Marine conservation
Encyclopedia
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
s in ocean
Ocean
An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
s and sea
Sea
A sea generally refers to a large body of salt water, but the term is used in other contexts as well. Most commonly, it means a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, and is commonly used as a synonym for ocean...
s. Marine conservation focuses on limiting human-caused damage to marine ecosystems, and on restoring
Restoration ecology
-Definition:Restoration ecology is the scientific study and practice of renewing and restoring degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems and habitats in the environment by active human intervention and action, within a short time frame...
damaged marine ecosystems. Marine conservation also focuses on preserving vulnerable marine species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
.
Overview
Marine conservation is the study of conserving physical and biological marine resources and ecosystem functions. This is a relatively new discipline. Marine conservationists rely on a combination of scientific principles derived from marine biologyMarine biology
Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...
, oceanography
Oceanography
Oceanography , also called oceanology or marine science, is the branch of Earth science that studies the ocean...
, and fisheries science
Fisheries science
Fisheries science is the academic discipline of managing and understanding fisheries. It is a multidisciplinary science, which draws on the disciplines of oceanography, marine biology, marine conservation, ecology, population dynamics, economics and management to attempt to provide an integrated...
, as well as on human factors such as demand for marine resources and marine law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
, economics and policy in order to determine how to best protect and conserve marine species and ecosystems. Marine conservation can be seen as subdiscipline of conservation biology.
Coral Reefs
Coral reefs are the epicenter for immense amounts of biodiversity, and are a key player in the survival of an entire ecosystem. They provide various marine animals with food, protection, and shelter which keep generations of species alive. Furthermore, coral reefs are an integral part of sustaining human life through serving as a food source (i.e. fish, mollusks, etc) as well as a marine space for eco-tourism which provides economic benefits.Unfortunately, because of human impact of coral reefs, these ecosystems are becoming increasingly degraded and in need of conservation. The biggest threats include "overfishing, destructive fishing practices, and
sedimentation and pollution from land-based sources." This in conjunction with increased carbon in oceans, coral bleaching, and diseases, there are no pristine reefs anywhere in the world. In fact, up to 88% of coral reefs in Southeast Asia are now threatened, with 50% of those reefs at either "high" or "very high" risk of disappearing which directly effects biodiversity and survival of species dependent on coral.
This is especially harmful to island nations such as Samoa, Indonesia, and the Philippines because many people depend on the coral reef ecosystems to feed their families and to make a living. However, many fisherman are unable to catch as many fish as they used to, so they are increasingly using cyanide and dynamite in fishing, which further degrades the coral reef ecosystem. This perpetuation of bad habits simply leads to the further decline of coral reefs and therefore perpetuating the problem. One solution to stopping this cycle is to educate the local community about why conservation of marine spaces that include coral reefs is important. Once the local communities understand the personal stakes at risk then they will actually fight to preserve the reefs. Conserving coral reefs has many economic, social, and ecological benefits, not only for the people who live on these islands, but for people throughout the world as well.
Human Impact
The deterioration of coral reefs is mainly linked to human activities – 88% of coral reefs are threatened through various reasons as listed above, including excessive amounts of CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) emissions . Oceans absorb approximately 1/3 of the CO2 produced by humans, which has detrimental effects on the marine environment . The increasing levels of CO2 in oceans change the seawater chemistry by decreasing the level of pH. This process is also known as acidification. Acidification negatively affects the carbonate buffering system and drops the carbonate saturation by 30%, which results in a decrease in reef calcification . Reductions in calcification have negative implications on calcifiers, such as corals and shellfish. Some examples include diminishing coral resilience from bleaching, decreasing organisms’ ability to fight off predators, inhibiting their potential to compete for food, and altering behavior patterns . When the bottom of the food web declines tremendously due to acidification, the food web and the whole marine conservation effort is jeopardized. Although humans cause the greatest threat to our marine environment, humans also have the ability to create effective management plans that will be the key to successful marine conservation. Although the most widely known conservation tool is the MPA, one of the best marine conservation tools simply stems from smarter individualist choices we make in efforts to reduce CO2 emissions on a daily basis.Techniques
Strategies and techniques for marine conservation tend to combine theoretical disciplines, such as population biology, with practical conservation strategies, such as setting up protected areas, as with marine protected areaMarine Protected Area
Marine Protected Areas, like any protected area, are regions in which human activity has been placed under some restrictions in the interest of conserving the natural environment, it's surrounding waters and the occupant ecosystems, and any cultural or historical resources that may require...
s (MPAs) or Voluntary Marine Conservation Area
Voluntary Marine Conservation Area
Voluntary Marine Conservation Area is a designation in the United Kingdom for areas of coastline which are of particular wildlife and scientific value that enjoy a level of voluntary protection....
s. Other techniques include developing sustainable fisheries
Sustainable fisheries
Sustainability in fisheries combines theoretical disciplines, such as the population dynamics of fisheries, with practical strategies, such as avoiding overfishing through techniques such as individual fishing quotas, curtailing destructive and illegal fishing practices by lobbying for appropriate...
and restoring the populations of endangered species through artificial means.
