The article I read was titled Fishing Hooks Protect Bluefin Tuna in Gulf of Mexico But Allow Catch of Yellowfin Tuna and Swordfish, last updated February 1st, 2012. The NOAA’s Fisheries Service required as of May 5, 2011 that all commercial longline fisherman of yellowfin tuna and swordfish use a new hook called a “weak hook”. The weak hook was designed to limit the accidental catch of bluefin tuna as well as other species’ victim of bycatch. Fishing for bluefin has been prohibited since the early 1980’s due to their species being at risk of extinction from serious over fishing. However, bluefin are still a product of bycatch thus researchers and scientists teamed up with longline commercial fisherman to limit the amount of bluefin tuna caught. After about three years of research and testing, they came up with what is known as the weak hook. The weak hook is a circular hook with thin gauged wire that is designed to straighten out when a large fish, such as bluefin, are hooked, then releasing it, but not smaller fish. The average bluefin tuna in the Gulf of Mexico is 485 pounds while the average yellowfin tuna is is 86 pounds. Since the spring of 2011 the weak rule has been in effect and has been a complete success. Scientists noted that since the rule has been in place, the bycatch of bluefin tuna and other larger species of fish such as sharks have declined. In 2012 scientists observed that bluefin populations were the highest since the year 1974. What a great innovation the weak hook has proved to be. I'm sure that fishermen have lost target species due to the weak hook but I feel that it is totally necessary. Bluefin tuna population is still at risk to this day, however if losing some money to help protect a species proves to be efficient then that is what needs to be done, as it is. Are bluefin tuna still being accidentally hooked with the weak hook? Absolutely, but as long as the population increases at a steady rate as well as the development of new, safer methods of fishing, I can say that we are in pretty good shape. Article Source: http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2011/20110401_weakhook.html
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This article that I read, is about plastic pollution and the global issue it poses on our ocean, health, and well being. However, we are not the only organisms who may be affected by plastic pollution.
We use over 300 million tons of new plastic every year in which we only use half of that once and for less than 12 minutes. These numbers are quite shocking considering the fact that plastic can be recycled. This makes me wonder, where is all of this plastic going? It's quite obvious really, it's in the ocean. The plastic in the ocean gets carried around by currents and after time, it begins to break down into smaller and smaller pieces never actually going away. According to the article, so much plastic is getting into our ocean that in some places the plastic particles to plankton ratio is 26:1. That's mind boggling. No wonder why we're finding so much plastic within marine organisms. So much of the plastic found in the ocean contains large amounts of chemicals such as BPA, phthalates, pesticides and PCB’s. Over 600 species of marine life are directly impacted from plastic pollution not to mention the many more that can be indirectly affected such as us, who then ingest these infected organisms. One example of how marine organisms can be effected is that birds can actually starve because their stomachs are so full of plastic that there is no room inside their stomachs for nutrients necessary for a sustainable diet. Over 90% of seabirds worldwide have plastic pieces in their stomachs. To me, that's absurd. These animals are vulnerable to the dangers of plastic and there's no excuse to this besides our own laziness. Plastics in our oceans can also cause us cancer without even knowing it. The food chain is one of those things where every little aspect plays a huge role. What may seem as nothing, such as a bacteria dying off, actually affects every single organism after that. Plastic pollution is becoming so out of hand that by the year 2050, the weight of plastic will outweigh fish. We all need to quit being lazy, recycle, and just clean up after ourselves. It's really so simple but for some reason it's one of the most difficult things to do. I mean our own school doesn't even recycle because kids can't tell the difference between a slice of pizza and a water bottle. We all need to step up, be accountable and get things right before it's too late. After reading the first chapter and a little bit of the second chapter of the book Oceana by Ted Danson, I learned a lot about a topic I did not know much about let alone have an opinion on it. The first chapter is called tough oil and is about the offshore oiling companies. Deep water drilling is a very efficient process where big oil rigs are built offshore and then dig deep below the ocean floor until they hit these oil pockets which were created from 600,000 year old decomposed materials plus a lot of pressure. However, the most efficient way to obtain oil is the most devastating way to obtain oil in almost every aspect. One of the greatest contributing factors to the damage caused by offshore drilling are rig explosions and spills taking many innocent organisms from humans to marine species and even bacteria. And we can all see that on the news. The oil covered birds and turtles, the pictures of those who tragically lost their lives, the giant clumps of oil washed upon shore, but the real damage is deep below the surface. Yet we continue to allow offshore drilling. Within the process of extracting and transporting oil, there are many things that can go horribly wrong. Besides the obvious rig