As we prepare to dive into a brand-new year, it’s natural to want to revive and refresh various parts of our lives. Whether that means organizing your household, purging your wardrobe or starting a new fitness regime, the start of a new year always seems to feel like the perfect time to start fresh.
And when it comes to a brand new start, what better way to start the process than by reviving that desktop wallpaper of yours? For me, the first thing I see on my computer when I start my workday can definitely have a significant impact on my mood or outlook for the day. When your day starts with a beautiful picture of a humpback whale and her calf or a calming sea turtle floating with the current, how could the day be anything but great?
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Dive in and save these marine wildlife-inspired wallpapers to your desktop, ocean lovers. We wish you the happiest of new years and hope these gorgeous photos can help you with that fresh new start in 2021.
2020 has been quite a year. We’ve faced a global pandemic, a contentious election, worsening climate change impacts and unprecedented economic and social challenges. Things have been hard, and continue to be hard, for families and communities around the world.
But despite all of that—and as a result of all of that—we have seen incredible examples of compassion, love and resilience. We’ve seen people wearing masks to protect each other, waiting in long lines to exercise their right to vote and rallying for the rights of Black, Indigenous and people of color.
We’ve also seen great wins for our ocean. I am in awe of those who have continued to advocate for our ocean throughout this trying year, including my wonderful colleagues at Ocean Conservancy and dedicated supporters like you. This is no small feat, especially considering the anti-ocean and anti-climate policies pushed by the current president and his administration.
Please join us in celebrating some of the biggest ocean wins of 2020.
Pebble Mine rejected
This fall, the Army Corp of Engineers denied a crucial permit, which hopefully ends the longstanding effort to develop a huge gold and copper mine in one of the most important and spectacular places on earth. The Pebble Mine would have been built at the headwaters of Bristol Bay, which is home to the world’s largest sockeye salmon run. Nearly 60 million sockeye are caught in Bristol Bay each year, and the thriving commercial fishery supports more than 140,000 jobs. The area has been home to Yup’ik, Aluti’iq and Dena’ina peoples since time immemorial, and the salmon, animals, berries and numerous other resources of the region are both a critical part of this ecosystem and a key source of food and subsistence fishing. Despite a conclusion by the previous administration that the mine would cause irreversible damage to the ecosystem and the communities that rely on it, the Trump administration reversed this finding and forged ahead. Your voice in support of Bristol Bay mattered—more than 700,000 people, including Ocean Conservancy supporters, opposed the mine. Ultimately, even the Trump administration was forced to conclude that a mine in this area would be “contrary to the public interest.”
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Arctic Ocean leases given up
In April, the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC) relinquished the 21 leases it held in the Beaufort Sea, in the Arctic Ocean. The relinquishment of those leases brought nearly to a close a remarkable story in a remarkable place. From 2003-2009, the federal government sold 727 leases covering 4.1 million acres to oil companies to explore and develop the Arctic Ocean. Indigenous peoples use the Arctic Ocean for subsistence hunting, and these areas are important for whales, polar bears and other iconic wildlife already threatened by climate change and are remote—there would be no way to clean up a major spill. Ocean Conservancy and others opposed the leasing and proposed drilling, and over the past several years, Shell and other companies have exited the Arctic. With ASRC’s relinquishment, only 13 of the 727 leases remain. Moving forward, we have the opportunity to prevent another cycle of leasing and development and to keep the Arctic off-limits to risky leasing and drilling.
Fighting for Trash Free Seas
The pandemic impacted all of us, and changed the way we work—especially our International Coastal Cleanup (ICC). Shutdowns were implemented around the world right as our ICC team was gearing up for a season of in-person cleanups. But around the world, volunteers and ocean lovers joined together to #CleanOn, participating in solo or socially distant cleanups. Disposable masks and gloves were found all over the world, with scientists estimating that we are using 129 BILLION masks every month. Stay tuned for a report from us next spring on total amounts of personal protective equipment found during the 2020 ICC season. Given the challenges this year, and the fact that trash and plastic were visible in all our lives in new and sobering ways, it meant even more that there were major victories in the fight for trash and plastic-free seas:
In 2020, we welcomed our first cohort of cities into the Urban Ocean Initiative, based in Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, India and Panama. This is a pivotal step in the challenge to reduce plastic waste from cities.
