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Marine Life & Conservation

We Reap What We Sow…

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We Reap What We Sow… It’s an old saying, but one that has not lost its legitimacy over the years.

This morning I watched a BBC interview with Ross Edgely who aims to be the first person to swim the 2,000 miles around the UK coastline to help raise the awareness of our dying seas due to overfishing, plastic waste and pollution. It’s an amazing thing to do and at the same time such a tragedy that someone has to go to these lengths to try and raise such awareness. I was dismayed and not surprised, yet again, by the reporter’s lack of understanding or even care about marine issues. There was more interest in stories of stinging jellyfish than the facts of marine devastation.

When Ross was asked what he had seen on his epic journey, he replied that it was not so much what he had seen but what he had NOT seen that was so upsetting. Only a few fish, a few dolphins and sea birds but little else, except that is for jellyfish.

We clamber to the seaside and coast each summer for our holidays and complain about dangerous jellyfish ruining the sea. Well, really it’s mostly down to us that they are there in such great numbers. Jellyfish have no ‘mean streak’ and are not there solely to spoil our summer break. They are simple marine life forms that fill an ecological void when it is created. As we remove fish, crustaceans, cetaceans and sea birds from our oceans, the jellyfish are able to thrive.

We have decimated their main predators such as tuna, sharks, swordfish, turtles and salmon. One species of jellyfish may well eat another but this is not enough to control numbers. We have now tipped the balance in favour of these simple, gelatinous animals. We are rapidly returning our seas to their primordial state.

Do we care? Possibly. Enough to do something about it? Possibly not.

We can certainly talk the talk, but that’s as far as it goes. There are a few protected areas in the world. There is some legislation for over fishing. Is it enough? No. Year after year our seas decline in health and species.

Yet we still love to go the sea, to swim, to surf, and to dive. We are thrilled to see dolphins or a turtle, sharks and fish. But if we don’t see them, are we heartbroken? No. For divers, a shark or whale encounter is wonderful, but so is a rust-ridden wreck of a long forgotten ship.

We complain about plastic waste. Who is to blame for it all? The manufactures, the supermarkets, the disposal companies? Or us, you and me. Most of the plastic we use is simply for convenience and, just as conveniently, we throw it away. Everywhere I go  -be it in the car, boat, walking, swimming – I see plastic thrown away by some lazy person who has no care at all for the world in which we all live.

Every beach, hedgerow, roadside, mountain, field and town has its share of discarded waste from people who are too ignorant to take it home or take a few moments to dispose of it sensibly.

Healthy oceans give us the air we breathe, our atmosphere and our climates. They also give us a sense of wonder, they excite our imaginations and are the foundation of all life on this planet. They are where we came from. We can’t afford to lose them.

There are still people on this earth who depend on sea life for survival but they are also in great trouble as fish disappear. While these people struggle to feed themselves much of the rest of humanity live in a world of excess. Roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year — approximately 1.3 billion tonnes — gets lost or wasted – www.fao.org/save-food/resources/keyfindings/en/

Where is the sense or reasoning behind that?

Some people do care… but most don’t. Are our lives too busy to worry about the sea? There are mortgages to pay, children to school and bring up. But what kind of world are we bringing these kids up to live in? When your children and grandchildren ask you one day where all the marine life went you can tell them, with shameful pride, that we, human beings, killed it all. First, by systematically hunting it for food and then for money, ultimately polluting and destroying the marine food chain causing mass starvation.

What a tragic legacy. Is it too late to do anything about this? Possibly. Is it worth trying? Yes.

So what am I doing personally. Well for a start I will continue to not eat any produce from the sea until perhaps one day it truly becomes sustainable. As a family we will continue to recycle and minimize our use of plastic. We will continue to support marine conservation groups. I would love to know what you are doing or what you would like to do.

Write to me at jeff@scubaverse.com

Jeff is a multiple award winning, freelance TV cameraman/film maker and author. Having made both terrestrial and marine films, it is the world's oceans and their conservation that hold his passion with over 10.000 dives in his career. Having filmed for international television companies around the world and author of two books on underwater filming, Jeff is Author/Programme Specialist for the 'Underwater Action Camera' course for the RAID training agency. Jeff has experienced the rapid advances in technology for diving as well as camera equipment and has also experienced much of our planet’s marine life, witnessing, first hand, many of the changes that have occurred to the wildlife and environment during that time. Jeff runs bespoke underwater video and editing workshops for the complete beginner up to the budding professional.

Marine Life & Conservation

New report shows simple measures needed to cut beach plastic pollution

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The Marine Conservation Society has launched its annual State of our Beaches 2023 report, highlighting the need for less single-use plastic items and more refillable options.

The charity’s beach cleaning programme, now in its 30th year, asks volunteers to record all litter that they find within a 100-metre stretch of beach. By gathering vital data from across the UK and Channel Islands, the charity creates change for cleaner seas and a healthier planet through policy and industry change. Last year, over 148 kilometres of beach were surveyed by volunteers, who removed 17,208kgs of litter from our coast.

Using data collected by over 14,000 volunteers, the State of our Beaches 2023 report shows that half of all litter collected came from public sources – either dumped, blown or washed onto our beaches.

Drinks-related litter, such as plastic bottles, caps and cans were one of the most found items, with an average of 16 found per 100 metres of beach surveyed. This figure is up 14% compared to the charity’s 2022 report.

Plastics caps and lids were recorded on 89% of surveys, with over 30,000 found in total. Plastic bottles were also commonly collected, with 73% of surveys finding this single-use item – a 4% increase compared to 2022. The charity’s inland litter pick survey, Source to Sea, also reported finding plastic bottles on 92% of cleans.

