Marine Life & Conservation
Scuba Diving Our Way to a Blue Planet
Written by Marissa McBride
From underwater mountains larger than any on land, to tropical reefs home to thousands of species, the ocean holds unparalleled beauty. Marine protected areas (MPAs) safeguard life in the sea by managing human visitation and consumption. While some types of MPAs have strict protections and are no-go areas, others allow non-consumptive use such as SCUBA diving, an activity enjoyed by over 24 million people worldwide. With healthy waters teeming with life, MPAs are enormously beneficial for the SCUBA diving industry. Given this connected relationship, the dive industry has the opportunity to participate in ocean conservation by educating tourists about the importance of MPAs, as well as best practices while diving in these special places.
Bridging Knowledge Gaps
Many tourists explore the underwater world with little knowledge of their potential impact on the surrounding ecosystem. For example, many divers apply non-“coral safe” sunscreen prior to diving which contains ingredients that are very harmful to coral reefs. Another poorly known fact is that coral is significantly impacted by human touch, because its delicate membrane can be pierced so easily. The dive industry has the unique opportunity to educate divers about these facts, among others, and improve their understanding about how to be stewards of our oceans.
Ocean Stewards
Many diving companies are dedicated to helping steward our oceans and aid protection efforts with informative blogs as well as programs like PADI’s Project AWARE and specialty course about coral reef conservation. Reefcheck and many other citizen science programs provide valuable data on the health and trends of reefs around the world. This dedication is greatly appreciated by Marine Conservation Institute and other conservation organizations. With the expansion of programs like these in dive companies around the world, the ocean will be safeguarded and respected for generations to come.
Returning the Favor
The dive industry benefits from the dedication and hard work of many marine conservation organizations that work to establish MPAs. Marine Conservation Institute is dedicated to protecting wild ocean places and has created the Global Ocean Refuge System (GLORES), an initiative in which strong and well-managed MPAs worldwide receive Gold, Silver or Bronze Global Ocean Refuge status based on their regulations, management and enforcement. As the world’s best MPAs, Global Ocean Refuges will likely be home to abundant marine life. A strong partnership with the dive industry is a goal of the initiative, and we expect to see an increase in tourism at the awarded sites. With this increase in tourism comes an opportunity to educate more people about marine conservation.
The Future of a Blue Planet
The ocean provides sustenance and protein for large numbers of people, oxygen for every other breath we take and sequesters excess heat and carbon dioxide, thereby regulating our climate. The ocean needs citizen engagement and ocean stewards so that the marine life and the dive tourism industry can continue to prosper.
To find out more about Marine Conservation Institute visit www.marine-conservation.org.
Marine Life & Conservation
New report shows simple measures needed to cut beach plastic pollution
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
Blogs
Guarding Against Coral Invaders
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 Bonaire, CARMABI 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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