The Save Our Seas Act 2.0 was signed into law. This bill establishes ocean plastic pollution as a policy priority for the U.S. government. This legislation addresses critical infrastructure needs, helps fill key knowledge gaps and directs the United States to become an international leader in plastic pollution reduction and prevention. We are so appreciative of ocean advocates like YOU who asked your Senators to support marine debris legislation and are looking forward to taking the next legislative steps
Environmental nonprofits and others step up in the fight for diversity and inclusion
For us, like for many, 2020 brought a long-overdue reflection around our role in the fight for justice, equity diversity and inclusion. We recognize that for too long we have been absent, and that a just and equitable future requires far more from us. The health of people and our ocean are inexplicably linked, and we can’t address one issue without the other. I am thankful to all those committed to integrating justice, equity, diversity and inclusion in their work, and look forward to continuing this fight in 2021 and beyond. I’m thrilled to announce that we recently launched our search for a vice president for Justice and Equity—learn more here.
From all of us, I wish you and your loved ones a happy, healthy and safe New Year. Please stay safe, wear a mask and join us refreshed and renewed in 2021.
Around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has upended our lives this year, most heartbreakingly for the millions who have lost a family member, friend or loved one. For many of us, daily routines have shifted dramatically, from where we travel to who we see and what we eat. And the pandemic has had a disparate impact on Black, Indigenous and People of Color, both in terms of health and economic impacts. The pandemic has also had substantial impacts on fisheries and the seafood supply chain in the United States that brings fish and shellfish from ocean to plate. While not every part of this diverse industry has been affected in the same way, there are a few common changes worth sharing.
The pandemic has dramatically reduced consumer demand for seafood and disrupted seafood supply chains.
Critical scientific surveys that support sustainable management were canceled for safety reasons.
NOAA Fisheries and their partners use a series of surveys to collect data on how many fish are caught, how abundant fish are in the water and on the status of the ecosystems that support fish populations. They use these surveys to understand the size and trends of fish populations and to ensure that fishing stays within sustainable limits. Traditional surveys mostly rely on large research vessels. With COVID risks high in the tight quarters on a ship and high risks to remote coastal communities from bringing researchers, NOAA Fisheries canceled most of its 2020 surveys. Surveys that recorded what recreational anglers were catching at the dock, called creel or intercept surveys, were also canceled in many locations. It’s not clear if and when all of the various surveys and data collection programs will be running again, or whether these programs will resume in the same form as before the pandemic, but we do know that these gaps in data will have impacts for years to come. NOAA Fisheries and managers are working on ways to address the gaps in data and ensure management is sustainable even with survey disruptions.
There are some indications of an uptick in recreational fishing, but many recreational fishing businesses still faced challenges.
With indoor activities limited, many people headed outdoors during the pandemic and looked to their favorite recreational activities. While there is not a lot of data, there are anecdotal reports that recreational fishing in certain areas of the country was much higher than normal, at least during some of the pandemic. At the same time, many for-hire fishing operations, which take paying customers out fishing, were closed and faced the same challenges as other businesses while things were locked down. Speaking at a Congressional roundtable earlier this year, fishing guide Ashley Nicole Lewis noted that this year had been particularly hard because she was refunding bookings and not taking on new clients during the important spring and summer months, which left her no ability to prepare her business for the next year. Other fishermen, as well as bait and tackle shops, report that things were even busier than in previous years, especially during the summer months.
There were some outbreaks of COVID on fishing vessels and in processing facilities.
Because U.S. fishermen are helping maintain the food supply, they are considered essential workers. Similarly, seafood processing plants are considered critical infrastructure for the food and agriculture sector, so processors have remained at work. Like other essential workers, fishermen and processors have faced risks from working in close spaces during the pandemic. There have been several outbreaks of COVID-19 documented on large offshore fishing vessels and in processing facilities, and there were also labor issues that arose, like the 150 cannery workers that were forced into quarantine in an airport hotel without pay. In rural coastal areas with fisheries that rely on many seasonal workers, there were also concerns that influxes of new people could lead to outbreaks that would overwhelm local medical capacity. In Alaska fishing communities, extensive safety measures and protocols were put in place to try and prevent this outcome and were largely successful.
What does this all mean for sustainable fisheries and fish conservation?
It can be difficult to tell how all these changes will ultimately affect fish populations. It’s likely that some fisheries were not able to catch their full sustainable limit for the year. In other fisheries, there may be increased fishing that was not fully captured by surveys, meaning that our estimates of catch may be too low. What we do know is that sustainable fisheries work in part through the partnership of fishermen, scientists, managers and others like conservation groups, and the disruptions to fisheries from COVID-19 make sustainable management more challenging.
