Fishing Nets May Cause Extinction of the Maui's Dolphin

In the past, I have written blog posts about the dangers of fishing with large nets. These nets are incredibly destructive catching large amounts of bycatch, or unwanted fish, and causing a huge threat to marine mammal species. I have recently learned that large fishing nets, usually anchored to the ground are catching and large amounts of Maui's dolphins and they are nearing extinction. The fishing industry needs to see that the ocean is not their home and that fishing practices must become sustainable and ecofriendly. 

The Maui's dolphin is the worlds smallest species of dolphin usually reaching a lenth of 1.7 meters which is about 5 feet and 7 inches. Maui's dolphins live only on the west coast of New Zealand. With only 55 living members of the species (compare that to 111 in 2004) the Maui's dolphin is now listed as critically endangered meaning that they could become extinct in the near future, within our lifetime! The coast is supposedly protected  from fishing in the areas where Maui's dolphins are found however the Maui's dolphin are commonly entangled or struck by large, anchored fishing nets. This rare species can not afford to be killed from human influence. The areas where the Maui's dolphins live must be protected in order to save their species. Humans do not own the ocean and humans do not live in the ocean. We have to stop invading the ocean and endangering beautiful creatures like the Maui's dolphin. Dr. Barbara Maas, a zoologist at Cambridge University said "Their extinction is really imminent now, within a few years. New Zealand is a civilized country, which markets itself as an unspoiled paradise. They must act before it is too late." Marine mammal species should not be pushed to extinct because of the error of human ways. The New Zealand government should put more harsh fishing bans in place where Maui's dolphins live. The ocean is their home and we are only intruders, people must learn to respect the ocean and marine mammals.

                                          Maui's dolphin via flickr.com cliff1066

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2118304/Worlds-smallest-dolphin-threat-nets-species-reduced-just-55-survivors.html

http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/native-animals/marine-mammals/dolphins/mauis-dolphin/facts/

Fish Swallow Tons of Plastic Each Year

Have you ever wondered just how many tons of plastic waste are dumed into the ocean each year?  According to a blog on the New York Times website about 7 million tons are dumped into the ocean every year. This number was shocking to me. This plastic is now slowly breaking down and ending up in the stomachs of fish. Companies should not dump their waste plastic into the ocean and alternative ways to clear waste plastic should be found.

A new study has found that in the North Pacific ocean alone, fish swallow between 12,000 and 24,000 tons of plastic a year. This number is completely unacceptable and refelcts upon the unhealthy amounts of plastic that are dumped into the ocean every single year. These numbers are also alarming scientist and environmentalist alike. Doug Woodring, the co founder of a non profit organization called Project Kaisei that supports research on waste plastic in the ocean, said "our ecosystem and environment is paying the price. The aggregation of plastic waste, even in remote places, is now evident to the point where the hope for dilution or turning our heads on the problem is no longer a solution." A solution to the waste project problem must be solved. Fish can not continue to swollow plastic, it is not good for them and it is absolutely not good for our oceans. Plastic can be recycled, new technology can even turn plstic into oil! there is no need to outsource plastic to our oceans.

                                             flickr.com Kevin Krejci



http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/08/fish-ingesting-plastic-waste-study-finds/

Seismic Exploration Leads to Ocean Noise

     Imagine loud explosions constantly going off in your neighborhood, you would be unable to concentrate, and have hearing damage. Plans have moved forward to begin dangerous seismic drilling for oil on the mid and south Atlantic coastlines.This drilling is harmful to many marine species and the government should not allow companies to continue this form of oil exploration.

     "Using giant arrays of seismic air guns to explore for oil and gas is equivalent to blasting dynamite in a neighborhood every 10-12 seconds for weeks or months on end." This fact was shocking to me. The ocean is not our home and humans should not invade it in such a loud and overbearing manner. Seismic drilling uses loud high-pressure air guns to look for water below the ocean. I understand that the world has a large demand for oil and new sources are needed, however, I feel that the search for oil should not happen at the expense of marine life such as the endangered North Atlantic right whale.

