Oceans play a critical role in the life of our earth, and they are being pushed to destruction too; they are essential for our survival - and we for theirs!
Acidification One consequence of Climate Change -ocean acidification- may kill off oceans entirely, making survival of humans a very different prospect (plankton is barely resilient to acidification, corals are dying, crustaceans struggling to build their shells, ...)
Overfishing Our oceans are being plundered by often government subsidised huge fishing vessels with a global range. They leave behind empty seas: unlike local fishers they can go elsewhere when there's no more fish. Already Antarctic and Arctic waters are being plundered, and even Antarctic fish stocks are suffering. Social consequences are tremendous: piracy in Somalia is direct consequence of locals finding empty seas after Korean, Japanese, Spanish and Dutch trawlers dropped by. But we fight the Somali pirates, not the fishing pirate states. Have a look at Overfishing.org and the Greenpeace view here. And have a look at a new and rather effective group: The Blackfish, which -among other things- trains "citizen-inspectors" to report illegal fishing.
Plastics in the ocean are teaming up with our toxic pollutants to poison marine creatures as well as us. Much of this is irreversible, but at least we could stop making it worse! Look up 5 Gyres.
Individuals making a difference: Check out our friends Edwin and Marjo on their yacht Orion of Aberdeen, spreading a tremendous amount of awareness through their work on conservation and scientific projects. OceanConservation.org.uk
Organisations making a difference: The only group enforcing maritime agreements globally is Sea Shepherd. Their work is essential because neither governments nor United Nations are prepared to ensure maritime law enforcement. Sea Shepherd are worth all the support you can give!
Acidification One consequence of Climate Change -ocean acidification- may kill off oceans entirely, making survival of humans a very different prospect (plankton is barely resilient to acidification, corals are dying, crustaceans struggling to build their shells, ...)
Overfishing Our oceans are being plundered by often government subsidised huge fishing vessels with a global range. They leave behind empty seas: unlike local fishers they can go elsewhere when there's no more fish. Already Antarctic and Arctic waters are being plundered, and even Antarctic fish stocks are suffering. Social consequences are tremendous: piracy in Somalia is direct consequence of locals finding empty seas after Korean, Japanese, Spanish and Dutch trawlers dropped by. But we fight the Somali pirates, not the fishing pirate states. Have a look at Overfishing.org and the Greenpeace view here. And have a look at a new and rather effective group: The Blackfish, which -among other things- trains "citizen-inspectors" to report illegal fishing.
Plastics in the ocean are teaming up with our toxic pollutants to poison marine creatures as well as us. Much of this is irreversible, but at least we could stop making it worse! Look up 5 Gyres.
Individuals making a difference: Check out our friends Edwin and Marjo on their yacht Orion of Aberdeen, spreading a tremendous amount of awareness through their work on conservation and scientific projects. OceanConservation.org.uk
Organisations making a difference: The only group enforcing maritime agreements globally is Sea Shepherd. Their work is essential because neither governments nor United Nations are prepared to ensure maritime law enforcement. Sea Shepherd are worth all the support you can give!