Officially deemed one of the most intense tropical storms in the southern hemisphere on record, Category 5 Cyclone Yasa ripped through the northern region of Fiji last Thursday, bringing powerful wind speeds that reached up to 177 mph. Fiji’s Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama, declared a state of natural disaster, which established a curfew across the archipelago and ordered the entire population to seek shelter. Torrential rain and widespread flooding devastated and isolated entire villages, and many parts of the country are still without power or water. Damages are estimated to cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Later weakening into a Category 2 storm, Yasa made its way towards Tonga, another small island nation in the South Pacific region.
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Cyclone Yasa and its destruction serve as a grim reminder of how tropical storms have become more severe with climate change and of the disproportionate burden that island nations are forced to bear. Warming ocean temperatures fuel the intensification of these storm systems, with rising sea levels heightening storm surges and flooding events. Meanwhile, coastal countries have reported a greater proportion of tropical storm events classified as Category 4 or 5 in recent decades. Fiji endured the devastating force of another top Category 5 storm in April, Cyclone Harold, which caused extensive flooding and destroyed buildings.
Similar to other Small Island Developing States (SIDS), Fiji contributes to an insignificant portion of global greenhouse gas pollution, yet its people are more severely impacted by the climate crisis than most developed nations. Even without the complications and significant economic instability caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, recovery efforts after natural disasters for SIDS can be difficult. Infrastructural challenges and insufficient financial resources are common roadblocks to recovering from and building resilience to persistent threats posed by worsening climate disasters.
Despite Fiji’s tiny carbon footprint, Prime Minister Bainimarama has made it his mission to tackle the climate crisis with the appropriate urgency necessary to stave off the worst of climate change. To do so, the 2015 Paris Agreement set a goal for countries to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels—the planet has already warmed by 0.95 degrees Celsius. In fact, Prime Minister Bainimarama was the first world leader to sign on to the landmark international pact. He was recently recognized as a recipient of the UN Environment Programme’s Champions of the Earth award, the UN’s highest environmental honor. Specifically, the award acknowledged Prime Minister Bainimarama’s advocacy for the ocean and its power in advancing climate change mitigation.
Fiji’s dedication to climate action was reflected in their Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), which outlines the country’s commitments to reduce their emissions under the Paris Agreement. In its NDC, Fiji committed to use 100% renewable energy for electricity generation by 2030, and it was one of the first nations to report that it would continue to build upon the commitments it made in its NDC. The island nation has also showcased its ocean-climate leadership by co-launching coalitions of ambitious Pacific governments, such as the Pacific Rim Ocean-Climate Action Partnership (PROCAP) and the Pacific Blue Shipping Partnership (PBSP). Fiji continues to display the effort necessary to address climate change as the crisis that it is, and it’s imperative that the international community take note and follow suit.
For those who continue to face the wrath of strengthening tropical storms, climate change isn’t a distant threat but a battle faced today. Many island communities are losing everything they have, sometimes multiple times per year, from cyclones like Yasa, and conditions are only expected to worsen as the ocean and climate become warmer. Over and above immediate relief efforts and climate resilience investments that are needed from the international community, attaining climate security for SIDS will require that all countries—particularly the major greenhouse gas emitters—prevent further warming. Although there are effective, realistic climate strategies to reduce greenhouse gas pollution—from scaling up clean energy to protecting and restoring ecosystems that store carbon—we are not yet on track to achieve the vision of the Paris Agreement. As countries build back from the COVID-19 pandemic, they should significantly boost the ambition of climate commitments in NDCs, ramping up efforts to fully eliminate carbon emissions from their economies as part of a “blue-green” recovery, and highlighting the power of ocean-based strategies. In addition, countries should adopt an “ocean decision” at the 2021 U.N. climate summit (COP26) in Glasgow, United Kingdom that would create an ongoing forum for advancing ocean-climate solutions. With a unified approach and Fiji as a global example of ambition, we are capable of reimagining and reshaping our societies into those that heal instead of harm.
This blog was written by Elise Georgeff. Elise is an Associate Researcher with the Marine Team at the International Council on Clean Transportation. She supports research on zero-emission vessel alternatives and addressing impacts on marine protected areas from shipping activity. Currently, Ms. Georgeff is aiding the ICCT Marine Team on a series of route-based ZEV feasibility studies, focusing on applying green technology to existing ship types and voyages.
The first 100 days of the Biden-Harris administration could be a whirlwind of climate action. The United States will seek to rejoin the Paris Agreement, and other initiatives could bring investment in green jobs and infrastructure and new clean energy incentives. The Biden Plan for A Clean Energy Revolution considers a number of industries and includes efforts to reduce the cost of “green” hydrogen production. That’s great, but even more can be done to support hydrogen’s potential for shipping.
