http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/06/25-5

The report that the ocean is in trouble is no surprise. What is shocking is that it has taken so long for us to make the connection between the state of the ocean and everything we care about – the economy, health, security – and the existence of life itself.

If the ocean is in trouble – and it is – we are in trouble. Charles Clover pointed this out in The End of the Line, and Callum Roberts provided detailed documentation of the collapse of ocean wildlife – and the consequences – in The Unnatural History of the Sea.

Since the middle of the 20th century, more has been learned about the ocean than during all preceding human history; at the same time, more has been lost. Some 90 per cent of many fish, large and small, have been extracted. Some face extinction owing to the ocean’s most voracious predator – us.

We are now appearing to wage war on life in the sea with sonars, spotter aircraft, advanced communications, factory trawlers, thousands of miles of long lines, and global marketing of creatures no one had heard of until recent years. Nothing has prepared sharks, squid, krill and other sea creatures for industrial-scale extraction that destroys entire ecosystems while targeting a few species.

The concept of “peak oil” has penetrated the hearts and minds of people concerned about energy for the future. “Peak fish” occurred around the end of the 1980s. As near-shore areas have been depleted of easy catches, fishing operations have gone deeper, further offshore, using increasingly sophisticated – and environmentally costly – methods of capture.

The concern is not loss of fish for people to eat. Rather, the greatest concern about destructive fishing activities of the past century, especially the past several decades, is the dismemberment of the fine-tuned ocean ecosystems that are, in effect, our life-support system.

Photosynthetic organisms in the sea yield most of the oxygen in the atmosphere, take up and store vast amounts of carbon dioxide, shape planetary chemistry, and hold the planet steady.

The ocean is a living system that makes our lives possible. Even if you never see the ocean, your life depends on its existence. With every breath you take, every drop of water you drink, you are connected to the sea.

I support this report and its calls to stop exploitative fishing – especially in the high seas – map and reduce pollution and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But I would add three other actions.

First, only 5 per cent of the ocean has been seen, let alone mapped or explored. We know how to exploit the sea. Should we not first go see what is there?

Second, it is critically important to protect large areas of the ocean that remain in good condition – and guard them as if our lives depend on them, because they do. Large marine-protected areas would provide an insurance policy – and data bank – against the large-scale changes now under way, and provide hope for a world that will continue to be hospitable for humankind.

Third, take this report seriously. It should lift people from complacency to positive action – itself cause for hope.

Warming ocean waters are causing the largest movement of marine species seen on Earth in more than two million years, according to scientists.

Warming ocean waters are causing the largest movement of marine species seen on Earth in more than two million years, according to scientists. (AP Photo/Guillermo Arias, file) In the Arctic, melting sea ice during recent summers has allowed a passage to open up from the Pacific ocean into the North Atlantic, allowing plankton, fish and even whales to into the Atlantic Ocean from the Pacific.

The discovery has sparked fears delicate marine food webs could be unbalanced and lead to some species becoming extinct as competition for food between the native species and the invaders stretches resources.

Rising ocean temperatures are also allowing species normally found in warmer sub-tropical regions to into the northeast Atlantic.

A venomous warm-water species Pelagia noctiluca has forced the closure of beaches and is now becoming increasingly common in the waters around Britain.

The highly venomous Portuguese Man-of-War, which is normally found in subtropical waters, is also regularly been found in the northern Atlantic waters.

A form of algae known as dinoflagellates has also been found to be moving eastwards across the Atlantic towards Scandinavia and the North Sea.

Huge blooms of these marine plants use up the oxygen in the water and can produce toxic compounds that make shellfish poisonous.

Plankton sampling in the north Atlantic over the past 70 years have also shown that other species of plankton, normally only found in the Pacific ocean, have now become common in Atlantic waters.

The scientists, who have been collaborating on the Climate Change and European Marine Ecosystems Research project, found the plankton species, called Neodenticula seminae, traveled into the Atlantic through a passage through the Arctic sea ice around that has opened up a number of times in the last decade from the Pacific Ocean.

Larger species including a grey whale have also been found to have made the journey through the passage, which winds it’s way from the Pacific coast of Alaska through the islands of northern Canada and down past Greenland into the Atlantic Ocean, when it opened first in 1998, and then again in 2007 and 2010.