blowout as we saw in 2010, the little spills from extracting the oil, transporting it, and its consumption annually adds up to 195 million gallons. That's still millions of spilled gallons of oil more than released with the deepwater horizon incident. Over the course of its career, the average oil rig releases 90,000 tons of toxic materials into the saltwater. Oil is extremely lethal to wildlife. A quarter million sea birds died as a result of the Exxon Valdez disaster. The damage from this industry is detrimental and irreversible. Besides skimming and burning oil off the surface, which are two successful ways to “clean up” spilled oil in the ocean. But what they tend to run to most commonly are chemical dispersants made of petroleum distillates and propylene glycol which is used as a de icing solution on airplanes and car anti freeze. Thank you for asking! What happens when living organisms such as us and marine organisms come into contact with propylene glycol? Well, government agencies advise factory workers to avoid skin contact for the threat of abnormalities with the brain, liver, and kidneys. So then why do we dump a bunch of it into the ocean? It's bad enough that many marine ecosystems will be destroyed from one single oil spill so it makes sense to spray these chemicals in the ocean right? I mean how else can we clean all that oil up? What if we didn't have to clean up the oil? What if we didn't drill for oil or use it to fuel this country? That would be awesome but that's just not realistic. So much of today relies on oil. Once oil was discovered, america's industrialization surplused. I had the opportunity to talk to an undocumented oil investor. He admitted that we do need to improve our current ocean conditions and that we need tighter regulations on the oil industry but, there is a lot that also relies on oil. This industry has created thousands and thousands of jobs and is a great benefactor to the success of our economy. Not only that but he also informed me that we are looking to further expand the industry and eventually will be exporting oil. By doing this, we can better relations with other countries and nations. Plus, with the very successful Donald Trump in office and ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as our new Secretary of State, the chance of America completely stopping to drill for oil is unlikely. We all need to become more educated about this dire industry and everything that it brings to table. We need to come up with ways to stop this precarious cycle before it's too late. Our lack of education is costing us and the environment more than we even know. Oil in America is huge and is one of our main resources. We may not be able to completely diminish this industry but we can limit its efficiency. Our current ocean conditions are worse than they've ever been and are only getting worse every time we dig deep into this earth for oil extraction. Guys, it's time we wake up and take the right step before it too late. Source: Danson, Ted, and Michael D'Orso. Oceana: Our Endangered Oceans and What We Can Do to save Them. New York: Rodale, 2011. Print.
The Florida Aquarium in Downtown Tampa is one of my favorite places to go, so being able to go on a field trip there was awesome! We were able to see a lot of different marine organisms ranging from freshwater to saltwater. We started our field trip in the freshwater section of the aquarium seeing bass, otters and even alligators. The otters were fun to watch because they were playing in the water, splashing each other and doing flips off of the wall. After that, we saw some marine life that lives in shallow brackish type water such as red drum, small snappers and some sting rays. Then came the extremely large goliath grouper which was extremely large. It was cool to be able to see one of that size especially because I had done my research paper on goliath groupers. We also saw sharks and sea turtles and many different species of fish that may inhabit a reef. Not only had I been focusing on the different kinds of fish that were there, but I was also taking note of structures in the tanks because I am working on a ceramics project that includes some coral reef aspects. We also saw bioluminescent Jellies and Anemones which had to have been my favorite because they are just so cool to look at. The field trip was a success especially because we had our own tour guide (Mr. Maraghy) who knew a lot about all of the different organisms that live in the aquarium. I can not wait until next semester to find out what kinds of field trips we will be going on. I hope they will be as fun as the aquarium was! In today's day and age, tourism and coastal development has proved to be one of the leading factors when talking about the decline of marine ecosystems and species. Coastlines throughout the world have begun to transform into housing and tourist developments causing coastline populations to rapidly increase. Tourism as a whole mainly takes place in coastal areas, specifically coral reefs and beaches being the most sought after destinations. A lot of this damage is caused by tourism infrastructure as well as activities but not limited to coastal development. However, tourism does not only destroy marine life but it also has a toll on local culture and doesn't benefit local income as we think it does. Majority of tourist attractions are owned by larger outside companies in which they are the ones to profit, not the locals. The problem is that not all, but some of these large companies do not have any regard for the ocean and the only thing they care about is making money. So, even if it means construction up to the coastline causing land, air, and water pollution which is deadly when dealing with marine organisms, that's what they'll do.
