Not Quite Pirates of the Carribean...

There's been a lot of talk in the press recently about pirates taking hostages and holding ships to ransom off the Somalian coast. At this minute, they are holding a Saudi oil tanker holding $100 million worth of oil.
Once again, this shows my inability to move past ideals that are obviously not correct or plausible... but everytime I hear the word 'pirate', I think of Jack Sparrow, the Black Pearl, and all those images that relate to a completely different century to what we live in today. My ideals of swashbuckling swordfights and treasure chests do not match up at all with the modern speedboat-and-gun realities. That's why I had a hard time taking these recent news stories seriously at first. The idea of pirates in a modern world seems almost comical, when in fact, I'm sure it is pretty scary.
The Somalian pirates are expected to have made around $150 million already this year. So obviously, they are to be taken seriously....

32 Days Til Christmas!

Just over a month until Christmas Day! Click on this link to see how Tokyo is getting into the festive spirit....

http://news.uk.msn.com/week_in_pictures.aspx?cp-documentid=660699&imageindex=12#660699

Apparently Santa visits the sea animals as well as every household in the world.... he must move pretty fast.... haha.

Ocean Fact

This one shocked me!

'More oil reaches the oceans each year as a result of leaking automobiles and other non-point sources than was spilled in Prince William Sound by the Exxon Valdez'

When I think about the Exxon Valdez oil spill, I think about how it was such a huge disaster: tonnes of oil spilt, so many animals and sea creatures killed, and so much destroyed. The way I had been taught, we were made to think that the amounts of oil that was spilt was just huge. And to think that each year, more oil than this reaches the oceans....that's unbelievable to me. For sure, the oil is spread mostly over the world's coastlines and not released all at once in a single area. But still, that amount seems like too much. We need to be more careful...

http://www.savethesea.org/STS%20ocean_facts.htm

The Humpback Whales are Safer

It has been shown that pressure can help to save the whales. Last year, Japan announced a quota for humpback whales in this year's fishing season. This would have been the first time since the 1960s that these whales would have been hunted by the Japanese. But, after intense pressure, the Japanese government have scrapped these plans.
Japan has been known to conduct research on humpback whales that is only allowed because of a loophole in the Whaling Commission. This research is said to be lethal, but the hunt is disguised as commercial whaling (the meat ends up in supermarkets) and so it is allowed.
Many countries complained about the Japanese hunt, and Australia and New Zealand exerted enough pressure that the Japanese has backed down. Also, the activists on the Sea Shepherd disrupted last year's (entirely legal) whale hunt, so it is thought that they would have been more voracious this year.
Although I disagree with the Sea Shepherd's methods, I think that animal cruelty is unneccessary and unneeded, and it needs to end. However, I'd like to believe that the intense pressure from all of the anti-whaling countries helped to put an end of Japan's research, and that this pressure could work in many other cases where animals are put at risk of extinction or in harm's way.

Japan will not hunt humpback whales this year
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/3456101/Japan-will-not-hunt-humpack-whales-this-year.html

Safe Place to Swim?

The amount of safe bathing sites along the British coast is decreasing. Whilst most of the coast is suitable for bathing and public recreation (97%), this is still a drop from a couple of years ago when near all of the coast was suitable (99%). The problem is increasing uncleanliness, which is coming from many places. Increased runoff of agricultural chemicals and soils into river streams caused manure and slurry to be a factor at 16 of 17 unsuitable sites. Overflowing sewage systems caused polution that was a factor at 13 of 17 sites.
These problems are said to have been caused by the heavy rainfalls of last summer.
In the past, Britain's coastline has been worse off than it is today, but due to cleanup efforts and restrictions on chemicals, conditions had been steadily improving. This year's failing standards came because of unforeseen problems, which the government is working to prepare for in the future. With global warming increasing the effects of flooding in the UK, much more will have to be done to ensure that the water stays clean.

Britain's bathing water becomes more polluted
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/3453261/Britains-bathing-water-becomes-more-polluted.html

Expanding our Sovereignty

Following increased interest in the Arctic, Canada is mapping its seabed. Many countries have expressed an interest in gaining more space to call their own in the region, especially as the amount of resources hidden away up there could be very profitable. Denmark is another country trying to stake a claim.
The only way to get more sovereignty in the Arctic would be to prove that our seabed extends further than the 200 nautical mile EEZ. This is a rule put down by the United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Therefore, Canada is investigating whether we could claim more of the Arctic.
Doing research such as this would be too dangerous for humans - there would no way to set up a camp, or land helicopters safely in such conditions as the Arctic provides. This means that robots will be used - robotic underwater vehices will map out the lay of the seabed and mountain chains, and measurements will be taken. We have until 2013 to officially claim the area, and hopefully this researc will start in September 2009.