Professor Chris Reid, from the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory, said: “It seems for the first time in probably thousands of years a huge area of sea water opened up between Alaska and the west of Greenland, allowing a huge transfer of water and species between the two oceans.

“The opening of this passage allowed the wind to drive a current through this passage and the water warmed up making it favourable for species to get through.

“In 1999 we discovered a species in the north west Atlantic that we hadn’t seen before, but we know from surveys in the north Pacific that it is very abundant there.

“This species died out in the Atlantic around 800,000 years ago due to glaciation that changed the conditions it needed to survive.

“The implications are huge. The last time there was an incursion of species from the Pacific into the Atlantic was around two to three million years ago.

“Large numbers of species were introduced from the Pacific and made large numbers of local Atlantic species extinct.

“The impact on salmon and other fish resources could be very dramatic. The indications are that as the ice is continuing to melt in the summer months, climate change could lead to complete melting within 20 to 30 years, which would see huge numbers of species migrating.

“It could have impacts all the way down to the British Isles and down the east coast of the United States.”

He added: “With the jellyfish we are seeing them move further north from tropical and subtropical regions as a result of warming sea temperatures.”

Researchers say the invading plankton species is likely to cause widespread changes to the food web in the Atlantic ocean as the invading species are less nutritious than native species, which are eaten by many fish and large whales.

Changes in populations of tiny animals called copepods, which are an essential food source for fish such as cod, herring and mackerel, are already being blamed for helping to drive the collapse of fish stocks as the native species of copepods have been replaced with smaller less nutritious varieties.

This has resulted in declines in North Sea birds, the researchers claim, while Harbour porpoises have also migrated northwards North Sea after sand eels followed the poleward movement of the copepods they ate.

Scientists taking part in the project from the Institute for Marine Resources & Ecosystem Studies, in the Netherlands, found that warmer water would also lead more species in the North and Irish sea as species move from more southerly areas.

But they found that the Atlantic ocean west of Scotland would have fewer species.

Dr Carlo Heip, director general of the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, which led the project that is a collaboration of more than 17 institutes in 10 different countries, said: “We need to learn much more about what’s happening in Europe’s seas, but the signs already point to far more trouble than benefit from climate change.

“Despite the many unknowns, it’s obvious that we can expect damaging upheaval as we overturn the workings of a system that’s so complex and important.

“The migrations are an example of how changing climate conditions cause species to move or change their behaviour, leading to shifts in ecosystems that are clearly visible.”

The researchers conclude that these changes will have serious implications for commercial fisheries and on the marine environment.

Among the other species to have migrated from the Pacific Ocean into the Atlantic was a grey whale that was spotted as far south as the Mediterrean off the coast of Spain and Israel.

Grey whales have been extinct in the Atlantic Ocean for more than a hundred years due to hunting and scientists found the animal had crossed through openings in the Arctic sea ice.

Dr Katja Philippart, from the Royal Netherland’s Institute for Sea Research, added: “We have seen very small plankton and large whales migrating from the Pacific into the North Atlantic, so there will certainly be many other species, including fish, that we haven’t detected yet.

“To see a whale in this part of the world was quite remarkable and when we looked at it we concluded it can only have come from one place.”

Vikki N. Spruill

CEO, Ocean Conservancy

Last year on World Oceans Day, our nation was facing the largest oil spill in U.S. history. Since then, the well has been capped, oil-covered wildlife have been scrubbed, and experts have told us how to prevent another offshore oil disaster. But the truth is, not much has changed.

The Gulf of Mexico is facing an ongoing human and environmental tragedy that didn’t end when the well was capped. Oil is still washing ashore and showing up in fishermen’s nets. Unusual numbers of dead dolphins and diseased fish continue to be found in the Gulf, and unanswered questions remain about the long-term health effects from exposure to oil and the dispersants used to combat it.

Last year, I thought the BP oil disaster might serve as a wake-up call about the importance and vulnerability of our ocean, but instead, it seems many lessons learned have since been forgotten — prompting Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to declare that Congress seemed to have “amnesia” about the BP oil disaster as the House rushed to prioritize oil development and production over safety and environmental safeguards.

