Give it back to the gods: Reviving Māori tradition to protect marine life
https://news.mongabay.com/2019/09/give-it-back-to-the-gods-reviving-maor...
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Monday, 30 September 2019
OC Overview for the week of 30 September 2019
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Happy New (Fiscal) Year!
Today is the last day of fiscal year 2019 for all federal agencies and programs. At midnight tonight, we will enter the next fiscal year (FY20) with lots of uncertainty remaining about the federal budget.
Two important developments occurred last week that impact ocean funding: The Senate Appropriations Committee marked up its Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) appropriations bill containing their proposed NOAA budget for FY20, and Congress passed a Continuing Resolution (CR) that will avoid a government shutdown at midnight tonight by keeping current funding levels in place until November 21.
The Senate’s CJS bill is similar to the House bill in that it rejects budget cuts proposed by the Trump administration across government agencies, including cuts at NOAA for ocean and coastal programs. Instead, the Senate bill would maintain ocean funding for programs ranging from climate change research to coral reef conservation. The bill would also make key new investments in areas like Sea Grant and salmon management. This strong ocean budget proposal for NOAA coming out of the Republican-controlled Senate shows the bipartisan support across many Members of Congress for NOAA’s work, which sustains our ocean and the communities and economies that depend on it.
Passing a CR was necessary, but not ideal. The CR means agencies avoid a shutdown, and it gives Congress time to pass appropriations bills to establish funding for federal agencies in FY20. But it also means that the changes appropriators want to make to funding levels based on needs at NOAA are delayed. So, if a program requires an increase in resources, they have to wait for the FY20 budget to be finalized by Congress in order to see those increases. In addition, some programs may have to delay activities even if they have the funds for them under the CR. For example, a grant program may be able to put out a request for proposals and review grant applications, but they likely cannot distribute grants and funds until there is a final budget in place. That could leave scientists and researchers waiting for funds they need to carry out important ocean science.
Last week’s developments were a big step, but what happens now? Now, the Senate and House have until their new November 21 deadline to come to an agreement on how to avoid a government shutdown and fund all government agencies for FY20. We have an important opportunity right now to ensure that the strong ocean budgets proposed in both House and Senate have the support they need to become law, and that ocean programs are getting the investments they need this year.
We also would like to see this process completed by the November 21 deadline. Last year’s government shutdown was devastating for many government agencies, and NOAA was no exception. The continued uncertainty of a CR is bad for ocean science and management, but a shutdown, especially so soon after the last one, would be incredibly damaging.
Join us and tell your ocean story using the hashtag #TheMoreYouNOAA, and be sure to tag your elected officials and ask them to support ocean funding at NOAA in FY20! Now is the time to make your voice heard for our ocean.
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The post Happy New (Fiscal) Year! appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.
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Thursday, 26 September 2019
What Does the SROCC Mean for the Arctic?
As the Arctic goes, so goes the world.
That line echoes in my mind as I grapple with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change “Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate” (SROCC) released this week. It came just after the United Nations Climate Action Summit 2019 in New York and coincides with seven-day Climate Strike that brought hundreds of thousands of youth activists together across 150 countries.
The SROCC report matters because for once it centers on the vulnerability of our ocean as well as the frozen parts of our planet called the cryosphere. The impacts detailed in this report are the equivalent of an ocean on fire. As the image of rivers on fire motivated an era of environmental action in the 1970s, my hope is that these dire impacts on a place we love can drive us to the action that is needed for our ocean and our planet. And the good news is that the ocean can be part of the solution too.
To be honest, this new report merely confirms with more scientific certainty a reality that Alaskans and Arctic communities are already living. For example, we’ve known for a while that the Arctic is warming at the twice the rate of anywhere else on the planet. But what that translates to out on the water and on the land are anomalies never recorded, seen or experienced before.
Just look at the crazy summer that Alaska had in 2019. Michael LeVine, my colleague and climate change expert (who lives in Juneau) literally meant it when he noted “Alaska is on fire.” We are talking about raging wildfires, higher temperatures in Anchorage than Key West, streams so hot salmon were dying and the second-lowest sea ice cover on record.
An increasingly ice-free Arctic has a massive ripple effect on a system that depends on a healthy ocean. There are short, fragile links between fish stocks plummeting, seals starving, whales disappearing and human life in the Arctic. We’re talking about food security for thousands of communities that rely on subsistence fishing and hunting.
