Thriving Oceans

Video released by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography

“The resulting video, recorded using ambient light at 100 meters (328 feet) depth, not only successfully gave the fishermen a clear idea of how the thieving whales were stealing the fish-they pluck the line at one end to jar the black cod free at the other end, somewhat like shaking apples from a tree-but it gave scientists a chance to match the animal’s acoustics with video depictions of its physical features.”

Watch the video here

“In 2004, visual estimates of mortality and algal overgrowth of Montipora capi¬tata and M. cf. turgescens at back reef sites at the three northern atolls conservatively exceeded 50%, with nearly complete mortality of surface-facing portions of colonies at numerous sites. The shallow crest of a large central patch reef system at Kure Atoll, previously referred to as “the coral gardens” due to its luxuriant growth of montiporids and pocilloporids, was heavily bleached in 2002. In 2004, only a few branches of Porites com¬pressa remained alive and the dead coral skeletons were thickly covered in turf and macroalgae.”

Reference:

Friedlander, A., K. Keller, L. Wedding, A. Clarke, M. Monaco (eds.). 2009. A Marine Biogeographic Assessment of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 84. Prepared by NCCOS’s Biogeography Branch in cooperation with the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. Silver Spring, MD. 363 pp.

Photos: J. Kenyon.

“It ain’t easy being endangered!”

Photo credit: NMFS

Oyster abstinence, how ABSURD!  We can’t even practice safe-seafood.  But that may very well be our future as the list of overexploited fishes continues to grow.  This time it is not the usual suspects that populate the overfished lists such as tuna, Atlantic cod, salmon, shrimp and sharks, but a bivalve that even as far back as 1864 had been consumed in the amount of 700 million in London alone.  The details of the oyster reef demise has just been released in a Nature Conservancy report that has found 85% have been lost primarily to overharvesting and coastal development.

What I found even more astonishing, but not surprising given our history of the exploitation of fisheries and other natural resources, is the practice of shellfisheries to continue harvesting oysters to a point where only 10% of a habitat remains.  This is nothing more than a clearcutting of the oyster reef.

However, overfishing and coastal development are not the only culprits in the decline, but a systematic attack triggered by actions on land as well as sea.  The report singles out specific incidents such as transferring oysters between bays enabling  the spread of parasites and diseases, the dredging of waterways to be used for shipping lanes, the filling of bays, mangrove deforestation prompting an influx of sediment on the reefs, altering water flow from rivers, and polluted agricultural and urban runoff. But the report indicates the most pervasive problem is “…simply perception among managers that there is not a problem.”

• Oyster reefs in most ecoregions where they historically occurred are in poor condition and at risk of extirpation as functional ecosystems.
• In most individual bays and ecoregions there has been a >90% loss in oyster reef habitat. In some bays, losses are >99%.
• Globally, 85% of oyster reefs have been lost, making oyster reefs one of the most severely impacted marine ecosystem on the planet. (Shellfish Reefs at Risk, Nature Conservancy)

So unless a fundamental change is instituted for oysters, tuna, shrimp and all other targeted species, we will continue to see report after report signaling the decline of yet another item filling our seafood  counters and restaurant menus. 

And for those of you in search of aphrodisiacs, don’t worry as you can turn your attention to the plenty of other available species like rhinos, bears, tigers, sea turtles…Oh yeah, those species are facing poachers and incredible population declines as well.

www.nature.org/shellfish

Plastic washing ashore and littering our beaches, the incredible Pacific Ocean garbage patch twice the size of Texas, and piles of trash blotting our seafloors left me wondering if the plastic pollution problem had reached a plateau. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, I discover that plastic, under the guise of plankton, is becoming an inadvertent food source for all forms of life that rely on our oceans for survival. The main culprit appears to be tan plastic fragments that mimic the keystone species krill…

The ocean world may be vast, but getting connected with other ecologically-minded individuals is a great way to protect our seas. Click the flip tab below the video and “Let’s Get Ocean Responsible!” with the help of SmallRivers. By the way, it’s a great video.