Having spent my entire life around the ocean, I have seen first hand the destruction that tourism and coastal developments have caused. One example of this which affects coral reefs is snorkeling trips. Snorkeling trips typically demand a large number of big vessels taking multiple trips in a day which requires large quantities of fuel causing land and air pollution as fumes are emitted. However, it is the humans who do majority of the damage to the reefs themselves. Because most snorkeling trips take place on coral reefs, there is an immense negative and fatal impact that is caused. What people don't realize is that coral has a protective mucus like coating and that when they come into contact with coral they are actually killing the coral by removing that protective slime. Although the trip directors tell tourists not to touch the coral, there is no real way to ensure that people do not touch the coral thus a negative impact. Tourism creates an increased population around coastal areas and from the surface it does not seem all bad of a concept. However, with population comes the necessity for water as well as leisure facilities. Not only that but as population increases, pollution also increases. There is a lot more trash produced increasing the chance of it ending up in the ocean as well as gas and other recourses necessary for sustainable life. My family has a condo in the Florida Keys which is one of Florida’s biggest tourist locations and over the years, the damage has become noticeable. When I was just a child, about 10-15 years ago, the fishing was like none other. We would catch tarpon right off the dock as well as a variety of other fish while fishing on a boat. But, this past summer the fishing was abnormally slow. From what? Increased tourism. What used to be a thriving ecosystem is now the most bare it has ever been. I cannot say that I am not apart of this coastline devastation but I am sure to leave as little of an impact as I can. We need to reduce the rate of coastal developments and tourism before it is too late. While we cannot completely stop large corporations and tourism we can become aware. Aware of the negative impact that we pose on marine life. We can be more aware of how to better utilize resources by cutting back on the amount of snorkeling trips per day. As well as do a better job of cleaning up after ourselves and not being so against picking up trash even if it doesn't belong to us. Environment awareness classes whether marine or not should become mandatory in all schools. While math and english and writing is important, none of that is useful if we can't protect and preserve our oceans because majority of our resources are in fact found in the oceans. Being the largest in the world, the Taiwanese fleet of tuna vessels which also supplies majority of the world’s seafood companies is filled with illegal fishing and labor practices. Conducting a one year investigation on Tai’s fishing methods, Greenpeace (environmental organization) observed shark finning, illegal tuna fishing, forced labor, and human rights abuses while at sea. Although there have been laws created to help prevent such actions from happening, oceans make up more than 75% of earth’s surface so monitoring every inch of it can be quite difficult. Not only that but these large fishing vessels are able to go to different locations where different laws are enforced, allowing fisheries to somewhat make up their own rules. One of the biggest problems besides overfishing is that the Tai government has been made aware of these issues but chooses not to act. Therefore, the key to successful enforcement is to use a digitized database that can be widely shared providing licenses, certificates, vessel logbooks, and standardized vessel monitoring systems. Being a fisherman myself and having immense respect and appreciation for the ocean, hearing such information means a lot to me. Throughout the entire article, what hits me hardest is the overfishing of tuna and shark finning although I do feel remorse for those humans poorly treated. We only have one ocean containing many different organisms. From the biggest of whales to the smallest of bacteria, each and every single organism plays an important role in its specific ecosystem to the oceans as a whole. There are only a certain number of tuna and once we catch them all there won't be any left. The same concept applies to sharks, being one of the greatest benefactors of the ocean. People need to become aware Tai’s illegal fishing practices and they need to be put to a stop immediately. The tuna fish itself is a provider. They provide food for all of us to eat as well as food for other, bigger species of fish to eat. Because tuna is one of the world’s most sought after fish, the demand for tuna is exceptionally high. It's not so much the recreational fishermen as the big fleets of tuna vessels such as in Taiwan that are creating this problem. We need to become aware of who is supplying different seafood companies and if their methods of fishing are illegal or immoral so that we can refuse to support them. By finding out where the seafood (especially tuna) we eat is coming from and knowing whether or not their methods