Another focus of conservationists is on curtailing human activities that are detrimental to either marine ecosystems or species through policy, techniques such as fishing quotas, like those set up by the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization
Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization
The is an intergovernmental organization with a mandate to provide scientific advice and management of fisheries in the northwestern part of the Atlantic Ocean...
, or laws such as those listed below. Recognizing the economics involved in human use of marine ecosystems is key, as is education of the public about conservation issues. This includes educating tourists that come to an area that might not be familiar of certain rules and regulations regarding the marine habitat. One example of this is a project called Green Fins
Green Fins
Green Fins is a project in South East Asia encouraging scuba diving operators to adhere to a Code of Conduct with an overall aim to reduce negative impacts to the marine environment...
that uses the SCUBA
Scuba diving
Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....
diving industry to educate the public based in SE Asia. This project, implemented by UNEP, encourages scuba diving operators to educate the public they teach to dive about the importance of marine conservation and encourage them to dive in an environmentally friendly manner that does not damage coral reefs or associated marine ecosystems.
Marine Conservation Technology and Halfway Technology
Marine conservation technologies are devices used to protect endangered and threatened marine organisms and/or habitat. Marine conservation technologies are innovative and revolutionary because they reduce bycatch, increase the survivorship and health of marine life and habitat, and benefit fishermen who depend on the resources for profit. Examples of technologies include marine protected areas (MPAs), turtle excluder devices (TEDs), and radio-frequency identification (RFID). Commercial practicality plays in important role in the success of marine conservation because it is necessary to cater to the needs of fishermen while also protecting marine life.Turtle excluder devices for example (TEDs) remove a major threat to turtles in their marine environment. Many sea turtles are accidentally captured, injured or killed by fishing. In response to this threat the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)worked with the shrimp trawling industry to create the TEDs devices. By working with the industry they insured the commercial viability of the devices. Basically, a TED is a series of bars that is placed at the top or bottom of a trawl net, fitting the bars into the "neck" of the shrimp trawl and acting as a filter to ensure that only small animals may pass through. The shrimp will be caught but larger animals such as marine turtles that become caught by the trawler will be rejected by the filter function of the bars.
Similarly, halfway technologies work to increase the population of marine organisms, however, it does so without behavioral changes and "addresses the symptoms but not the cause of the declines". Examples of halfway technologies would include hatcheries and fish ladders.
Laws and treaties
International laws and treaties related to marine conservation include the 1966 Convention on Fishing and Conservation of Living Resources of the High SeasConvention on Fishing and Conservation of Living Resources of the High Seas
The Convention on Fishing and Conservation of Living Resources of the High Seas is an agreement that was designed to solve through international cooperation the problems involved in the conservation of living resources of the high seas, considering that because of the development of modern...
. United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
laws related to marine conservation include the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act
Marine Mammal Protection Act
The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 was the first article of legislation to call specifically for an ecosystem approach to natural resource management and conservation. MMPA prohibits the taking of marine mammals, and enacts a moratorium on the import, export, and sale of any marine mammal,...
, as well as the 1972 Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act which established the National Marine Sanctuaries program.
In 2010, the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
enacted new legislation for the protection of marine life with the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010
Marine (Scotland) Act 2010
On 10 March 2010, Scotland's Marine Bill received Royal Assent, making it the .The Marine Act provides a framework which will help balance competing demands on Scotland's seas...
. The provisions in the Act include: Marine planning, Marine licensing, marine conservation, seal
Pinniped
Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...
conservation, and enforcement.
Organizations and education
Oceana (non-profit group)
Oceana is the largest international ocean conservation and advocacy organization. Oceana works to protect and restore the world’s oceans through targeted policy campaigns....
, the Marine Conservation Institute (United States), Blue Frontier Campaign
Blue Frontier Campaign
The Blue Frontier Campaign is a United States marine conservation activist organization founded by David Helvarg in 2003.The Campaign has established a nationwide network of grassroots lobbyists...
(United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
), Frontier (the Society for Environmental Exploration)
Frontier (the Society for Environmental Exploration)
Frontier was established in 1989 as a UK based non-profit conservation and development non-governmental organisation .Their first project was based in Tanzania carrying out surveys in remote forest, savannah, and marine environments and led the eventual creation of the Mafia Island Marine Park...
(United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
), Marine Conservation Society
Marine Conservation Society
The Marine Conservation Society a UK charity for the protection of the seas around the United Kingdom, and for the protection of their shores and wildlife.According to their website MCS's Vision is:Their website also states:...
(United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
), Community Centred Conservation (C3), The Reef-World Foundation (United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
) and [Australian Marine Conservation Society].
On a regional level, PERSGA- the Regional Organization for the Conservation of the Environment of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, is a regional entity serves as the secretariat for the Jeddah Convention-1982, one of the first regional marine agreements. PERSGA Member States are: Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Further reading
- Lang, Michael A., Ian G. Macintyre, and Klaus Rützler, eds. Proceedings of the Smithsonian Marine Science Symposium. Smithsonian Contributions to the Marine Sciences, no. 38. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press, 2009.