                                         North Atlantic right whale near dolphins, flickr.com myFWC Research

 This form of drilling can also decrease the catch of commercial fishing. I see this starting a vicious cycle: if more seismic drilling occurs in an area then the commercial fishing rates may drop there. As the rates drop fishermen may then start to fish new areas which endangers new fish and opens new parts of the ocean to the dangers of commercial fishing. Then, as the span of seismic drilling locations increase the fishermen continue to have to move into new territory. I think that explained the dangers the best when he said "“Today’s announcement is great for petroleum companies, but horrible news for our coastlines and a potentially deadly blow to ocean fisheries and wildlife. It’s yet another reason why we need to break our dangerous addiction to oil—not find more ways to feed that addiction." Seismic drilling can not be tolerated and companies need to find new ways to look for oil or reduce the amount of drilling done.


http://ecowatch.org/2012/offshore-oil-exploration-proposal-horrible-for-oceans-and-marine-life/

New Hope in the Battle Against Shark Finning

     In China, a bowl of shark fin soup can sell for over $100 and it is used to show respect to a guest. Because of the high demand for this delicacy many shark populations have become decimated and many species have become endangered. For example, in the last 25 years the population of the hammer head shark in the west Atlantic ocean has decreased by 89%. This number is shocking and unacceptable to me. I think that the companies and fishermen who fin sharks should stop their highly destructive method of fishing and the sell of shark fins should be banned or highly limited. According to an article by the New York Times online, many new laws are being put into place to stop shark finning and help control shark population numbers. These actions include banning the sale of shark fins in Hawaii, Oregon, Washington and some parts of Canada. I see this as a huge step froward and a glimmer of hope for the decimated shark populations.
      Even in countries with a high demand for shark fin soup people are taking action to save sharks, an essential part of the marine ecosystem and a beautiful and intelligent predator. In China, retired basketball super star Yao Ming has taken a stand against shark finning in campaigns and ads. The conservation group WildAid has also taken a stand to help end shark finning. Because of these recent efforts sales have been reduces in Singapore and Taiwan and the Chinese version of Ebay, called Ali Baba, will no longer allow for the sale of shark fins on their website. This is a great thing and it shows that shark finning can be reduced. The more people are informed about the problem and realize the consequences the more shark finning can be reduced.
 
     Commercial made by WildAid and Yao Ming


      However we still need more companies and organizations to push fir saving the sharks! Which can be a difficult task given their antagonistic image. In the article Marine ecologist John Bruno points out “These bans go part way, but you’re still allowed to fish sharks without a permit. In North Carolina, there are shark derbies for fun, where they are hung by their tails. We think it’s O.K. to do that with this ocean predator, but we wouldn’t dream of doing it to a terrestrial animal like a bear.” My hope is that people will learn to love and respect sharks and help stop the massive slaughter of sharks for soup.

 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/11/science/earth/11shark.html?_r=1

Ban Shark Finning

Shark. Just the word strikes up fear inside of many people. We think of Jaws and horrifying attack stories. But when I hear the word "shark" I think of a magnificent, infatuating, apex predator. Sharks are not mindless killing machines, Southcoast Style points out that people have a 1 in 63 chance of dying from the flu compared to a 1 in 11 million chance of being killed by a shark.They also reveal that "Over 17,000 people die from falls each year. That’s a 1 in 218 chance over your lifetime, compared to a 1 in 11 million chance of being killed by a shark." Sharks are not out to get humans and humans are not an appealing meal to sharks. As my oceanography teacher pointed out to me, humans are too bony and it takes too much energy to dine on a human. I hope I can show you why shark finning should be stopped and laws should be put into place controlling the practice. 

flickr.com from StormyDog

Shark finning is the practice of cutting off a shark's fins and then throwing the sharks body back into the water. These sharks are then eaten by other fish or drown because oxygen is not flowing over their gills (sharks must be in motion constantly).The rest of the shark's body is practically useless in the market because shark meat is not in high demand where as shark finning is a multi-billion dollar industry. Most of these sharks are caught by longline fishing which is a very effect method of catching sharks that is causing drastic species number drops due to overfishing. So why cut off a shark's fin? For shark fin soup, a delicacy in many Asian cultures. Since the advent of new and improved fishing techniques shark finning has only increased. This is a practice that must be stopped because sharks are vital to the ecosystem and because it is simply inhumane.It is shocking to me that people can cut off all of a living creature's fins and then throw it back into the ocean for dead. This is having a huge impact on sharks species numbers and experts have estimated that most species of sharks will be lost within a decade if the practice of longline shark fishing is continued. This fact was the most shocking to me: For every human that is killed by a shark humans kill about 2 million sharks. Shark finning has been banned in California and I think that it should be banned everywhere or at least controlled for a start. It could be controlled by requiring fishermen to bring the entire shark into port (then they wouldn't have room for as many) and also require them to record information about the sharks such as species and sex. Then after it is controlled it could eventually become completely banned. Shark finning is inhumane and a waste of resources and it should be stopped.

