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Monday, 7 October 2019
Friday, 4 October 2019
The Ocean Cleanup and Floating Marine Life
Earlier this year I warned that The Ocean Cleanup would catch and kill floating marine life. This week they announced they’re collecting plastic, and their picture shows HUNDREDS of floating animals trapped with plastic (red circles). We need to talk about this.
I’ve been raising the call on twitter, but recently I noticed that the image resolution of the image in question, downloaded from The Ocean Cleanup’s website, has changed. The image I downloaded yesterday was a higher resolution than the image I downloaded this morning. To help people better understand the issue, below I have provided the original high res image from The Ocean Cleanup (note it was not originally a PDF, but that’s the only file format I could export it to that wouldn’t be automatically compressed by WordPress. Happy to email the original jpg to anyone interested).
The Ocean Cleanup’s original high-resolution image as PDF: full_res_ocean_cleanup
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How do Hurricanes Affect Marine Life?
Early fall means hurricane season for those living near the Caribbean, South Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico. We know that hurricanes can be devastating on land—history is full of infamous storms that forever changed the areas affected (like Hurricane Andrew in Florida and Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf). This year we’ve already seen the devastating consequences of Dorian in the Bahamas, and hurricane season is far from over.
We know the damage hurricanes can cause on land. But what happens under the water? Unlike humans, fish don’t have mandatory evacuation orders. Some marine organisms can sense a storm is coming and move to safer waters: one study of grey triggerfish in North Carolina, for example, found the fish migrate to deeper waters as hurricanes approach. Those who stay in shallow waters swim faster than they usually do during the storm, then the fish return to normal behavior and abundance a few days after the storm. Another study found similar behavior in blacktip sharks—as storms approach and barometric pressure drops, the sharks swim to deeper waters until the storm is over.
While some large animals like sharks and dolphins might be able to swim away to less-turbulent waters, most marine organisms remain to face the storm.
Here are a few ways hurricanes can affect marine organisms:
Huge waves stir up the ocean floor.
Hurricanes generate massive waves that can reach up to 60 feet high and can affect ocean habitats 300 feet below the surface. Waves can topple or even more rocks and coral, which damages the structure of coral reef habitats. A 2017 study in Florida and Puerto Rico found that two coral species that provide important structure in nearshore reefs (Acropora cervicornis and Orbicella annularis) were greatly impacted after Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Animals that are fixed to the ocean floor, like anemones and sponges, can die by being smothered in sand or hit by tumbling rocks. It’s not fun for free-swimming animals, either, who can get caught up in undercurrents and tossed into rocks and other structures. These powerful waves also bring up colder waters from the deep—this water has less dissolved oxygen than surface water, causing animals to suffocate and die.
Heavy rains change salinity and oxygen levels.
Hurricanes bring heavy rains, which often dump on an area in a short time period. The wettest hurricane on record was 2017’s Hurricane Harvey, which poured over 60 inches of rain in Texas, resulting in massive flooding that displaced tens of thousands of people. Large amounts of freshwater inundating marine ecosystems in a short period of time can alter the salinity of the seawater, resulting in fish die-offs. A study by Florida Fish and Wildlife found that two 2004 hurricanes resulted in a drop in salinity from 26% to 15% in the Indian River Lagoon. During those two hurricanes, the fish community changed immediately following the hurricane, but scientists found that it had returned to normal after several weeks
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Damage on land could increase pollution.
Hurricanes damage infrastructure and flood terrestrial environments, leading to increased runoff of toxins and pollution into the ocean. Runoff of fertilizer, pet waste and chemicals can help fuel harmful algal blooms, which can create dead zones and suffocate marine life. In North Carolina during Hurricane Florence in 2018, at least 50 hog lagoons, or ponds of hog waste, overflowed and sent millions of gallons of hog feces into the surrounding waterways. Coastal flooding could also introduce even more marine debris, which can entangle or be consumed by marine life.
Problems for marine organisms mean problems for the communities and industries who rely on them. Hurricanes can cause fish die offs and destroy commercial and recreational fishing gear, which can have catastrophic effects on the fishing industry. In 2017, Hurricanes Irma and Maria caused $95 million in damages in Florida fishing communities alone, and damaged commercial fishing vessels accounted for 45% of the losses. NOAA estimated $98 million in lost revenue—a substantial number in a state that relies on the billions of dollars brought in by commercial and recreational fisheries every year.
Discussing and preparing for the effects of hurricanes on fisheries and the communities who rely on them is crucial. This is especially true because these types of storms are projected to become more intense as the ocean warms, as we learned in the recent “Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate” or SROCC report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Hurricane season this year is far from over, but here’s hoping that the ocean—and the communities who rely on it—stay safe!