Fortunately, there’s existing work the new administration can build upon. Several countries in Europe and Asia have already started incorporating hydrogen into their climate planning. And while decarbonizing maritime shipping is no easy feat, things like market incentives to make green hydrogen cost-competitive can already be found in Germany’s and Norway’s strategies.
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Also, just last month, the U.S. Department of Energy released a Hydrogen Program Plan. It focuses on the research, development and distribution of hydrogen from renewable, fossil, and nuclear energy sources as an emerging technology, and suggests opportunities toward marine applications. The time is now ripe to more formally incorporate the shipping sector into the Hydrogen Program Plan. This can be done with initiatives that tie the green energy sourcing of hydrogen to port infrastructure, and our recent research suggests that certain U.S. ports are particularly advantageous places to jumpstart such initiatives.
The parts are there, and the next step is to glue them together.
Hydrogen is being investigated as a fuel for several transport modes, and it’s in varying stages of development across these modes, as each has different requirements for success. In the case of maritime shipping, fuel cells powered by liquid hydrogen (LH2) are seen as one promising route for decarbonization, with pilot projects in the works by Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen K.K and one for a Norwegian cruise ship. Such fuel cells are already in use for specialty vehicles like forklifts, emergency backup power and portable power, and marine fuel cell manufacturer Ballard is also working to scale hydrogen technology up to the level of powering ships. Recently, the company introduced a module fuel cell design that can generate up to five megawatts of power, which falls under the maximum power needs of 74% of current, in-service, seaworthy vessels, according to IHS.
Although LH2 packs a lot of energy per unit mass, one concern is the highly insulated tanks that are needed to store it. As a result, this fuel requires about eight times as much space to provide the same energy as conventional shipping fuels. So, shipowners have concerns about whether LH2 can really power the largest ships on long voyages.
Being engineers, we dug into that question in this study funded by Ocean Conservancy. In analyzing 2015 operations data, we found that 43% of the container ship voyages on the Pacific shipping corridor between China and California—the longest nonstop shipping route in the world—could be fueled by LH2 fuel cells without any change in operations. A whopping 99% of voyages could be fueled by LH2 when just one refueling stop was added, or if 5% of cargo space was devoted to large fuel tanks.
Aside from what’s needed on the ships themselves, the port refueling infrastructure necessary for LH2 is also coming into focus, based on both the refueling methods of liquefied natural gas and what’s been learned in the 60 years that space programs have worked with large volumes of LH2. A follow-up paper exploring potential LH2 fueling ports on the transpacific corridor and the subsequent port needs produced some interesting results. Using the same 2015 data, we found that if an extra refueling stop is needed, the ports in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska alone could provide fuel for one-quarter of all voyages that need that additional stop. We also estimated that container ships could demand 47,000 tonnes of LH2 from the Aleutian Islands—6% of the total demand in the Pacific—because of the Islands’ strategic location between Asia and North America.
Additionally, the San Pedro Bay ports in California could be particularly important as LH2 refueling hubs. Annual demand could total 240,000 tonnes or one-third of all trans-Pacific container ship demand. Using current LH2 storage methods, on-site storage would require less than 1% of currently used port space at San Pedro Bay.
This all means the United States could be a key player in LH2 refueling in Pacific shipping if the right policies are put in place. For one, policy could help address concerns over costs. This ICCT commissioned study investigated the cost of producing hydrogen from renewable electricity in the United States and the European Union. It found that while the near-term costs for producing renewable, green hydrogen are high—a median of $9 to $11 per kilogram in the United States today, depending on how the electricity is sourced—those costs could be almost halved by 2050 with policy to promote financial incentives for research and development. U.S. domestic green hydrogen can become even more cost-competitive with an improved national hydrogen strategy that places more emphasis on policy and initiatives for ports and vessels.
It comes down to this: A comprehensive U.S. hydrogen strategy thathighlights the shipping sector as a major beneficiary toward its decarbonization goal would help support the connections needed to link green sourced hydrogen to the demand of U.S. ports. Other countries are already ahead when it comes to strategizing, and our research has identified U.S. ports as hubs that offer strategic opportunities for hydrogen. The United States, and the entire global shipping sector, stand to gain a lot if the Biden administration steps up to the plate.
And that’s no malarky!
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As for many ocean advocates around the world, Sir David Attenborough is one of my childhood heroes and a continued source of inspiration for my work. In the most recent Blue Planet documentary, A Life on Our Planet, his quote, “If we take care of our ocean, the ocean will take care of us,” resonated strongly with me as it is the mission of my work with the Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI).
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The GGGI is the largest and only global alliance solely dedicated to tackling the threat of abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear, or “ghost gear”, worldwide. Alongside 117 members, including 17 national governments, the GGGI builds evidence, informs policy, shares best practices and scales up tangible solutions to the ghost gear problem.