An ice-free Arctic is becoming increasingly attractive for shipping. Large tankers, massive container ships and even cruise ships are making their way through once treacherous conditions. The increase in vessel traffic means the Arctic is vulnerable to more greenhouse gas, risks of oil spills, pollution, risk of invasive species, ship strikes on marine wildlife and impacts on local communities.
Earlier this month, Austin Ahmasuk watched two massive cruise ships drop anchor just off the coast of his home town. Nome, an Alaskan town close to the Arctic Circle, is slowly becoming a stop for massive luxury liners making their way through the Northwest Passage. The impact on a community of less than 4,000 permanent residents is not always positive as they brace for a deluge of cruisers that wanted to experience Alaska. The irony of their direct impact on the changing climate of the Arctic is often lost.
As Austin notes in his recent blog, “We in the Arctic are becoming increasingly concerned about the climate crisis and we will engage in this issue ever-increasingly because our lifestyle and our culture are both at risk.”
At Ocean Conservancy, we recognize that three things need to happen as we face a future world made unfamiliar by climate change:
- We have to slash emissions. If we fail to do so and do it soon, the changes we’re seeing now will quickly become irreversible.
- We need to protect our ocean’s ability to store carbon by protecting coastal ecosystems that are up to four times more efficient at carbon sequestration than land-based options.
- We must adapt quickly to the impacts we can’t avoid. This means investing in research and development into new systems and rules that protect communities in places like the Arctic that are already being hardest hit.
The SROCC report reminds us that the changes taking place in the Arctic are swift, interconnected and brutal. And we need to recognize that what happens in the Arctic does not stay there.
Our shared future is at stake.
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The post What Does the SROCC Mean for the Arctic? appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.
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We’ve Reached this Year’s Arctic Sea Ice Minimum
For many people, September means the kids are back in school, football season is underway, and the end of summer has come. For Arctic scientists, it is also the time of year that sea ice in the northern hemisphere reaches its minimum extent.
This year, scientists announced Arctic sea ice reached its minimum on September 18, when ice covered just 4.15 million square kilometers. Thanks to a slower decline in sea ice extent in the later part of the summer, the Arctic did not end up breaking the all-time record this year. Although the sea ice minimum was not lower than in the 3.4 million square kilometers that remained in 2012, it was the second lowest sea ice cover on record. But trust me, this is not a competition we want to win.
In case you missed it, the sea ice minimum is the point of the year at which the Arctic has the least amount of ice. It typically occurs in September, after many months of warmer temperatures during the Northern Hemisphere’s summer. Although an annual cycle of melting and freezing is natural, climate change has produced a downward trend in the amount of sea ice that’s left in the Arctic at the end of every summer. According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, “[t]he 13 lowest extents in the satellite era have all occurred in the last 13 years.” This downward trend in sea ice extent has major implications for our ocean and climate, and causes big challenges for the animals that rely on sea ice to live and hunt.
Decreasing sea ice extent affects every aspect of the Arctic. Wildlife like polar bears and walruses, which rely on the ice to hunt and breed, lose important habitat. Without sea ice to serve as a buffer against fall storms, wind and waves batter and erode Arctic coastlines, destroying infrastructure and threatening residents of coastal villages. And melting ice facilitates increased vessel traffic in the Arctic region, which puts the vulnerable marine ecosystem at greater risk for accidents and disturbance.
And (forgive us) some more bad news: Not only is the minimum extent of Arctic sea ice low, average sea ice thickness is less than half what it was this time of year 40 years ago, making the remaining ice that much more vulnerable to future loss.
Beyond sea ice loss, fires have raged through the Alaskan and the Siberian north country, destroying landscapes and releasing more carbon into the atmosphere. Permafrost continues to thaw, releasing more greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. Combined, these factors continue to add strain to an already stressed Arctic system.
What does this mean? The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world. On Wednesday, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, which analyzed the latest ocean and climate science to further reinforce how climate change is driving these rapid changes we’re seeing in the Arctic and sea ice. Lower and lower Arctic sea ice minimums are critical yearly reminders that we need to reduce carbon emissions worldwide to slow climate change. We also need to remain dedicated to mitigating impacts from other threats, like offshore oil drilling and increased shipping, that could further damage the Arctic ecosystem.
Sea ice is the foundation of the Arctic Ocean. It’s up to us to take action to ensure it sticks around, summer after summer.