The post How do Hurricanes Affect Marine Life? appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.
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Thursday, 3 October 2019
California Leads the Way in Preparing for Climate Change
As we have learned from the recent release of the IPCC special report on ocean and cryosphere, changes to our ocean and coasts are coming ever faster, and we need to prepare for them. Last Friday, September 27, by signing SB576 (Umberg), Coastal resources: Climate Ready Program and coastal climate change adaptation, infrastructure, and readiness program, California Governor Gavin Newsom took the Boy Scouts’ motto to heart and in so doing has helped prepare California for climate change.
This measure addresses the risks facing the California coasts: extreme weather events, sea-level rise, storm surge and other coastal hazards. These changes threaten coastal communities, infrastructure and natural resources.
Nearly 80% of California residents live within 30 miles of the coast, and the impacts of climate change pose a significant threat to California’s $45 billion yearly ocean-based economies. Sea level rise combined with storm-driven waves pose a direct risk to both public and private property, and infrastructure on the coast. Rising ocean waters threaten sensitive coastal areas, habitats, marine life and recreation. Sea level rise alone could cause $17 billion in infrastructure damage by 2050, according to California’s Fourth Climate Assessment.
With the passage of SB576, California will develop and implement a coastal climate adaptation readiness program designed to improve the resiliency of the state’s coastal communities, infrastructure and habitats. The California Ocean Protection Council will coordinate with state coastal conservancies to develop criteria to prioritize the types of projects needed to improve climate change resiliency in coastal zones. The bill also requires collaboration with scientists, universities and non-governmental organizations to share information about coastal climate adaptation and present that information to the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research.
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In addition, SB576 recognizes the connections between climate mitigation and adaptation, and that need to act on both aspects of the problem, as well as to build resilience that allows habitats and communities better to withstand the effects of climate change. The bill prioritizes natural infrastructure solutions, like wetlands and seagrass beds, that can provide both carbon sequestration—helping mitigate climate change—and protection from sea-level rise and storm surge, as well as provide habitat for fish and other species.
As the Executive Officer of the State Coastal Conservancy, Sam Schuchat, said, “California has long been a leader in understanding the reality of a changing climate. [This] legislation shows that we will also lead the way in implementing adaptation strategies that give long-term protection to coastal communities while preserving natural resources. By securing our Climate Ready program in statute, and prioritizing multi-benefit projects that use natural infrastructure, the Governor and Legislature have equipped us to better help California prepare for climate change through projects that use nature to provide flood protection, reduce coastal erosion, and increase public access to the coast.”
This bill fills a significant void in the state’s efforts to store and share valuable coastal data, provides an important safeguard for coastal communities, their economies and their residents, and continues to support California’s leadership in science. By signing SB576 and supporting Senator Tom Umberg and the Legislature’s work on this issue, Governor Newsom has continued California’s leadership by making an important investment in California’s health and future that other jurisdictions can emulate.
The post California Leads the Way in Preparing for Climate Change appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.
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Wednesday, 2 October 2019
To All 2019 International Coastal Cleanup Volunteers: Thank You
On Saturday, September 21, volunteers around the world went out to their local beaches and waterways, rolled up their sleeves and took part in the 34th annual International Coastal Cleanup (ICC). While the results are still coming in, all of us at Ocean Conservancy are absolutely blown away.
I was following along from the West Coast, and it was incredible to see results come in throughout the day. Texts and photos from colleagues at Ocean Conservancy’s flagship cleanups in Miami and Washington D.C. showed weird finds, huge crowds and, sadly, massive loads of plastic pollution.
In Miami, volunteers—including Ocean Conservancy CEO, Janis Searles Jones—braved heavy rain and winds to clean up historic Virginia Key Beach Park. The event was part of the #SuperCleanupChallenge effort to remove and divert 54 tons of plastic and trash from Florida’s coast and waterways as part of the Miami Super Bowl Host Committee’s Ocean to Everglades (O2E) environmental initiative.
The Washington D.C. cleanup broke local records for attendance and pounds of trash collected with more than 1,000 volunteers removing more than 6,000 pounds of trash from along the Anacostia River’s coast.
On the ground at Ocean Conservancy’s third flagship cleanup in Santa Monica, California (in partnership with Heal the Bay), it was clear that people were excited to be taking action on ocean plastic pollution any way they could: families came out to the beach in droves and collected thousands of items like cigarette butts and plastic food wrappers, while local divers took to the water and found all sorts of crazy debris as part of Project Aware’s Dive Against Debris. Even TV and film stars like Jeri Ryan and Austin Nichols joined in the effort.
