them to reduce carbon emission and the use of plastics.

On the ocean day of 2020, authorities have paid attention to sustainably using marine resources, as it supports marine species, as well as human beings. According to the marine ecologist Enric Sala, a National Geographic explorer-in-residence, “A healthy ocean means healthier humans, more food on our tables, more jobs, and a healthier economy.” So when you help protect the ocean, you’re helping you and your future generations to survive.

Written by Nipuni Wanniarachchi

References:

01. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/ocean/

02. https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/facts/climate.html

03. https://www.ioinst.org/publications-1/world-ocean-review/

04. http://www.secore.org/site/corals/detail/coral-reefs-are-dying.23.html

05. https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/overfishing

06. https://www.conservation.org/stories/ocean-pollution-11-facts-you-need-to-know

07. https://wwf.panda.org/our_work/oceans/problems/pollution/

08. https://www.unenvironment.org/

09. https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/7-ways-you-can-help-save-the-ocean

10. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/sustainable-earth/oceans/

11. https://www.ted.com/talks/jackie_savitz_save_the_oceans_feed_the_world

Image Courtesies:

01. Featured image: https://bit.ly/37dR16o

02. Image 1: https://bit.ly/3h3Wv8t

03. Image 2: https://bit.ly/2MH4nyE

 
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