However, the charity’s State of Our Beaches 2023 report also indicates that some types of litter are on a downward trend. Although still in the top 10 litter items, disposable plastic cutlery, trays and straws were found on 5% fewer beaches across the UK, showing that bans on these plastic items between 2022 – 2023 could be working. The presence of plastic cotton bud sticks also dropped by 14%.

Lizzie Price, Beachwatch Manager at the Marine Conservation Society, said, “Half of the litter found on our beaches originates from public sources, underscoring the pressing issue of single-use plastic. Evidence shows that refillable alternatives and litter return schemes effectively reduce rubbish, as demonstrated by the decline our data has shown in items like plastic bags and disposable cutlery.

“Urgent and decisive action from UK governments is needed to accelerate our shift towards a circular economy, where we reuse, repair and recycle. The public needs greater access to refillable products and systems need to be implemented in which manufacturers are responsible for their waste.”

Governments across the UK have committed to delivering deposit return schemes from October 2025. However, the proposed scheme in England does not include glass items, despite glass being found on 52% of beaches in 2023. The charity is calling for governments across the UK to introduce compatible all inclusive deposit return schemes as soon as possible. This would see aluminium cans, and plastic and glass bottles have a 20p deposit which would be returned when recycled which would reduce drinks-related pollution.

Businesses are, however, starting to take refillable and reusable options into their own hands. Supermarket chain, Aldi, the largest corporate funder of the charity’s 2024 Beachwatch programme, is already leading the charge in refillable items by trialling refillable options for cereals and porridge oats in their stores over the past 5 months.

Plastics and Packaging Director, Luke Emery, from Aldi, who are running 4 beach cleans for staff and volunteers in 2024, said, We are continually working to reduce single-use plastics and packaging, and making unpackaged product options more commonplace for our customers is a key part of this. We are really pleased with the uptake of our refillable range so far by customers. Not only are we making sustainable shopping more accessible, but we also offer refill products for a better price than the packaged alternative, helping our customers save money.”

Marine litter is one of the biggest threats to our seas, with plastic breaking down over time into microplastics and threatening marine life which can ingest or become entangled in them. The Marine Conservation Society is urging the UK Government to move faster on its policies to cut down plastic waste and prevent items from reaching our seas.

To find out more about the charity’s beach cleans and how to get involved, please visit mcsuk.org/beach-cleans

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Guarding Against Coral Invaders

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Protecting (Dutch) Caribbean Reefs from Unomia stolonifera

Recent reports highlight the concerning spread of the invasive soft coral, Unomia stolonifera, currently devastating Venezuela’s marine ecosystems and detected in Cuba. With the potential threat of its expansion to the (Dutch) Caribbean islands, urgent action and awareness are essential to safeguard marine biodiversity and local economies from possible catastrophic consequences.

Invasive species are animals or plants from another region of the world that don’t belong in their new environment. These species can have major ecological effects by decimating native flora or fauna. They can also cause large economic losses and impact human health. Invasive species also pose a significant threat to marine ecosystems worldwide, including the Dutch Caribbean. Among these invaders is the octocoral species Unomia stolonifera or “Pulsing Xenia”, originally from the Indo-Pacific. With its rapid growth and lack of natural predators, this species can outcompete native species and disrupt fragile marine habitats such as seagrass beds and coral reefs.

Background

The invasive soft coral U. stolonifera was first identified in 2014, off the coast of Venezuela. It is believed to have been introduced via the illegal aquarium trade.  Since this species can reproduce sexually and asexually (or fragment), even small pieces can regenerate to spread.  Once introduced it quickly took over shallow reefs and hard substrate at depths of 0-50 meters, outcompeting local corals and seagrass for space.  Follow on surveys found that this coral species exhibited average percentage cover as high as 80%, vastly outcompeting native corals. In highly colonized areas, fish are disappearing due to loss of habitats.

In 2022, during a survey conducted in Cuba by the University of Havana, an unknown octocoral was discovered which was later identified as the invasive Unomia stolonifera. It is suspected that the coral larvae arrived in ballast water from fossil fuel ships originating from Venezuela, as nearby sites adjacent to Venezuelan ports have been heavily affected by the invasion.

How to help

Prevention through continuous monitoring, particularly in high-risk areas such as marine harbors and oil facilities, is paramount. Early detection plays a pivotal role in mitigating the threat posed by Unomia stolonifera.

The public’s involvement and awareness are also vital. Local communities, recreational divers, tourists, and all stakeholders are urged to participate in early detection efforts by reporting sightings (photo, location and date) of this invasive coral to their respective Protected Area Management Organization (PMO’s)- the Fundacion Parke Nacional Aruba (FPNA)STINAPA BonaireCARMABI Curaçao Saba Conservation Foundation (SCF)Nature Foundation St. Maarten (NFSXM) and St. Eustatius National Parks (STENAPA). If an invaded area is confirmed, follow the recommendations by the local PMO’s.

Keys to Success

Despite the challenges, early detection is key to mitigating the threat posed by Unomia stolonifera. With continued vigilance, research, and community engagement, there is hope for containing this potential issue before it becomes a major threat.

About the DCNA

The Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA) supports (science) communication and outreach in the Dutch Caribbean region by making nature related (scientific) information more widely available through amongst others the Dutch Caribbean Biodiversity Database, DCNA’s news platform BioNews and through the press. This article contains the results from several scientific studies but the studies themselves are not DCNA studies. No rights can be derived from the content. DCNA is not liable for the content and the in(direct) impacts resulting from publishing this article.

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