Marine Life & Conservation
Wildlife Rules: The Do’s and Don’ts with Aquatic Creatures
By: Lauren Kieren
When I was asked to write an article on “the do’s and don’ts with aquatic creatures,” I thought to myself… Sure, that’s easy. The entire piece can be summed up like this:
You can hurt it; it can hurt you; don’t touch it.
It really is that simple. However, I understand that may not be the most informative approach to this topic so I’ll give it another shot! When we descend below the surface, we’re venturing into a completely new world. We’re weightless, gliding through the water, often observing the beautiful marine life swimming along reefs, wrecks, rivers and springs.
We are a guest in this alien environment
We are there for the simple pleasure of experiencing a different world that does not belong to us; it belongs to the creatures that live in it. Like any respectable guest, we should be courteous and considerate, not create messes, break things or hurt those who live there. Here are a few reasons why…
You can hurt it
Most aquatic creatures and coral have a mucous lining that protects them and keeps them healthy. If we harm that protective lining, we expose them to risk, infections and diseases.
It can hurt you
The reality for aquatic creatures is that they are either the catch or the prey. Since this is the way their world works, they have built in defense mechanisms to protect them from being the catch of the day.
These defense mechanisms come in many forms such as spines, sharp fins and certainly sharper teeth. Some creatures are also packing major heat in the form of poisonous chemicals in their spines such as lion fish, rock fish and scorpion fish.
If you get handsy with aquatic creatures, understand if you get cut or stung – you are exposing yourself to not only a painful experience but also bacteria present in the water that can make your healing process extremely difficult. In addition, you’ve stressed the aquatic creature and likely changed its natural behavior to avoid humans in the future.
The bottom is off limits
Whether you’re diving a reef, wreck, river, spring, etc., it is extremely important to remember the bottom is off limits because it is the home for a lot of aquatic creatures, even if you can’t see them.
Kneeling or laying on the bottom, even if it looks like a clear sandy area, can destroy the home of an aquatic creature such as garden eels, jaw fish, various crustaceans, isopods and more. Touching or bouncing off the coral can destroy it after it has taken years to form and may never return back to its original state.
I will never forget a dive where I saw a lettuce sea slug knocked off the coral, tossed up into the water column and spun in a spiral motion back down after a diver simply swam near it. The diver didn’t touch or kick the bottom but they were not aware that their finning technique was disrupting the environment and creatures present.
Being in control of your hands and feet while swimming is crucial to avoid disrupting the environment. Just because you’re off the bottom, does not mean you aren’t interfering with it. Make sure the thrust of your fins is pushing the water up and behind you versus down to the bottom.
Lastly, always remember, you are a guest while visiting the underwater world. Look but don’t touch; be courteous and considerate, do not create messes, break things or hurt those who live there.
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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.
Marine Life & Conservation
Steve Backshall to headline Shark Trust’s flagship event: For the Love of Sharks
Join a host of amazing, shark loving, speakers including Steve Backshall and the Shark Trust team for an evening celebrating shark conservation at the Royal Geographical Society in London this November.
Date: 29th November 2024
Time: 6-10pm
Location: Royal Geographical Society, London
Tickets: https://www.sharktrust.org/Event/flos24
The event will be a celebration of all things shark. Those lucky enough to get hold of tickets will hear from engaging guest speakers with a passion for sharks.
The line-up includes (*subject to change if unforeseen circumstances arise)
Steve Backshall: One of television’s busiest presenters, BAFTA award-winning wildlife expert Steve has been passionate about the wild world ever since he was young.
Steve’s impressive TV career has taken him all around the world, investigating a wide array of species and environments. Steve has filmed over 100 hours of children’s wildlife programmes with the BAFTA award winning Deadly 60 franchise and recently, with Sky Nature, for his new series ‘Whale with Steve Backshall’. He has been a patron for the Shark Trust for 10 years.
Simon Rogerson: is a photojournalist specialising in natural history, diving and the sea.
He is editor of SCUBA magazine, the official journal of the British Sub-Aqua Club. Simon started his career as a crime reporter but gravitated towards his ‘less depressing’ interest in underwater exploration, joining the staff of DIVE magazine in 1999. In 2005 he was named ‘Editor of the Year’ in the PPA’s Independent Publishing Awards. Simon also works as a freelance writer, contributing frequently to the Sunday Times and Telegraph, in addition to BBC Wildlife, Esquire, and a host of international diving magazines. He is the author of a book, Dive Red Sea, published by Ultimate Sports. Now based in Berkshire, Simon has been a Patron of the Shark Trust for 20 years.
More speakers to be announced soon. Head to the Shark Trust website to learn more.
The evening will also allow guests the final chance to see the Oceanic 31, shark art exhibition. Some of the artwork will be auctioned/raffled at the event, while the rest will be auctioned online to raise money for the Shark Trust Oceanic Programme.
For the Love of Sharks is an evening with something for everyone who is interested and fascinated by sharks. Join the Shark Trust, their Patrons, Trustees and Staff, along with a host of supporters for this celebration of shark conservation.
For more information or to buy a ticket: https://www.sharktrust.org/Event/flos24
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