Marine Life & Conservation Blogs
Our Future
Concerns about natural resources and diminishing food supplies is at the forefront of every conscientious mind. But not everyone is taking a back seat view.
The Cape Eleuthera Foundation has been set up as a school and research institute exploring, improving and putting into practice natural ways of living and existing from our environment. Research Associate, Edd Brooks, said ‘our goal is to be 100% waste-free’. I was surprised to find such an interesting and worthwhile facility hidden away on Eleuthera, a remote island in the Bahamas, more famous for its links with Mariah Carey’s wedding rather than ecological breakthroughs.
The Foundation’s philosophy is to develop and build a number of systems that can sustain a community using only natural resources whilst minimising negative environmental impact. So in a nutshell, they have gone totally ‘green’ and are producing all their own food by aqua/agricultural means and then recycling any waste products to produce more food. It’s basically a closed loop system. 100% of all their power, for heating and lighting, is produced from Solar Energy and Wind Turbines. Bio Diesel (Vegetable Oil) is used to fuel any transportation, i.e. boats and trucks. Water for drinking and sanitation is captured from rainwater and 75% of the wood they’ve used to build the campus was grown from Casuarina Trees, an invasive species most people just disregard and burn.
Surely this kind of research and development centre is where our future lies? Students from all over the world come and stay at the facility to conduct project work for schools, colleges and university degrees. Visiting Researchers and Scientists have a complete working laboratory at their disposal. This is the perfect environment for kids looking at careers in marine biology and related topics. It’s purely a ‘not for profit’ educational and research lab. Students and Researchers have to pay for the privilege but where better to conduct studies than a giant outdoor workshop in the Bahamas! Donations from privately owned businesses and organisations help support any new equipment purchases and building expansions.
The Campus itself is basically split into two areas. The research centre has two 12-bed dormitories, timber framed classrooms, a common area, kitchen/catering facilities and gardens. The school has two wings. Each can accommodate up to 12 students. There is also a computer room, library, presentation rooms and wet and dry labs for research work. All within a stone’s throw of the sea.
A brand new Diving Centre has just been completed. It’s based in an impressive wooden building by the jetty. They also have 6 boats ranging from 19ft-40ft and 24 Sea Kayaks, used for 9-day school expeditions that circumnavigate the southern tip of Eleuthera.
There are about a dozen ongoing research programmes revolving around the marine environment. Aquaculture is the largest and most important ongoing project. Present worldwide fishing quotas are well exceeding regenerative capabilities (we have approx 50 years of wild fish stocks left). Although not a new concept, Aquaculture (fish farming) may well be the key. The first task is to find a species of fish that grows fast and doesn’t eat too much in the process. It also needs to be resilient to infection and disease. Cobia (Rachycentron canadum) is a pelagic species that grows up to 2m in length and can weigh as much as 68kg. It has a high food conversion ratio of 1kg of body mass for every 1.3kg of food it eats. The firm, white flesh is also very tasty and has become extremely popular in restaurants (prices are around $10-00 per kilo).
In 2003 the Institute began building a massive 3,000 metre/squared holding cage for the Cobia. The metal framework was positioned in 30 metres of water 1.5 miles off the coast by the Exuma Sound. This area is known to have reasonably strong currents and waves. Constant water movement helps prevent algae growth, which in turn reduces the risk of disease and parasites. Some of the young fish were lost in transit but around 10,000 fingerlings made it to the cage. Through 2005 the fish grew rapidly. Divers performed regular maintenance checks twice daily, cleaning away algae and taking out any dead or diseased fish. Fish mortalities were mainly due to poor quality feed. Then a Hurricane struck the island. Divers couldn’t get out to clear away the dead fish, which in turn, attracted the predators. Bull Sharks bit through the nets to get to the dead fish. More than 75% of the Cobia crop escaped through the holes. It was also a little disconcerting for the divers when they came face to face with a hungry Bull Shark inside the cage!
Later this year they will introduce a batch of home grown Cobia to the holding cage. To combat the Shark problem they have set up their own artificial ‘eco-system’ inside the cage. Groupers will eat any sick or dying fish before the Sharks are attracted and Gobies and Shrimp will act as cleaning stations to keep fish healthy.
