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Marine Life & Conservation

Sharks… we need them

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Sharks have been dealt a poor hand. They are demonised by the media and film industry because that’s what sells papers and movies. It doesn’t help that most species aren’t particularly cute (case and point: the false catshark, Pseudotriakis microdon caught in Scottish waters in October 2015) so we can’t humanise them like we do with dolphins and other charming marine animals. However, sharks are absolutely vital for the health of our oceans, and in turn, the future of our planet.

Overfishing, finning, shark fishing tournaments, bycatch and longlining are all massively reducing our shark populations. Fishing practices like those encouraged by SSACN, pole and line fishing, should be the only methods used. Trawling is very destructive and unselective as the nets haul every life encountered. With longlining, boats spool out hundreds of feet of fishing line with up to 2,000 baited hooks spread along its length. With both these methods, a vast number of marine species, known as ‘bycatch’ are caught and thrown overboard dead or dying, including those listed as vulnerable, threatened or endangered. It was recently reported that thousands of spurdog are discarded into the sea dead annually in the UK. They get caught and crushed in the nets by trawlers pulling up massive catches from the depths. Bycatch amounts to up to 90% of a trawl’s haul and many of these are sharks due to their predatory nature. Global catches have increased by 300%, but much is unreported & unregulated so this figure is likely to be a lot higher. It would be great to see Scotland and the UK set an example with a drastic overhaul of fishing methods and quotas to ensure a sustainable future for UK seas.

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Education among the angling community is also crucial and organisations like SSACN are not only valuable resources for information, but are proactive in encouraging best practices for sustainable fishing. With a recent report showing horrifying pictures of 40 dead cat sharks discarded on Chesil beach, by suspected anglers, angling conservation organisations need as much support as they can get to continue their positive messages to change these practices.

The most recent and accurate report states that up to 273 million sharks are killed each year. Sharks just cannot reproduce quickly enough to keep up with the demand and the only way to stop shark extinction is to stop the trades.

To envisage the vital role sharks play in our oceans, think about a fish tank and what needs to happen if one of the fish in that tank contracts a disease. You need to remove that fish from the tank before the disease spreads. Sharks prey on the diseased, the mutated, the injured and the weak, keeping the balance of our ocean’s ecosystem in check.

Sharks are at the top of the ocean food chain and their prey includes species that eat vegetation where the majority of the ocean’s carbon is stored, within seagrass, saltmarsh and mangrove. These blue carbon ecosystems, as they are called, capture and store carbon 40 times faster than rainforests and can store the carbon for thousands of years. Removing sharks from this ecosystem allows these vegetation eaters number’s to increase and results in a release of these ancient carbons and means that less carbon can be stored.

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The oceans produce more oxygen than all the rainforests combined, provide a third of the world with food, remove half of the atmosphere’s greenhouse gases, and control our planet’s temperature and weather. Sharks and the oceans desperately need our help.

For individuals, other than ensuring best practice is used when fishing, there are easy ways to help save sharks:

  • Never buy make-up or health goods containing shark liver oil, known as squalene
  • Never buy products made of shagreen or shark leather
  • Never buy fresh shark teeth or jaws
  • Always ask what type of fish is being used for your fish and chips as restaurants / takeaways sometimes use shark a.k.a. rock salmon, rock eel, flake, huss or white fish
  • Never eat shark fin soup or support a restaurant that sells it

As a Scot living in South Africa working in shark conservation, I have a lot of work to do to change public misconception and fishing practices used here. I recently started a campaign called Keep Fin Alive featuring Fin, a hand-puppet shark on a mission to be photographed with as many people as possible holding a sign that says “I hugged a shark and I liked it… Keep Fin Alive”. He’s already been photographed with well-known actors, singers, chefs, photographers and scientists, including John Hannah, Adam Handling and Jamie Scott. The ultimate goal of the campaign is to take a light-hearted approach to help change the common misconception of sharks and drive more attention to the issues facing sharks.

Esther Jacobs Overbeeke

Shark Conservationist

Founder: Keep Fin Alive

www.facebook.com/keepfinalive
www.twitter.com/FinHugger

Esther Jacobs is a shark conservationist, originally from Scotland, now living in South Africa working with sharks and other marine life. Esther works with Oceans Research, a marine research facility in Mossel Bay, South Africa. She also runs a shark conservation campaign called Keep Fin Alive, which features a handpuppet shark called Fin, who is on a mission to be photographed with as many people as possible holding a sign that says “I hugged a shark and I liked it… Keep Fin Alive”. He’s already been photographed with lots of celebrities and scientists. The ultimate goal of the campaign is to take a light-hearted approach to help change the common misconception of sharks and drive more attention to the problems of shark overfishing, finning, shark fishing tournaments, bycatch and longlining.

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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