http://www.sharkwater.com/education.htm
http://southcoaststyle.co.za/shark-attack-facts-how-likely-are-you-to-get-attacked-by-a-shark

Mangroves and Shrimp Farming

photo by halseike flickr.com

Although it may seem at a glance that a mangrove forest is just a bunch of trees with crazy tangled roots mangrove forest are actually a very thriving and important marine ecosystem. The mangroves are very important because there are not many other large plants that can live in salt water. The mangroves help to prevent erosion and protect from storm winds. Mangroves are often referred to as a "nursery" because so many species of marine life chose to lay their eggs in the shelter of the mangroves inter-tangled roots. However, commercial shrimp farming is beginning to threaten this fragile environment through deforestation. This leaves many marine species without a safe place to lay their eggs or a safe shelter from large predators. According to Wikipedia about 35% of the mangrove's area has been lost in the last few decades and "The United Nations Environment Program also estimated shrimp farming causes a quarter of the destruction of mangrove forests."

This video shows the importance of mangrove forests and briefly discusses Florida's mangrove protection laws.

I think that mangroves should be protected worldwide and shrimp farming companies should replant mangroves once their shrimp farms have died off.


A lot of commercial shrimp farming happens in Latin America, Africa and Pacific islands. To put in a shrimp farm mangroves must often be destroyed. These farms can be up to 1,000 hectares in size (1 hectare=2.74 acres). However, because of the nature of shrimp farming, disease and pollution quickly wipe out large shrimp farms.Once disease has wiped out a farm the mangroves are often not replanted. This is causing a large problem within mangrove populations. As the demand for shrimp grows more mangroves are cut down and not replaced. This has huge ecological consequences from reductions in species numbers to increased erosion. All that needs to be done to start rebuilding the mangrove ecosystem is reforestation. Laws that require commercial shrimp farming agencies should be put into place in all major shrimp farming areas. Hopefully as the effects of losing mangroves become more apparent more countries will make and enforce these laws.

http://mangroveactionproject.org/issues/shrimp-farming/shrimp-farming
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangrove

Illegal Drift Net Fishing

They call them "walls of death," giant drift nets that float in the open ocean to catch large schooling fish, but target fish aren't all that are caught. According to an article by the Environmental Justice Foundation," an estimated 85% of animals caught in driftnets are thrown back into the sea, dead or dying." The foundation also estimates that the deaths of 10,000 cetaceans (dolphins, whales, porpoises) are caused by driftnets each year in just the Mediterranean. Driftnet fishing is illegal. However, many factors allow drift netting to be continued as governments turn their backs to this inhumane fishing method. Illegal driftnet fishing should be stopped and new methods should be used to catch large schooling fish.


Although driftnets are successful in catching target fish they also catch many non-target species including: dolphins, whales, sharks, rays and sea turtles. While considering these facts keep in mind that six of seven species of sea turtle are considered endangered and three of those six are critically endangered. These creatures can not afford to be lost to by-catch and illegal fishing practices. These nets are not easily seen in the open ocean. Fish, mammals and turtles swim into them and become entangled. Dolphins and turtles drown and non-target fish become entangled. Illegal driftnet fishing can be slowed and these useless killings can be stopped. 


This video shows some of the effects of driftnet fishing and also explains why drift net fishing continues even after it was banned.

All forms of drift net fishing were made illegal in all Mediterranean states. So why is it still happening? The demand for large quantities of fish reinforces fishermen's illegal drift netting practices. With driftnets, fishermen can easily catch enough fish to support themselves and supply the world's large demands for fish. Governments often turn their backs to these practices. However, these practices are not necessary. Sustainable fisheries can catch fish and remain environmentally friendly while still meeting demands. If we make an effort to buy fish from sustainable fisheries we can make the demand for driftnet fishing lower. The Monterey Bay Aquarium has guides to help people select appropriate forms of fish based on regions. These guides can help you to avoid eating fish that have likely been caught due to driftnets or other forms of fishing that harm marine environments. I encourage you to download this list for your region and support sustainable fisheries!


http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/download.aspx

http://www.ejfoundation.org/page166.html
http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/finder/marineturtles/marineturtles.html