Bonefish (Albula volpes) mortality rates is another high profile research project at the Institute. Florida Bonefish are a highly sought after, premier game fish that annually generates several billion dollars of revenue. Pound for pound they are known to be the best fighting fish in the ocean. They can grow up to 104cm in length and weigh 10kg. It’s mainly caught for sport and then released. The flesh itself isn’t considered to be very tasty. The Bonefish lives in shallow inshore tidal flats and co-exists with its main predator, the juvenile Lemon Shark. Part of the project is looking at the impact catch-and-release angling is having on the mortality rate of Bonefish. It’s been found that the stressed Bonefish are releasing a chemical that the Lemon Sharks are ‘homing in’ on. Once Students have identified this chemical handling and release methods can be adapted to stop the fish getting stressed.
Edd’s primary research project involves monitoring the diminished Shark populations in the Bahamas. There has been a huge amount of worldwide media coverage highlighting the current plight of Sharks. Hundreds of thousands of Sharks are being slaughtered each year just for their fins. The Bahamas totally banned commercial Shark fishing in 2004. Long lining was also banned way back in 1993. But ‘local’ Shark numbers are still declining. Edd thinks the majority of Bahamian Sharks make long migrations into other territorial waters where they might not be protected. This specifically affects species like Tigers, Oceanics and Hammerheads. There is also the possibility that coastal tourism development is having an impact on Shark nurseries and inevitably this has a knock-on effect.
Around ten times a month Edd sets a buoyed long line with around 30 baited hooks. After one and a half hours the line is hauled in and any Sharks caught are recorded, tagged and released. Some are fitted with simple acoustic tracking devices. Edd surgically implants the small transmitters inside the Sharks. Edd has also placed compact VR2 receivers (Hydrophones) at certain points around Eleuthera. These listen out for any ultrasonic pings coming from the tagged Sharks. The recorded information is then downloaded onto his Computer back at base. The receiver records the time stamp and the ID number of the Shark as it passes. He can see any repetitive patterns and habitual movements that are forming. This year Edd is mainly focusing on the benefits of using baited remote underwater video surveys (BRUVS) to check on Shark numbers instead of long lining. BRUVS are far less stressful for the Sharks as there is no direct contact. His research will hopefully be used as a basis for other studies. Monitoring these movements will provide information on critical periods in Shark development so guidelines/restrictions can be put in place to protect the Sharks habitat.
Other current marine related projects include the population recovery of the Spiny Sea Urchin (Diadema antillarum), Patch Reef preservation, Lionfish surveys, Aquaponics for growing plants and restoration of the now thriving Wetland area.
It’s a known fact that our natural resources are running out fast. In the next few decades any studies made by R & D facilities like the Institute are going to be invaluable. Their findings may well be shaping our future. Long term it looks as though we could all be in for a bumpy ride.
Information
Edd is putting together a Shark tagging/research programme for visiting divers. This will give them a chance to go out on the boats, bait the lines, tag the Sharks and basically find out more about Shark ecology. They will also get a tour of the institute and presentations about ongoing research projects. The lucky one’s might even get a homegrown banana from the ‘poo’ garden!
Contact Details
Website: www.ceibahamas.org
E-mail: info@ceibahamas.org
Tel: 609 945 0710
More Information
Website: www.islandschool.org
Website: www.dcmsbahamas.org
Website: www.capeeleutherafoundation.org
The Ocean Cleanup, the global non-profit project, has removed a verified all-time total of ten million kilograms (22 million lbs.) of trash from oceans and rivers around the world – approximately the same weight as the Eiffel Tower.
To complete its mission of ridding the oceans of plastic, The Ocean Cleanup uses a dual strategy: cleaning up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) to remove the plastic already afloat in the oceans, while stopping the flow of plastic from the world’s most polluting rivers.
Through cleaning operations in the GPGP and in rivers in eight countries, the cumulative total of trash removed has now surpassed ten million kilograms. This milestone demonstrates the acceleration of The Ocean Cleanup’s impact, while underlining the astonishing scale of the plastic pollution problem and the need for continued support and action.
While encouraging for the mission, this milestone is only a staging point: millions more tons of plastic still pollute our oceans and The Ocean Cleanup intends to continue learning, improving and innovating to solve this global catastrophe.
This announcement comes as governments from around the world meet to continue negotiations to develop a new legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution at INC4 in Ottawa, Canada. Representatives of The Ocean Cleanup will be in attendance and the organization will be urging decision-makers to collaborate towards a comprehensive and ambitious global treaty which addresses plastic at all stages of its life cycle and in all marine environments worldwide, including in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
It is encouraging to see that the need for remediation is reflected in the various options for potential treaty provisions. It is essential that the final treaty contains clear targets for the remediation of legacy plastic pollution, and reduction of riverine plastic emissions.
Tackling plastic pollution requires innovative and impactful solutions. The treaty should therefore incentivize the innovation ecosystem by fostering innovations that make maximal use of data, technology and scientific knowledge – such as those designed and deployed by The Ocean Cleanup.