Concern over that approach goes double for drilling in the Arctic where the icy waters pose unique challenges to oil and gas operations, raising serious questions about oil spill response, containment, and search and rescue capabilities. I believe we need a long-term science and monitoring plan in place before making any new decisions about offshore drilling in the Arctic; we must forge a cautious and deliberate path forward.

Thankfully, the efforts to expedite oil production at the cost of safety haven’t made it out of Congress so far, but neither have any other pieces of legislation that address drilling reform or the need for restoration in the Gulf of Mexico. The United States must continue to develop new energy sources, but we need to make responsible choices, coupled with sensible conservation measures and investments, that will ensure we are protecting people, the economy, and the environment in the process.

There are many opportunities for progress toward greater responsibility and fairness.

Thanks to the bipartisan group of senators who introduced the National Endowment for the Oceans Act, we could soon have a blueprint for investing in healthier oceans. The bill would take the common-sense step of directing a portion of the funds the government already gets from economic activities on our ocean toward keeping it clean and healthy.

With more funding, we can continue to make smart choices about how we manage our marine resources. Last summer, President Obama established a National Ocean Policy to create a big-picture framework to guide the planning process, empowering local governments and stakeholders to coordinate use of our ocean resources. And Congress still has the opportunity to reform how we manage oil and gas development in our ocean and ensure the Gulf is restored.

In many ways, what lies ahead for our ocean is still unknown. Warming water temperatures could be affecting ocean wildlife habitat and migration patterns in ways we are only starting to see. Ocean acidification, caused by increased concentrations of carbon dioxide in seawater, is changing the chemistry of the ocean — making it more difficult for marine animals to create shells, which could impact the ocean’s complex food web and result in mass extinctions.

Thinking about our challenges on World Oceans Day can make the work that remains seem overwhelming, but I try to focus on the power of an individual to make a difference, and I know from personal experience that it’s possible.

Just last year, more than half a million individuals volunteered their time to participate in our 25th Annual International Coastal Cleanup, helping pick up trash at their local waterways. They also cataloged everything they found, helping us amass 25 years of marine debris data that can be used to influence manufacturers, legislators, and individuals like you and me.

From our personal actions to the laws that govern our seas, it’s time to follow the science and improve the way we care for our ocean. And perhaps next year, we’ll look back on World Oceans Day and really see a sea change.

Special thanks to Richard Charter

We are happy to share with you a short (3-minute) Public Service Annoucement (PSA)  from the REEF Grouper Moon Project, talking about the importance of protections for spawning aggregations and the work that REEF and our collaborators at the Cayman Islands Department of the Environment (CIDOE) and Oregon State University have done on this important conservation issue.

The PSA is on REEF’s We Speak Fish YouTube channel — http://www.youtube.com/user/WeSpeakFish

Cayman Island spawning aggregations have been seasonally protected from fishing for the last 8 years at all current and historic aggregation sites. This protection expires at the end of 2011. The status of future protections for the aggregations is still uncertain. Based on the research and findings of the Grouper Moon Project, the CIDOE has recommended a permanent seasonal closure during spawning season for Nassau grouper. There has been some vocal opposition, but we are hopeful that science and common sense will prevail.

The primary objective of the Grouper Moon Project is to evaluate the importance of Nassau grouper spawning aggregations to local fisheries and coral reef ecosystems. Little Cayman Island in the Cayman Islands is home to one of the last known, and largest, spawning aggregations of the endangered Nassau grouper. For ten days following winter full moons, thousands of large grouper meet at known reef sites for short periods of time (days to weeks) and release their gametes in massive spawning bursts. Since 2002, REEF has coordinated annual efforts to monitor and study the Little Cayman Nassau grouper aggregation. The project has grown in scope to include an ambitious acoustic tagging research project, juvenile habitat and genetics studies, and oceanographic connectivity research. For more information on the Grouper Moon Project, see http://www.REEF.org/groupermoonproject

Contacts:
Brice Semmens, Ph.D., Grouper Moon Project PI, brice.semmens@gmail.com
Christy Pattengill-Semmens, Ph.D., Director of Science, Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF), christy@REEF.org

Christy Pattengill-Semmens, Ph.D.
Director of Science
Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF)
www.REEF.org