Thriving Oceans

As the weekend rolled to an end and the inevitable Monday workday loom overhead, I moseyed on to the bedroom and turned on the radio. Expecting to encounter a little paranormal lullaby, I was incredibly surprised to find the guest host of Coast To Coast AM, George Knapp, tackling the overfishing crisis.  In his interviews with Rupert Murray (The End of the Line) and Rick Moonen (RM Seafood), George brought this important topic of conservation concern to an international audience.  Since Coast to Coast AM is broadcast on over 500 United States affiliates alone, I was elated  to hear the notion of sustainable seafood practices being promoted to millions and perhaps recruiting some listeners to ultimately make informed and responsible meal decisions.

 And sprinkled throughout their conversations was a discussion, or warning if you will, about a vanishing act recently perpetrated by Alaskan King salmon.  Well, after a little online digging I managed to come up with an AP report (Aug. 2, 2009) on CBS News describing the failure of king salmon to return to a number of Alaskan rivers…again.

“One Alaska river after another has been closed to king fishing this summer because significant numbers of fish failed to return to spawn. The dismally weak return follows weak runs last summer and poor runs in 2007, which also resulted in emergency fishing closures.” AP

And as the salmon continue to vanish from our waters year after year, we are left speculating whether the problem is ocean currents, food availability, bycatch, aquaculture, or overfishing.  Yet over the last decade, ” the incidental number of king salmon caught has skyrocketed, reaching over 120,000 kings in 2007.” AP

Hmmm!  Perhaps a connection?  Instead of embarking on another version of the blame game and debating whether (or to what degree) the lack of salmon returns is caused by natural phenomena, such as changing ocean currents, river conditions or available prey, or human activities, we need to institute a little fisheries management tough love. 

For in the end bycatch may not be the only culprit, but as opposed to the actions of Mother Nature, it is the factor that we can definitely control.  And of the 120,000 kings killed in pollock trawl nets in 2007, an estimated 78,000 adults would have returned to the rivers of western Alaska.

AP Article: King Salmon Failing to Return to Spawn

An eternity, perhaps not quite, but that’s my perception of time when thinking back to my Hawaiian excursion in mid-June.  And finishing up a home movie chronicling our adventure, complete with contemporary Island music from the likes IZ for instance, just gets me in the mood for some white sandy beaches and clear salty waters.  So why not share a few things I came across while swimming over the reefs of Maui.

Obviously such a post lends itself infinity as the amount of pictures and video I have is substantial… notice I did not mention anything about quality.  But with that said, using a digital underwater camera is  a goldmine for someone who needs to cull through the blurs to find a few gems. 

Of course I need to start the ball rolling with a Hawaiian green sea turtle.  It is by far my wife’s favorite marine creature and I am always left in awe at the range of colors found on their carapace.  By the way, did you see our Hawaiian green sea turtle video footage?  And even in today’s world of rampant conservation information,  I was left in shock to discover people clamoring to touch and harass this amazing species (And yes members of our party spoke up immediately to inform the culprits and end their activities). I guess that’s why we need to continue spreading the word.

Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle

A juvenile yellowtail coris (Coris gaimard), which is the first one I have run across in Hawaii

A raccoon butterflyfish (Chaetodon lunula)

A Slate or Red pencil urchin (Heterocentrotus mammillatus) and a black sea urchin (Echinothrix diadema)

A cushion seastar (Culcita novaeguineae)

Whitemouth moray eel (Gymnothorax meleagris)

An Arc-eye hawkfish (Paracirrhites arcatus)

The Hawaiian Day Octopus (Octopus cyanea) and a female bird wrasse (Gomphosus varius)

Adorned in camouflage to fool both predators and prey, the leafy seadragon is the epitome of nature’s creativity.

It definitely took longer than I expected to get back in the swing of a daily routine after a one week stay in Maui, followed up by a weeklong business excursion to San Diego (of which began 14 hours after returning home), and finally returning home to a rather unproductive work week that culminated with a celebration of independence.

So with that said, and my apologies to delayed email responses, I decided to start anew with some information that may or may not have already circled through the web.  Just as I left for the islands, The End of the Line officially premiered, bringing the plight of our fisheries to the big screens of the world.  And wouldn’t you know it, but I missed the local showings while I was traveling.  However, I like the message so I am looking for any feedback from those you have managed to catch a viewing.

Additionally, the film is more than a movie but a campaign of which is self-described:

The End of the Line is not against fishing. It is not against eating fish. But it is for a responsible attitude  towards the oceans. The film has three messages for consumers, citizens and companies:

Ask before you buy: only eat sustainable seafood.
Tell politicians: respect the science, cut the fishing fleet
Join the campaign for marine protected areas and responsible fishing

So check out the website to find a local screening, make sure you grab a safe seafood list, and ‘Sign Up and Claim Your Piece of Ocean’.

Here’s the trailer…

Are you a snorkeler or diver and live within the REEF’s project area?  Why not turn your hobby this summer into a reef survey by participating in The Great Annual Fish Count-

“The Great Annual Fish Count (GAFC) is an event coordinated by the Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) that mobilizes and trains volunteer divers and snorkelers in established methodologies to identify and document fish diversity and population trends in marine ecosystems. This annual event takes place the month of July, and serves to introduce and inspire recreational divers and snorkelers to: participate in REEF’s year-round Volunteer Survey Project; raise awareness among both the diving community and public-at-large regarding marine habitats and trends in fish populations; and provide researchers, marine resource managers and policy makers with this useful information that would otherwise be unavailable.”

Map credit: Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF)

The California Department of Water Resources is experimenting with a new way to save salmon in the delta.  “Preliminary results show that an experimental, non-physical fish barrier is working to help keep young Chinook salmon and steelhead in a more direct path to the ocean and away from agricultural diversion and the state and federal pumping plants. The bubble curtain barrier project combines acoustics and a strobe-lit sheet of bubbles to create an underwater wall of light and sound at frequencies that repel juvenile Chinook salmon.”

Check out the video…