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The post We’ve Reached this Year’s Arctic Sea Ice Minimum appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.
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Wednesday, 25 September 2019
It’s not just about marine mammals anymore: How ocean noise can harm marine ecosystems
Editor’s note: We’ve all read about how ocean noise can harm marine mammals. New research reveals that it can have profound impacts on lower trophic levels as well, with likely consequences for marine ecosystems. Catch up on the latest research with this month’s Skimmer.
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Latest Marine Ecosystem News and Resources for Planners and Managers
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New tools for dynamic ocean management: EcoCast vs. Marxan and more
Editor’s note: Heather Welch is a research associate with the University of California at Santa Cruz and the (US) NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center’s Environmental Research Division. The Skimmer spoke with her about her research, which focuses on understanding and planning for the spatial and temporal dynamics of large-scale marine processes.
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Were you on holiday/in the field during July and August? Catch up on The Skimmer!
In case you missed it, last month’s issue of The Skimmer featured original articles:
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Seagrass: The Ocean’s Unsung Hero
Let’s cut to the chase: Seagrass does not get the respect it deserves. Yes, at first glance its greenish-brown leaves may resemble those of your run-of-the-mill land grass, but don’t let looks fool you! Beneath its humble exterior, seagrass is a vital part of the coastal ecosystem. From supplying food to iconic marine species to absorbing large amounts of carbon, seagrasses are a key component of a happy, healthy ocean.
With more than 60 species of seagrass found all over the world, it’s high time we take a moment to celebrate this underrated marine organism. Check out five reasons why seagrass is the ocean’s unsung hero:
Seagrass provides important nursery habitats.
Seagrass meadows, or large beds of seagrass, provide lots of nooks for small fish to hide from predators. It’s a favorite of juvenile fish and invertebrates, including those of recreationally and commercially-important species like red drum, grey snapper and shrimp. These animals will stay sheltered in seagrasses during their juvenile life stages, then move out to the open ocean or reef when they are adults. Losing these protective nurseries could ultimately negatively affect the populations of these species.
Seagrass is a critical food source.
Some of our favorite marine animals prefer seagrass as their meal of choice. Turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum) gets its name because it’s a favorite of the green sea turtle, an endangered species and the only sea turtle that is strictly herbivorous as an adult. Manatee grass (Syringodium filiforme) is a species of seagrass found in the southwest Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean and is a favorite of—you guessed it—manatees. While some animals eat the grass itself, many others eat the tiny invertebrates and fish that hide it its blades.
Seagrass keeps the ocean floor together—literally.
You know how planting trees and shrubs on land can help prevent erosion? Seagrass serves a similar function underwater. It has a complex root system that includes a thick rhizome, which is a thick, horizontally-growing structure that resembles a root, that extends into the sand and anchors the seagrass into place. This helps reduce the risk of sand erosion. Additionally, studies have shown that a mix of seagrass beds, mangroves and reefs help mitigate wave energy that can damage coastlines in a storm.
Seagrass keeps the ocean clean.
Seagrass meadows help filter the water of pollutants and sediments, which increases water clarity and quality. Seagrass also can absorb excess nutrients that enter the ocean from land runoff, helping to protect more fragile and sensitive ecosystems like coral reefs.
Seagrass can store large amounts of carbon.
Just as land plants pull carbon dioxide from the air to perform photosynthesis, seagrasses pull carbon dioxide from the ocean. In fact, seagrass meadows are some of the most efficient ecosystems at carbon sequestration, or pulling and storing carbon dioxide. It’s estimated that it would take anywhere from 10-40 times the amount of land forest to capture the same amount of carbon as a seagrass bed! As carbon emissions continue to increase, it’s critical that we prevent seagrass loss and promote seagrass growth.
Seagrasses are in trouble, and they need our help. It’s estimated that we lose two football fields worth of seagrass every hour. Continued loss of seagrass beds would mean lost habitat for fish and invertebrates, decreased carbon sequestration and lost food sources for endangered species like sea turtles. It would spell bad news for the economy, too—in 2010, seagrass beds contributed almost $14 million to Monroe County, Florida, by providing habitat for yellowtail snapper, shrimp, spiny lobster and more.
Here are Ocean Conservancy, we’re dedicated to helping marine ecosystems like seagrass beds thrive. Check out how we’re protecting Florida, a state with approximately 2.2 million acres of seagrass beds.