And it’s a major problem. According to Ocean Conservancy’s 2015 threat rank report, ghost gear is the single deadliest form of ocean plastic to marine life. It also harms fish stocks and fisher livelihoods and has major food security implications.
The recently launched High Level Panel (HLP) for a Sustainable Ocean Report highlighted that 3 billion people rely on food from the ocean as a source of protein and nutrition. It also highlighted the economic impact of our ocean: a healthy ocean contributes $1.5 trillion to the global economy annually and is the source of millions of jobs. Declining ocean health could cost the global economy more than $400 billion annually in the next 30 years. The report indicated that a strong investment in our ocean benefits our communities and our blue planet: for every $1 invested in healthy ocean action, there is a $5 return in benefits.
The desire for more action to protect what we love and the recognition that the status quo is no longer enough is driving bold pledges from international fora like the HLP.
Coinciding with the HLP report, the Ocean Panel launched the “Give It 100%” campaign, in which member states held events declaring their commitment to the goal to manage 100% of the ocean under their care sustainably by 2025, with the aim of galvanizing the political will to carry out an actionable agenda. The Ocean Panel also pledged action on a range of sustainability issues including eliminating the discard of fishing gear which turns it into ghost gear. The Ocean Panel is made up of leaders from 14 counties which combined make up 40% of the world’s coastlines, 30% of offshore exclusive economic zones, 20% of the world’s fisheries and 20% of the world’s shipping fleet.
However, if we want to see real change for our ocean, we need to make sure that actions at key bodies, including regional fishery management organizations like the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), actually reflect these pledges.
Already, we are seeing worrying signs: a recent Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission meeting failed to extend conservation measures into 2021, putting the health of tuna populations at risk and stalling progress on promoting responsible use of fishing gears like fish aggregating devices, or FADS.
The GGGI encourages countries to put their words into deeds by adopting and implementing best practices for the management of fishing gear, including the UN FAO Voluntary Guidelines for the Marking of Fishing Gear (VGMFG) and the GGGI Best Practice Framework for the Management of Fishing Gear (BPF). The BPF calls for clear limits on the amount of gear, including FADs, in use by a given vessel at a given time; and real-time reporting of fishing gear loss, including discontinued FADs, to ensure we have an accurate picture of the ghost gear problem and that retrieval of gear can be facilitated.
We hope that the countries who pledged to give their 100% for our ocean health will continue to do so across the board for our ecosystems, fish populations, coastal communities, our economy and our blue planet at large. Because, as David Attenborough says, “if we care for our ocean, the ocean will care for us.”
In a year fraught with bad news, we are sorry to report more disappointing news from November’s International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Marine Environmental Protection Committee Meeting (MEPC).
The IMO is responsible for the governance of global shipping, and the MEPC meets every nine months to consider protections for the marine environment. At this meeting, two important topics were on the agenda—greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and heavy fuel oil (HFO) use and carriage for use in Arctic waters.
Greenhouse gas emissions and heavy fuel oil are two topics that are closely linked. At the end of November, temperatures in the entire Arctic Circle were an average of twelve degrees higher than normal for the season. That’s not hyperbole or an outlier spot, and this year’s sad mark for the second-lowest sea ice minimum ever recorded suggests the entire region is melting before our very eyes. Going into MEPC 75, we had hoped the IMO would tackle both the root issue of the sector’s greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the threat posed by increased heavy fuel oil use from increasing shipping in the region. Starkly reducing the former, and quickly banning the use of the latter were both on the table for discussion.
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Instead, the committee approved a proposal that allows the shipping sector’s billion-plus tons of annual greenhouse gas emissions to keep rising. They also approved a ban on the use and carriage for use of heavy fuel oil by ships in the Arctic, but the exemptions to the ban mean that it ultimately does not go into effect for the rest of this decade.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Most galling about the decision on GHGs, it is a complete deviation from an already approved GHG emission reduction strategy. The IMO’s member countries had previously agreed to peak emissions as soon as possible then set a modest target for cuts by 2030 building to “at least” a 50% cut by 2050. This was well short of the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 Celsius target, which would require total decarbonization by 2035, but the IMO’s new measure falls shorter still. At best, the new measure will shave down emissions slightly but do nothing to peak its rise. With this measure in place, shipping GHG’s are expected to grow another 140 million tons in the same time frame, almost equivalent to the entire output of the Philippines.