Robotic underwater vehicles
http://technology.sympatico.msn.cbc.ca/News/ContentPosting?newsitemid=arctic-auv&feedname=CBC-TECH-SCIENCE-V3&show=False&number=0&showbyline=True&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc&date=True

The Flip Side

Today's posts have been more concerned with sea creatures that have survived for a long, long time, and some of the characteristics that I believe has helped them over the generations.
Sometimes, these characteristics are not enough, or may be the cause of their demise. If we decide that these creatures have something special about them that we can use (ie. as food, clothing...), then us humans will do all we can to market those items. This has led to the exctinction and near-extinction of many creatures worldwide. In the oceans, it is leading to the end of two species in particular: the Ganges Shark has been hunted for its oil, and the Western Gray Whale is also under threat because of oil. The Western Gray Whale's habitat is being explored for oil reserves, and so the whales are forced out into extinction.
It's sad that moderation is never used in the hunting of creatures, and that we can never really think about the effects we have on the world around us when we decide we want something...

10 Species You Can Kiss Goodbye
http://www.livescience.com/animals/top10-species-kiss-goodbye-1.html

Survival Characteristics

Another gallery... this time one of venomous fish! These fish may use their venom in defensive (against predators) or offensive (against prey) ways, but either way their venom helps them to survive. Maybe this is a reason for why some fish live so long.

Another attribute shown by some of the fish in this gallery, is that they are so well-camoflaged. They blend in so closely with their surroundings that they can easily sneak up on prey, and easily escape predators. On the flip-side, though, many of these fish are so brightly coloured and have such strange patterns that their venom is obviously needed....

Venomous Fish
http://www.livescience.com/php/multimedia/imagegallery/igviewer.php?imgid=868&gid=55&index=0

Ocean Fact

In keeping with the theme of the previous post, this week's fact also shows how old the creatures of the oceans can be.

'The blue whale, the largest animal on our planet ever (exceeding the size of the greatest dinosaurs) still lives in the ocean; it's heart is the size of a Volkswagen.'

A creature that huge must be extremely old. Facts such as these really show how large and old the oceans are. It makes me wonder why humans think we are the most important beings on this world...

http://www.savethesea.org/STS%20ocean_facts.htm

Oldest Creatures

MSN UK is featuring a gallery of some of the creatures that have hardly changed over time. These creatures bear a striking resemblance or are identical their ancestors from millions of years ago. Some of these creatures, including the bowfin fish and the frilled shark, belong to the oceans.
These creatures have hardly changed over the millenia that they have existed because of their traits and characteristics. These characteristics, such as the bowfin fish's low metabolism and ability to survive out of water, have let them survive unchanged, needing no/little adaption to continue on.
It's fascinating to find that creatures such as these look exactly as they did millenia ago. For example, modern horseshoe crab is identical to its fossils from 445 million years ago. And the bacteria stromatolites have left similar fossils for up to 3.45 billion years. Humans truly are the children of this world, having been around for nowhere near as long as any of these creatures.

Living Fossils: the creatures that time forgot
http://environment.uk.msn/wildlife/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=10558175

Boulders Against Bottom Trawling

Ever since first hearing about bottom trawling, I've found that the method of fishing is despicable. It may be a surefire way of getting fish, but it's so destructive and lethal (there's a lot of bycatch) that it's inexcusable in my eyes. So I found out about a method Greenpeace is using to stop trawling from being used. They've been putting large granite boulders out along the ocean bed - any trawler that tries to destroy the seabed would be hindered by these boulders, and if not by completely destroying the trawling equipment, hopefully it will make the people behind the trawlers stop and think about their way of fishing.

Boulders against bottom trawling
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/boulders-against-bottom-trawli

Learning More.

Want to learn more about some of the issues in our environment, and the campaigns fighting for their awareness? I found this site very informative and helpful, especially with some of the concerns that I didn't even know existed. The site gives an overview of some issues and their campaigns, and provides links to each campaign's main site.

Ten things you should know
http://environment.uk.msn.com/climate-change/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=10112656

Sea Shepherd

Sea Shepherd is an activist organization dedicted to protecting the Galapagos Islands, seals, dolphins and whales. I initially thought it was admirable to get out there, doing what they were to save the animals. I supported them, but their methods have proven to be not so constructive.
I first heard about the organization in Sharkwater. In this, I agreed with their beliefs, but their methods (ramming the bad guys' boats) put me off a little. I was not too surprised to find that they were also campaigning for an end to the seal hunt. But some of the arguments that they come out with, and some of their 'facts' do not match up with some of the other facts that I'm to believe are true. So who to believe???