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The post Seagrass: The Ocean’s Unsung Hero appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.
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Tuesday, 24 September 2019
What Does the Ocean Mean to You?
The ocean is a place to be a family,
To share the waters with one another
And with all who live there
To explore and learn and grow.
The ocean provides food
We can catch for ourselves
Or others can catch for us,
Healthful and tasty and fresh.
But the ocean is at risk
From heat, acid, plastic
We cannot take it for granted
Or what matters to us will be gone.
What would you do for your food?
What would you do for your family?
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Monday, 23 September 2019
OC Overview for the week of 23 September 2019
Virginia energy company planning major offshore wind farm project
https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/462309-virginia-energy-com...
To solve climate change, remember the ocean
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Friday, 20 September 2019
Thursday, 19 September 2019
Webinar: Adopting a Governance Toolkit for Small-Scale Fisheries in Mediterranean MPAs
Date / Time: Oct 9, 2019, 8:00am US PDT / 11:00am US EST
Presented by: Kate Hogg, Independent Consultant & Nathan Bennett of the University Of British Columbia
Description: This webinar which is part of the closure activities of the FishMPABlue2 project will provide participants with an overview of lessons learned about governance of SSF in Mediterranean MPAs. The project utilised a participative approach to apply and test a ‘governance toolkit’ in 11 MPAs throughout the Mediterranean. In this webinar we will begin with a general introduction to governance and management in the Mediterranean, but also have input from Nathan Bennett about a more international and global perspective. We will briefly introduce the “ins and outs” of the toolkit and how it was and can be applied, with examples from the project case studies. We will wrap up with a description of how the innovative participative approach applied in FishMPABlue2 helped create positive collaborations between fishers, MPA managers and researchers in advancing MPA governance and improving overall perceptions and MPA support. The webinar is targeted at MPA practitioners, fisheries managers and NGOs alike.
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Why Marine Conservation Institute Will be at The Climate Strike* Friday, September 20th
By Michael Gravitz, Director of Policy & Legislation at Marine Conservation Institute
On Friday, September 20th around the world, young people and grownups of all ages will be leaving their schools, homes, and workplaces to ask their governments and world leaders to get serious about tackling climate change. This particular climate action was started by Greta Thunberg, a young woman of 16 from Sweden, who began over a year ago to leave school every Friday to call upon Sweden and other nations to do more, much more, about slowing and reversing climate change. By now, her frank speeches to world political and economic leaders have gone viral and shamed ‘the adults in the room’ into taking actions against climate change. She said what many of us were thinking: If the adults won’t save the world for themselves because they won’t see the full impacts, then the least they can do is to save the world for their children and grandchildren.
So join us on Friday as we march to show our children and grandchildren that WE care about the world they will grow up in; that WE care about the warming oceans and the dying coral reefs; that WE will do our best to leave them a world that is not forever cursed with rising temperatures. We’ll be marching with and for the children in Washington, DC, in Seattle, WA, and in northern CA. We hope to see you there or at one of the hundreds of climate rallies across the U.S. and around the world this Friday. Go to https://globalclimatestrike.net/ or https://actionnetwork.org/event_campaigns/us-climate-strikes to find a climate strike near where you live or work.
Send us pictures of the demonstrations you attend. We’ll publish a collage of those pictures on our website
(Send to info@marine-conservation.org)
#StrikeWithUs
September is a busy month for climate actions. On Friday (9/20) there will be strikes worldwide to protest climate change and demand that governments, including the recalcitrant Trump administration, step up efforts to fight warming. On Saturday (9/21), youth delegates will gather in New York for a climate summit. World leaders will gather to discuss global warming on Monday (9/23) at the UN Climate Summit. On Wednesday (9/25) the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will release its report about the impacts of climate change on the world’s oceans and icy poles. The clear message from that report will be:
Our oceans are in trouble; the ocean is literally ‘taking the heat for us’
Warming oceans, acidifying water, increasing dead zones with low oxygen, bleaching coral reefs, declining fisheries, and sea levels rising are all impacts of climate change
The pace of change is accelerating but we do have the opportunity to heal the oceans if we act boldly now to reduce CO2 emissions which will slow and stabilize the changes
To create healthier and more climate resilient oceans, we have to reduce other ocean stressors by protecting marine habitats & special places just as we do on land with national parks and forests
And remember – Ocean Protection is Climate Action!