Heavy Fuel Oils
Ocean Conservancy, along with other NGOs and Indigenous organizations, has been working for years to ban heavy fuel oil use and carriage for use in the Arctic. This extremely dirty fuel is already banned in Antarctica and poses grave threats to the Arctic marine environment. At this meeting the committee did approve a ban of the use and carriage for use of heavy fuel oil, implying immediate elimination of the world’s dirtiest fuel would take place in the region. Instead, the ban includes various loopholes that leave the Arctic, its Indigenous communities and wildlife facing the risk of heavy fuel oil spills for another decade. Under this “ban,” heavy fuel oil will continue to be used in the region until the full ban takes effect in 2029.
What’s Next?
Nations and regions serious about facing the climate crisis now must take immediate national and regional action to curb ship emissions. It’s time to act swiftly and set carbon equivalent intensity regulations consistent with the Paris Agreement for ships calling at their ports, require ships to report and pay for their pollution where they call dock and start to create low- and zero-emission priority shipping corridors.
The same applies to heavy fuel oil. The loopholes to the ban come in the form of five year exemptions for certain types of ships and the possibility of Arctic coastal states granting waivers to ships carrying their nation’s flag. Nations can step up and not issue these waivers, and we can all encourage ships eligible for exemptions to make a switch away from heavy fuel oil sooner than 2029. Nations can even ban heavy fuel oil within their waters, as Norway has done in Svalbard. At Ocean Conservancy, we’re working hard to ensure that HFO use and carriage for use is reduced now, whether required by the IMO or not.
At the bottom of our ocean, more than 7,000 feet below the water, there are mid-ocean ridges—underwater mountains caused when hot lava rises beneath the seafloor and tectonic plates split apart. New seafloor is formed and these regions are where we see examples of some of the thinnest points in the Earth’s crust, and some of the hottest temperatures.
This seafloor is a hot spot of complex cycles, ejecting hot, high-pressure water-rich sulfur, metals and more. These splits in the Earth are hydrothermal vents—spewing unimaginably hot water into the bone-chilling, cold sea.
As one of the most extreme areas in the world, you may think that nothing can possibly survive the pressure, total darkness and severe temperatures, but life always finds a way and here is where the yeti crab thrives.
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The crustaceans were found near the Pacific-Antarctic ridge, south of Easter Island, along hydrothermal vents. At just less than six inches long, yeti crabs have beefy and compact bodies to help them adapt to the highly competitive life on the seafloor. The habitable zone in which yeti crabs can survive is dangerously small—too close to the vents and they will instantly fry, too far and they can die of hypothermia. To stay alive, the crabs must pile on top of one another, clinging onto each other and the seafloor.
The defining characteristic of the yeti crab, however, is its “furry” claws. Their pincers are covered in blonde setae (bristle/hair-like structures) that enable them to harvest their main source of food: bacteria. Scientists found the crustaceans performed a sort of dance, waving their claws through the water to provide a constant flow of oxygen, methane and hydrogen sulfide, which helps bacteria grow.
Thus, a new family of squat lobsters, the Kiwaidae, was born. Although they are commonly known as “yeti crabs” due to their resemblance to the infamous, abominable snowman, scientists called this new species Kiwa hirsuta—“kiwa” coming from the name of a Polynesian deity that serves as a guardian of the ocean and “hirsuta” meaning “hairy” in Latin.
Since 2005, five more crustaceans have officially joined the yeti crab family with the potential of even more undiscovered yeti crabs hiding in some of the most extreme places on Earth.
There is still so much we don’t know about these crustaceans and the seafloor. It’s up to us to ensure our ocean is protected in order to preserve these incredible species and that we always support science and science-based solutions so that we can continue to learn from these amazing discoveries.
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This blog was written by Arielle Earn andKennedy Bucci. Arielle is an undergraduate student double majoring in Biodiversity & Conservation Biology and Political Science. Previously, she worked as an intern for the Center for Global Change Science at the University of Toronto to research the current state of knowledge on plastic pollution in the Laurentian Great Lakes. She is currently working as a research assistant in the Lab of Ocean Conservancy Science Advisor, Dr. Chelsea Rochman, to help identify the sources of microplastic pollution to watersheds across North America.
Kennedy is a Ph.D. candidate in the Rochman Lab at the University of Toronto and works in collaboration with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. Her research focuses on the biological and ecological effects of microplastic pollution in freshwater environments.
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In 1965, Lake Erie—one of the five Great Lakes of North America—was declared dead. Intense eutrophication (excessive nutrient concentrations), caused by years of nutrient emissions from industrial and agricultural runoff, severely threatened the health of Lake Erie and critically endangered the resources drawn from the lake.