Sea Shepherd
http://www.seashepherd.org/seals/seal-hunt-facts.html

The Seal Hunt

In a recent class, we learnt about the seal hunt. Going into that class, my thoughts on the hunt included the words 'disgusting', 'unneccessary' and 'cruel'. I'll admit that I knew next to nothing about the hunt before that class. All I knew came from the media coverage - various celebrities campaigning against seal killings, the pictures of cute baby seals, the pictures of those seals having their heads smashed in by a guy with a pick-axe and blood everywhere.
In the class, we learnt about the myths of these hunts, and the facts. It changed my mind. My thoughts on leaving the class were that the hunt is controversial but still widely over publicized.
From what I learnt, it seems that the seal hunt is near the same as, if not less inhumane, than some methods of cattle farming. The hunters do it for the same reason farmers raise cattle - its a way of life, a tradition, and a source of income. The way in which the seals are killed is humane compared to some of the things done to cows in slaughterhouses - a fast, strong whack on the head, an instant death. Also, baby seals are not allowed to be killed. The only seals to be hunted are those that are independent.
So why is the plight of seals covered more widely than the plight of cows? In my opinion, it's because a baby cow is not as cute as a baby seal. Also, because most humans love a good beefburger. The use of seal meat/organs/etc is not as widespread as is beef. We are not as quick to defend something that can be used so easily....

Fact of the Day...

'More than 90% of the trade between countries is carried by ships and about half the communications between nations use underwater cables.'

The oceans have many uses....
A scary thought though, is how much of those trade products are lost through tipping off of the ships. Many people, myself included, use those huge containers to cart belongings from one side of the world to another, but I've seen too many pictures off them falling off the ships! People could have their belongings washing up on shores on complete different continents to where they expected, eek.

http://marinebio.org/MarineBio/Facts/

Close to Home

Reading an article in the newspaper, I was surprised to find that acid rain has decimated the salmon in our southern uplands rivers, and has even killed off the stocks in 25 of these rivers. The total population has been decreased by three quarters!
The Nova Scotia Salmon Association is fighting to stop this decimation by adding tonnes of alkaline lime to the waters to neutralize the acid. This has so far made the rivers more hospitable, but as yet there is not solid evidence that it is making enough of a difference for the fish.
The acid rain comes mostly from the industrial emissions of central Canada. The rain really affects our rivers as the soils in the area have little to no capacity for holding or neutralizing the acid. This means that most of the acid is allowed to leach into the rivers. The problem got so bad, and so there were talks to limit the amount of emissions that could be allowed. But still, we see the effects of the rain, even if there is just a little.
If the rivers were left aone, and no more acid rain was able to leach into them, then the rivers would take up to 100 years to get back to normal. So the limestone is being added continually, despite the huge costs of these operations. Hopefully, it will make enough of a difference soon, so we will not lose the entire stock of salmon.

Jellyfish

Warmer waters are attracting many types of jellyfish to the waters around the UK. Is this an effect of global warming???
Many different types have been washed up along the British shores, and whilst this is not unusual, it is occurring in record numbers. Many types are posionous, and as the site shows, they are pretty amazing to look at....

http://environment.uk.msn.com/wildlife/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=9010326

Green Fuel?

At the beginning of the semester, in one of my classes, we were challenged to find how certain products are related to the oceans. My group got 'ice cream' and we found that it contains an extract called carrageenan. This comes from sea weed and is used as a thickener.
Recent studies are looking into another use for sea weed... as biomass. Sea weed is being tested as a new form of alternative energy. The hopes are that it will burn as a biomass type of fuel and produce clean energy that we need, but then the waste materials could also be used in agriculture as a fertilizer. As well as this, it is thought that the harvesting of the sea weed could have a positive impact on marine life.
Most problems with alternative energy fuels concern the loss of land due to harvesting farms (wind farms, solar panels), how the alternative energy turbines would affect their surroundings (wave energy) or what to do with the waste products (nuclear). If this research into sea weed all turns out to be proven true, then we may have found a fuel source that does not have these problems.....

Seaweed 'a green fuel alternative' http://environment.uk.msn.com/news/headlines/article.aspx?cp-documentid=10401848

Ocean Fact

"Each year, three times as much rubbish is dumped into the world's oceans as the weight of fish caught."

It's sickening to think about, and to be honest, I'm surprised that we haven't seen any more major effects of it as yet. People really have to start thinking harder about what we're doing to our world...

http://marinebio.org/MarineBio/Facts/

3000 Dead in 4 Years.

Another news story that ties in with my research paper. I've been researching the endangerment of two species in the Mediterranean Sea - blue fin tuna and loggerhead turtles. A news story from a few days ago highlights this issue, but along the Mexican coast. Over 3000 turtles have been washed on shore, dead, in only four years.
I think it's sad that these species are being decimated in this way. Action needs to be taken to stop the ways in which these creatures are killed. For instance, one of the journal articles I read whilst researching my paper experimented with longline fishing, trying to find a way that would be less harmful to the turtles. It turned out that a change in the hook type and bait used meant there was much less bycatch, and little change in the amount of what they actually wanted. A small change can make a big difference.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081014160507.htm