Send us pictures of the demonstrations you attend. We’ll publish a collage of those pictures on our website
(Send to info@marine-conservation.org)
#StrikeWithUs
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Be an Ocean Hero
If there’s one thing all superheroes have in common, it’s that they wear some kind of costume to signal that they’re ready for the fight ahead—a cape or armor, a mask or special amulets. The same can be said of real life heroes, too. Doctors suit up to go into surgery, firefighters suit up before entering blazing buildings, just to name a few. People suit up to get things done, to change the world, to take on problems of epic scale.
Unfortunately, ocean plastic is one such problem. An estimated 8 million metric tons of plastic waste flows into the ocean every year. That’s the equivalent of one dump truck full of plastic every minute, every hour, every day going into the ocean. Ocean plastic doesn’t just pollute our beaches and coastlines; it also impacts more than 800 species of marine life. And with plastic showing up in places as remote as Arctic ice and flowing into rivers hundreds of miles before reaching the ocean, we can’t just focus on the beach. We have to fight ocean plastic on the beach…and beyond.
We need YOU to join the fight against ocean trash. This weekend, people all over the world will head to their local waterways during the 34th annual International Coastal Cleanup (ICC). For those who have already signed up to clean up, we are so excited to see you there. Haven’t signed up yet? It’s not too late—check out a cleanup location near you!
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Last year, we urged people all over the world to “Suit Up to Clean Up” for our 33rd annual ICC. More than 1 million volunteers heard our call and headed to their local beach, river or lake; rolled up their sleeves; and picked up trash—approximately 23 million pounds of it in just one day. Volunteers picked up staggering numbers of trash, including 5.7 million cigarette butts (our most-collected item), 3.7 million food wrappers and 2 million pieces of plastic cutlery.
These are our highest volunteer numbers since the first ICC launched in 1986, and it’s nothing short of heroic. Let’s keep up the momentum this year—every single person helps!
On behalf of everyone at Ocean Conservancy, thank you for doing your part in this global fight for a clean, healthy ocean free of trash. Whether on a river in Arkansas or sun-kissed beach in Bali, everyone, everywhere can be an ocean hero.
The post Be an Ocean Hero appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.
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Wednesday, 18 September 2019
Tuesday, 17 September 2019
Monday, 16 September 2019
OC Overview for the week of 16 September 2019
A warming Puget Sound means dying kelp, researchers say. That hurts orcas and salmon
https://tdn.com/news/state-and-regional/a-warming-puget-sound-means-dyin...
Survey begins of damaged deep sea coral off Scotland
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-49688504
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Friday, 13 September 2019
Thursday, 12 September 2019
Wednesday, 11 September 2019
Optimizing acidification observations in a changing ocean
There are hundreds if not thousands of eyes on our changing ocean at any moment: Buoys, gliders, saildrones and ships measure carbonate chemistry and new ocean observing technologies are continually being created to monitor ocean acidification. As science and technology progress it is important to ensure that the most up to date knowledge is applied […]
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Monday, 9 September 2019
OC Overview for the week of 09 September 2019
Seeing What the Fighting Is All About on Alaska’s Coastal Plain
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/09/travel/alaska-arctic-national-wildlif...
Endangered shark being sold as ‘rock salmon’ at fish and chip shops, report says
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/rock-salmon-shark-fish-a...
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Strong Gulfstream System in the Miocene does not contradict Models
Study shows separation between Caribbean and North Atlantic 10 million years agoDifferences in salinity of water masses drive the global ocean circulation. Model simulations show that the circulation can be weakened by high freshwater input in key regions. Until now, a strong Gulf Stream system in the Miocene about ten million years ago seemed to contradict this assumption. At that time, the land bridge between North and South America was not yet closed and relatively fresh water from the Pacific reached the Atlantic. A new study by scientists from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel published today in the international journal Nature Communications resolve this contradiction.
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Sunday, 8 September 2019
Friday, 6 September 2019
Thursday, 5 September 2019
Wednesday, 4 September 2019
Tuesday, 3 September 2019
OC Overview for the week of 02 September 2019
Scientists and designers are proposing radical ways to 'refreeze' the Arctic
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/refreeze-arctic-design-scn/index.html
Ocean treaty needed to tackle 'deep trouble', says U.N. envoy
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-oceans/ocean-treaty-ne...
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