‘After many tough years of trial and error, it’s amazing to see our work is starting to pay off – and I am proud of the team who has brought us to this point.’ said Boyan Slat, Founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup. ‘While we still have a long way to go, our recent successes fill us with renewed confidence that the oceans can be cleaned.’
The Ocean Cleanup was founded in 2013 and captured its first plastic in 2019, with the first confirmed catch in the GPGP coming soon after the deployment of Interceptor 001 in Jakarta, Indonesia. After surpassing one million kilograms of trash removed in early 2022, the non-profit project has since progressed to the third iteration of its GPGP cleaning solution, known as System 03, and a network of Interceptors currently covering rivers in eight countries, with more deployments set for 2024.
About The Ocean Cleanup
The Ocean Cleanup is an international non-profit organization that develops and scales technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. They aim to achieve this goal through a dual strategy: stemming the inflow via rivers and cleaning up the legacy plastic that has already accumulated in the ocean. For the latter, The Ocean Cleanup develops large-scale systems to efficiently concentrate the plastic for periodic removal. This plastic is tracked and traced through DNV’s chain of custody model to certify claims of origin when recycling it into new products. To curb the tide via rivers, The Ocean Cleanup has developed Interceptor™ solutions to halt and extract riverine plastic before it reaches the ocean. Founded in 2013 by Boyan Slat, The Ocean Cleanup now employs a broadly multi-disciplined team of approximately 140. The foundation is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
For more information, visit: theoceancleanup.com and follow @theoceancleanup on social media.
In this series, the Shark Trust will be sharing amazing facts about different species of sharks and what you can do to help protect them.
This month we’re taking a look at the Dusky Shark, a highly migratory species with a particularly slow growth rate and late age at maturity.
Dusky sharks are one of the largest species within the Carcharhinus genus, generally measuring 3 metres total length but able to reach up to 4.2 metres. They are grey to grey-brown on their dorsal side and their fins usually have dusky margins, with the darkest tips on the caudal fin.
Dusky Sharks can often be confused with other species of the Carcharhinus genus, particularly the Galapagos Shark (Carcharhinus galapagensis). They have very similar external morphology, so it can be easier to ID to species level by taking location into account as the two species occupy very different ecological niches – Galapagos Sharks prefer offshore seamounts and islets, whilst duskies prefer continental margins.
Hybridisation:
A 2019 study found that Dusky Sharks are hybridising with Galapagos Sharks on the Eastern Tropical Pacific (Pazmiño et al., 2019). Hybridisation is when an animal breeds with an individual of another species to produce offspring (a hybrid). Hybrids are often infertile, but this study found that the hybrids were able to produce second generation hybrids!
Long distance swimmers:
Dusky sharks are highly mobile species, undertaking long migrations to stay in warm waters throughout the winter. In the Northern Hemisphere, they head towards the poles in the summer and return southwards towards the equator in winter. The longest distance recorded was 2000 nautical miles!
Very slow to mature and reproduce:
The Dusky Shark are both targeted and caught as bycatch globally. We already know that elasmobranchs are inherently slow reproducers which means that they are heavily impacted by overfishing; it takes them so long to recover that they cannot keep up with the rate at which they are being fished. Dusky Sharks are particularly slow to reproduce – females are only ready to start breeding at roughly 20 years old, their gestation periods can last up to 22 months, and they only give birth every two to three years. This makes duskies one of the most vulnerable of all shark species.
The Dusky Shark is now listed on Appendix II of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS), but further action is required to protect this important species.
Scientific Name: Carcharhinus obscurus
Family: Carcharhinidae
Maximum Size: 420cm (Total Length)
Diet: Bony fishes, cephalopods, can also eat crustaceans, and small sharks, skates and rays
Distribution: Patchy distribution in tropical and warm temperate seas; Atlantic, Indo-Pacific and Mediterranean.
Habitat: Ranges from inshore waters out to the edge of the continental shelf.
Conservation status: Endangered.
For more great shark information and conservation visit the Shark Trust Website
Images: Andy Murch
Diana A. Pazmiño, Lynne van Herderden, Colin A. Simpfendorfer, Claudia Junge, Stephen C. Donnellan, E. Mauricio Hoyos-Padilla, Clinton A.J. Duffy, Charlie Huveneers, Bronwyn M. Gillanders, Paul A. Butcher, Gregory E. Maes. (2019). Introgressive hybridisation between two widespread sharks in the east Pacific region, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 136(119-127), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2019.04.013.
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