are acceptable, we can help to reduce illegal fishing. Now we may not be able to stop large fleets of ships who use illegal fishing methods as a whole, but we can create an impact bigger than most think. By no longer supporting these companies and fisheries we can possibly put these illegal fisheries out of business. Tuna and Shark populations have been reduced at increasing rates and once they're gone, they're gone. We may not be able to end all illegal fishing throughout the globe, but we can definitely take shot at it. Even the littlest of contributions can have the biggest impact and we need to get moving on reducing Taiwan’s illegal fishing practices before it is too late. Article Source: http://thediplomat.com/2016/04/taiwans-illegal-fishing-is-out-of-control/ Just about 93% of reefs on the Great Barrier Reef have experienced an extreme increase in water temperature causing what is known as coral bleaching. Since 1998, there have only been three recorded bleachings however, scientists say that this has been the worst one yet and that “The world is in the midst of a global bleaching event. Coral bleaching is a direct result of when corals experience an extreme increase in water temperature higher than usual for over 2 months. This typically occurs during the summer months especially when there is a lack of clouds to block sunlight causing high amounts of direct UV radiation to corals, in which the odds are in no way favorable for the coral. Waters this past summer were significantly warmer than usual due to tropical storm El Nino as well as global warming caused by man-made greenhouse gas emissions. If coral happens to remain bleached for long periods of time, the coral will most likely die in which 50% of the Great Barrier Reef’s northern region has done so. Professor Terry Hughes of James Cook University and head of the National Coral Bleaching task force began aerial surveys during March of 2016 covering 911 individual reefs among the Great Barrier Reef. Hughes stated that in years 1998 and 2002 approximately 18% of all Barrier Reef corals had been severely bleached. However, this past summer the Great Barrier Reef had faced over three times more of severe coral bleaching coming in at 55%. One positive that was observed from the aerial survey was that the southern end of the reef had not faced as bad of coral bleaching due to “ex-cyclone Winston, after it passed over Fiji and came to us as a rain depression” bringing clouds along with cooler weather. One of the biggest factors of coral bleaching is unfortunately not in our control. Although, there is a way that we can help to reduce the percentage of coral bleaching by lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions come from numerous amounts of human activity such as the most common, burning fossil fuels such as coal. We may not be able to control the weather but we can in fact reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions by using either solar, wind, or nuclear powered power plants instead of using coal operated power plants. Once coral dies, it dies. We only have one chance on this earth and we need to make it last. Anyone can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in multiple ways whether it’s by walking or riding a bike rather than taking a car. Or, instead of driving separately, try catching a ride with a friend as well as something so simple as to using less hairspray when doing your hair. Coral bleaching is an unknown issue to many but is something that can have an immense impact on the environment and earth's ecosystem. Many people do not realize the benefits of having coral in our oceans and it is imperative that we do everything we possibly can to keep them safe and healthy. Reefs provide various positives that are essential for our survival, for they are home to over 1 million diverse marine species providing food for those who live near coral reefs especially people living on small islands. Not to mention the protection they give coastal cities and beaches by creating a wall between them and the open ocean. As a side note, due to warming waters and coral bleaching, this past summer faced a very slow fishing season throughout the world, not just off the coast of Australia. During the summer I had travelled to the Florida Keys for an annual fishing trip in hopes to catch Mahi Mahi, Tuna, Sea Trout, Redfish, and Snook just to name a few species but was lead to disappointment. The water had been so warm that deep sea species were way further out than usual looking for cooler waters and inshore species were nowhere to be found. Not only that but the seagrass that many different species call home and use as a form of protection had died off creating many more marine life compilations. So much of the oceans ecosystems rely on coral reefs for its success. It is time that we all take a stand and do as much as possible to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions to at least attempt to lower the amount of coral bleaching throughout the globe before it’s too late. Article Source: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/apr/19/great-barrier-reef-93-of-reefs-hit-by-coral-bleaching |
AuthorMatthew Moskowitz, Archives |