Question of the day:

1. Question of the day: • What are some examples of human impacts upon the oceans? • What are some ways to alleviate these impacts?

2. Case Study:Depleting Bluefin Tuna Stocks • Being fished at 4 times the sustainable level • Economic value places it in danger • Conservation measures protect the species • Overfishing • Harvesting of fishes faster than they can reproduce • 30% of worldwide fishes • 80% of commercial fish stocks in US • If overfishing and pollution aren’t curbed, populations of all harvested seafood species will be gone by 2048

3. Blue Fin Tuna video clip • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsbx6dQuRhQ&safe=active

4. Human Impacts on the Ocean • Fisheries and aquaculture • Marine shipping • Marine pollution • Coastal development • Offshore mining • Global climate change • In 2008, less than 4% of ocean remained unaffected by human activities; 41% serious harm

5. Human Impacts on the Ocean • Marine Pollution and Deteriorating Habitat • Paradox: ocean provides food but is used as dumping ground • Pollution increasingly threatens fisheries • 80% of ocean pollution comes from land activities

6. Human Impacts on the Ocean

7. Human Impacts on the Ocean

8. Overfishing • World Fisheries • Valuable food resources • 90% of world’s catch is fishes, • 6% is clams, oysters, squid, octopus, and other mollusks • 3% is crustaceans: lobsters, crabs, shrimp • 1% is marine algae • World’s Annual Harvest • 1950 - 19 million tons • 2004 - 95 million tons

9. Overfishing • Problems and Challenges for the Fishing Industry • No nation has legal claim to open ocean • Resources are susceptible to overuse and degradation (Tragedy of the Commons) • Many species have been harvested to the point where their numbers are severely depleted • Unstable for marine species that rely on them as part of food web • At least 75% of world’s fish stocks are exploited, overexploited or depleted • Growing human population requires protein • Technological advances allows efficient catch, removing all fish from an area • 25% of all is bycatch (unintentionally caught, then discarded)

10. What a Scientist Sees

11. Human impacts past 5 years • HW check and discussion

12. Aquaculture Impacts • Aquaculture • Fish farming: growing of aquatic organisms for human consumption • Fresh and marine water • HDCs harvest more from open ocean • Developing nations harvest more from aquaculture • Abundant supply of cheap labor • Limit to harvest is the area available for farming • Fish farms have dense populations • Lots of polluting waste • Cause net loss of wild fish (raised fish tend to be carnivorous) • Ocean ranching: deep-water, off-shore aquaculture • Doesn’t harm coastline, but less oversight

13. Aquaculture cage farming

15. Ocean Dumping • Shipping, Ocean Dumping, Plastic Debris • Millions of ships dump oily ballast and waste • MARPOL bans marine pollution from shipping industry • Not well enforced • Ocean Dumping Ban Act • Cities used to dump sewage into ocean, disease-causing organisms contaminated shellfish • Plastic waste • Doesn’t degrade, just breaks up into smaller pieces • Pacific Garbage Patch, 2009, 2x size of Texas • Plastic pieces entangle marine mammals and birds • Filter feeders ingest plastic pieces, carriers of PCBs

16. Crazy Ocean Dumping Stories • Wired Science video clip

17. Plastics and Debris Great Pacific Garbage Patch Video clip from Wired Science

18. Coastal development • Coastal Development • Alters or destroys coastal ecosystems: • Mangroves, salt marshes, sea grass beds, coral reefs • Coastal areas overdeveloped, highly polluted, overfished • Coastal management plans are inadequate • Biggest problem is human population size • 60% of world’s population lives within150 km (93 mi) of coastline • As much as 75%, by 2025

19. Human Impacts on Coral Reefs • 25% of world’s corals are at high risk • Silt washing downstream from clear-cut forests is smothering reefs • High salinity from freshwater diversion projects • Overfishing of top predators • Damage by tourists • Pollution from ocean dumping and coastal pollution • Bleaching = stressed corals expel zooxanthellae

20. What a Scientist Sees- Coral Bleaching

21. Coral Bleaching

22. Offshore Extraction of Mineral and Energy Resources • Large deposits of minerals lie under the sea floor • Manganese nodules - • mining would adversely affect sea life and market value would not cover expense of mining • Disputes over deposits under international waters • Petroleum - • Major source of energy • Major threat to fishing

23. Manganese deposits

24. Oil Spills • Student research and presentations

25. Climate Change • Incomplete understanding, unanticipated effects • There could be a disruption of the ocean conveyor belt, which transports heat around the globe • Climate warming could shut down conveyor belt within a decade • Could cause major cooling in Europe • Major warming in other parts of the world • Would not sequester CO2 into ocean  more CO2 in atmosphere  more warming  more weakening of belt

26. Global Climate Change • What are some of the harmful environmental effects associated with the fishing industry? With aquaculture? • How does the widespread use of plastics contribute to ocean pollution? • How might the effect of global climate change on the ocean alter the global climate?

27. STOP

28. Addressing Ocean Problems • Learning Objectives: • Describe international initiatives that address problems in the global ocean • Explain goals associated with correcting ocean problems in the future

29. Addressing Ocean Problems • Problems are complex and require complex solutions • UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) -1994 - 157 countries have ratified • Protecting ocean resources • UN fish stocks agreement - 1995 • Regulates marine fishing • Fishery Conservation and Management Act - 1977 • Protect essential fish habitat for 600 species • Reduce overfishing, rebuild populations, minimize bycatch • Fishing quotas, restrictions on fishing gear, limits on number of fishing boats, closure of fisheries during spawning

30. Addressing Ocean Problems • Future Actions • US Commission on Ocean Policy-2004 report • Create a new ocean policy to improve decision making- • Consolidate agencies • Strengthen science and generate information for decision makers • Need for high quality research • Enhance ocean education to instill in citizens a stewardship ethic • Environmental education should be part of the curriculum at all levels, including strong marine component

31. Addressing Ocean Problems • Future Actions • Establishment of “no-take” reserves • Substantial reduction of fishing fleet • Remove subsidies of fishing industry • Adopt an ecosystem-based approach to manage ocean environments • Focus on preserving the health and function of the entire marine ecosystem • Establish networks of fully protected marine reserves • Less than 5% of US marine environments have been protected, with great success

32. Addressing Ocean Problems

33. Case Study • The Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico • N and P runoff from Mississippi river • Algae grow rapidly, dead algae sink to bottom and decompose, deplete water of O2 (hypoxic zone) • Only anaerobic bacteria thrive there • March to September, worst June-August • Climate change is making dead zones worse, even without runoff • Threaten biodiversity and coastal fisheries

34. Case Study

35. Global Climate Change • Which international treaties aim to protect ocean resources? • What are the main goals recommended by the US Comission on Ocean Policy?