As a result, experts and environmental groups initiated a massive and comprehensive study of the lake and the public took note. This environmental catastrophe on Lake Erie (which straddles the border between Canada and the United States) prompted both heads of state to create and implement the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1972. This agreement was put in place “to restore and enhance water quality in the Great Lakes ecosystem.” Management actions from both federal governments brought Lake Erie back to life. This internationally renowned environmental catastrophe became a success story of how countries could work together through sound science and bilateral negotiations to reverse environmental harm. Globally, we are beginning to understand the implications of our unsustainable relationship with plastic waste. Consequently, plastic pollution is a ubiquitous contaminant in aquatic environments, and the Great Lakes are no exception.
In the winter of 2018, Environment and Climate Change Canada asked us to write a systematic review to inform the Canadian Federal Government about the severity of the issue of plastic pollution in the Great Lakes. We were also asked to identify mitigation measures and policy recommendations based on our findings.
By analyzing Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup data, we show more than 3.5 million pieces of large plastic debris were collected by citizen scientists along the shorelines of the Great Lakes in a three-year period. The majority of those items were single-use plastics with cigarette butts, food wrappers, bottle caps, plastic bottles, plastic bags, straws/stirrers and drink lids being the most common.
To understand how these plastics impact wildlife in the Great Lakes, we broadened our search to look at effects across all freshwater organisms. We found that plastics can cause a range of effects on individual organisms, populations and even communities.
One study from our review tested the effect of microfibers and microbeads on a species of zooplankton – a freshwater flea. The researchers found that the outer shell (the carapace) of the flea was damaged when exposed to plastic microfibers in the lab. This plastic-induced damage further caused a reduction in the zooplankton’s reproductive capacity. A damaged flea may seem insignificant, but this type of effect is particularly daunting because zooplankton makes up the base of many food webs around the globe, including the Great Lakes. These zooplankton are in-part responsible for controlling algae blooms in shallow lakes and without them, larger algae blooms can cause eutrophication disasters like the death of a great lake. Nevertheless, both direct and indirect effects of plastic pollution in the Great Lakes remain largely unknown. However, results like these suggest there may be effects of plastic pollution on Great Lakes wildlife that need further investigation.
The studies making up our review informed the recently proposed ban on certain single-use plastics in Canada; these include plastic bags, stir sticks, 6-pack rings, cutlery, straws and some food service ware. All of these single-use plastic items are observed as litter on the Great Lakes shorelines during the International Coastal Cleanup. Some of the strategies we identified in our review, such as making producers responsible for end-of-life disposal (i.e., extended-producer responsibility), have also been proposed under Canada’s Proposed Integrated Management Approach to Plastic Products to Prevent Waste and Pollution. This is a huge step forward for the Great Lakes in tackling the plastic pollution problem.
As mentioned above, the federal governments of Canada and the United States signed the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1972 to save a system of lakes that were deemed invaluable. The bilateral agreement was supposed to protect these bodies of water from pollution and keep them healthy for future generations.
Today, we understand that the Great Lakes are once again threatened and we must act now to combat the ubiquitous problem of plastic pollution. Canadians and Americans alike must do their part if we are to succeed at cleaning up the Great Lakes once and for all.
The holidays look different this year, but at least one thing has remained the same: the arrival of the ubiquitous “ugly holiday sweater.” There’s nothing that cheers up a Zoom holiday party than watching your friends, coworkers and families decked out in holiday gear.
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Luckily, there is still a way you can have your fun by practicing my favorite of the three ‘R’s: REUSE. In the spirit of the holiday season, you can make your own festive sweaters using materials you already have on hand. It’s easy, it’s fun and you can even do it with friends and family on a video craft date. Follow our three simple steps to make your own ugly sweater:
1. Reuse, Reuse, Reuse
Work with what you have. Is there a sweatshirt you never wear? Now’s the time to give it a new life. And no need to head to the fabric store if you’ve got old t-shirts lying around. If you’re short on supplies, buy second-hand from places like Goodwill or your local thrift shop. If you’re not able to shop in person this year, websites like thredUP, Depop and Poshmark offer a great online thrifting experience—and (if you don’t feel like crafting) are already stocked with pre-worn, ready-made ugly sweaters.
2. Find Inspiration in Your Recycling Bin
Every year, volunteers with Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup collect millions of items from beaches and waterways across the world. Take inspiration from the list of top ten most commonly found items to create your ugly sweater. With a little paint, bottle caps (ranked fourth on the ICC top ten list this year) become Christmas ornaments. Plastic grocery bags (number seven on the ICC top ten list, and one of the deadliest forms of marine debris) can be glued or sewn on to create a snowy scene. Food wrappers, the number one most commonly found item at the 2019 ICC, offer a variety of possibilities—rinse them off and create snowflakes with white wrappers, or tinsel from silver ones.