We saw social media posts about ICC events big and small, near and far: from Bretman Rock’s hilarious Instagram of his one-man cleanup in Hawaii to photos of groups in Mexico, it was truly a global effort.
We’re still waiting for cleanup data to come in from most locations, but we’re amazed by what we’re already seeing. In all, nearly 3,000 volunteers turned out at Ocean Conservancy’s three flagship events and removed more than 8,000 pounds of trash. We’ve already received data entries from more than 50 countries and counting, and preliminary numbers from Clean Swell show that volunteers logged over ONE MILLION individual pieces of trash using the app in just 24 hours.
Remember: Our efforts to eliminate ocean plastic pollution simply start at the Cleanup—they don’t end there. We can all Skip the Straw, Quit the Cutlery and advocate for smart policies in our respective communities.
Every piece, every choice matters—we are all part of the solution. From all of us at Ocean Conservancy: thank you.
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The post To All 2019 International Coastal Cleanup Volunteers: Thank You appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.
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Tuesday, 1 October 2019
Our Ocean is Home
Imagine moving to a new country, a new city that doesn’t mimic the place that you’ve called home your entire life. You start clinging to things that feel familiar. Whether it’s a Durian fruit that you hated eating growing up or sticking to a person that speaks your native tongue, the one thing that remained constant, provided me hope and embraced me throughout this transition was our ocean.
“Where is your hometown?” has always been a difficult question for me to answer. This question reminds me of the countless times my family had to move—trading one home for another, constantly seeking a better life for our family and its future generations. The ocean is what continues to be a constant for me—the salty air, the sand between my toes, the anticipation of rising and falling tides. It brings back the feelings from home that I’ve lost and regained. It reminds me of my family and our resiliency throughout the challenges that we’ve faced. The ocean is home to me because no matter where life takes me, as long as I can see and feel the ocean breeze, I know I’ll be fine.
Looking back, this connection is what pushed me towards a career in marine conservation. Being born and raised in coastal cities, it feels right to be protecting our ocean and advocating for the communities that rely on it for food and livelihood—especially my own. My home province of Negros Occidental, Philippines is often called the “Sugar Bowl of the Philippines”. It is also home to one of the last remaining marine reserve and wildlife sanctuaries in the country—Danjugan Island. Danjugan Island’s conservation is a community effort by the Negrenses. It is a project led by the Philippine Reef and Rainforest Conservation Foundation to show the rest of the country that there is a way to revive our wetlands and save our rich biodiversity. There may be a perception that only scientists can be considered ocean conservationists but Danjugan Island is growing the communities within Negros Occidental and proving that we can all be ocean conservationists! They educate and empower the youth on the importance of marine conservation and they lead local beach cleanups to get the communities from different municipalities within Negros involved!
I was fortunate enough to visit Negros Occidental last year after migrating to California back in 2011. It was like coming full circle with an early part of my identity, visiting a home that was significant to my marine conservation calling. The Danjugan team welcomed me with open arms as they taught me about their camping programs, barangay beach cleanups, wala usik (zero waste) initiative. They reminded me of the power of a community-based solution in tackling ocean problems and how having a connection to this island is what truly drives this change. There is sincerity in being able to lead workshops in Ilonggo; it provides more inclusivity to the conservation work. You can see that by how fishermen, students and small family owned business owners volunteer their time regularly to participate in baranggay beach cleanups! This just tells us that conservationists can be anyone, and you definitely do not need to be a scientist to make an impact.
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Being able to connect with people in Danjugan is a memory that I will treasure forever. As much as they were excited to share with me all their big wins, they also treated me as part of their community. They reminded me that Negros is home—that I am still a Negrense through and through even if the California Bay Area accent filters through my Ilonggo. They reminded me that home can mean more than just a place but the communities you’ve built throughout your life—home can be both Negros and the Bay Area. Home is where I can feel the ocean breeze.
Now more than ever, as I’ve once again moved away from another home far from the comforts of the ocean breeze, I keep those reflections with me. As I listen to my calling that’s taken me to Washington, D.C. I remind myself of that feeling of home as I start my fellowship in Ocean Conservancy. That feeling that inspires me to do the work that people in Danjugan are doing: protecting our ocean for future generations to come.
The post Our Ocean is Home appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.
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GO-SHIP Bibilography available online
The GO-SHIP Zotero bibliography is now synchronized with a Google scholar repository that allows for the tracking of citations and thus indicates uptake of GO-SHIP data. More information.
from Web sites and blogs – Ocean acidification https://ift.tt/2myimNQ https://ift.tt/eA8V8J
from Web sites and blogs – Ocean acidification https://ift.tt/2myimNQ https://ift.tt/eA8V8J
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