3. Get Creative with Your Holiday Wishes
By creating your own holiday sweater, the pun-ibilities are truly endless. We recommend taking inspiration from the ocean itself and use your sweater to wish your friends and loved ones “Sea-sons greetings” or “Merry Fish-Mas.”
Now, Let’s Make One Together
To get you started, we developed three easy how-tos for you. Before starting any of these designs, you’ll need to:
Find a sweater base: Do you have an old sweatshirt you never wear? It’s time to give it a new life! If you don’t have one handy, try a local or online thrift shop.
Gather supplies: You’ll need a few basics like scissors, tape and fabric glue (or a needle and thread). Otherwise, the sky is the limit!
Option 1: SEAsons Greeting
Additional supplies: For this design, we used old International Coastal Cleanup t-shirts, felt scraps from previous craft projects and puffy fabric paint. You could use any old fabric scraps like lonely socks, faded bandanas or old sheets. You can even get creative with any art supply you might have lying around like lettering or yarn skeins.
Step 1: Sketch it Out
My colleague, Jordana, made this design. She picked seahorses because she loves them and fish because they were simple to draw. If you need a helping hand, you can find tons of simple ocean life clip art images to print, cut out and trace too.
Step 2: Lay it All Out
Getting the right layout takes a bit of trial and error, so hold off on the glue until you’ve had the chance to play around with the design. Think of where the decorations and lettering will go. Does the Santa hat look better facing one direction or the other? You’re the artist so it’s up to you! Don’t be afraid to experiment.
Step 3: Glue it Down
Carefully apply glue to the back of each element and apply it to the sweater base. It helps to do a little bit at a time rather than all at once. Fabric is floppy and you don’t want it to fold over itself and get glue everywhere. Pinning items in place until you can glue them can help too.
Step 4: Embellish
It’s time to add the festive details! Jordana created Santa hats out of red felt and white puffy paint and used buttons for eyes. She also opted for the “pearl” effect in the word “SEAson.”
Option Two: That’s a Wrap
Additional supplies: For this design, I used a plastic strawberry container, fabric paint and Kit Kat wrappers. I didn’t have wrapping paper so I cut, painted and decorated a paper grocery bag to create the gift box.
Step 1: Wrap and Secure
Bring your ugly holiday sweater into the third dimension! This is the trickiest part, but don’t be intimidated. I used the holes already in the container and ran a strand of yarn through them vertically so that both ends are outside the box. I repeated this process, about two inches apart from my first strand. Then, I began to wrap the box and marked the location of my yarn before securing it. I finished wrapping the box and created two holes where marked on each side to pull the yarn through the wrapping paper. I punctured my sweater using a knitting needle (you could also use scissors) and pulled the yarn through, tying it tightly.
Step 2: Get Trashy
I used the number one most commonly item at the 2019 International Coastal Clean Up to make my sweater. That’s right, food wrappers. You can get creative and cut them out as snowflakes, create tinsel or glue them down to create festive baubles.
Step 3: Embellish
I kept this sweater relatively simple, but the possibilities are endless. Add on puff paint details or more food wrapper creations to create the design of your dreams. I was inspired by the want to send off 2020 the only way it deserves, with an empty present made of trash.
Option 3: Trashing Through the Snow
Additional supplies: For this design I used a thrifted t-shirt, small condiment takeout containers and lids, bottle caps, candy wrappers, acrylic pain and fabric paint. Old rags, gloves, socks or any clothing could be used to make your decorations.
Step 1: Transform Your Trash
I relied on some of the top ten most commonly found items at the International Costal Cleanup to make this sweater. I used acrylic paint to turn bottle caps and plastic containers in Christmas ornaments. I transformed candy wrappers into festive snowflakes with just a cut of my scissors.
Step 2: Sketch & Lay it All Out
For this winter scene, I went freehand with the Christmas tree. If you need a helping hand, you can find tons of stencils and guides online to print out and trace. Once I cut out my tree, I laid it in the center of my shirt and experimented with laying out the other elements. The best part? If something goes wrong, the goal was always an ugly sweater!
Step 3: Put it all together
Glue down each element. Then, it is time to add the festive details. I trimmed out my tree with gold and red ornaments and used puffy paint to make sure everyone knows we’re “Trashin’ Through the Snow.”
Whether you’re celebrating with your pandemic pod in person or toasting loved ones on Zoom, these crafty creations are sure to spread holiday cheer. We can’t wait to see what incredible creations you come up with. Show us your crafty creations @OurOcean.
