Thriving Oceans

Just happened to be thumbing through an April 2007 NatGeo and came across a few stats about our fisheries that caught my eye:

• Estimated 40 million sharks killed annually for their fins
• Global fish catch ~100 million tons (as of 2004)
• Bluefin tuna fished at 4x sustainable rate in the Mediterranean for sushi markets
• In longline fishing, discarded bycatch makes up nearly 30% of the take
• 12 species of shark are commercially extinct in the Mediterranean
• Catches in the northwest Pacific have been declining by more than 3% per year since 1998
• Closed since the early 1990s, the Grand Banks cod fishery shows few signs of recovery
• More than 33% of the world’s fish stocks are overfished
• World tuna catch in 2004 reached 6 million metric tons

It’s unfortunate that administrations and politics have such heavy and far reaching hands when it comes to directing government departments (Does that make any sense?) as I would like to believe in a eco-utopian setting by which they always acted in the best interest of the nation’s natural resources.

Now since we clearly know this is not the case, it is still unfathomable that at the end of an 8 year reign the outgoing Administration is diligently working to slash fisheries protections. In a move that is clearly no treat (blatant Halloween pun intended), a National Marine Fisheries Service rule is undergoing final review that would eliminate the current SOP involving environmental impact statements for certain commercial fisheries operations. In fact, according to the Washington Post, the rule would “give review authority to regional councils dominated by commercial and recreational fishing interests.”

Has not history taught us leaving management of our fisheries to commercial organizations a dire move? Plus, it was only 4 years ago, mind you the midpoint in the term of same Administration, that The U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy warned of the deleterious state of our fisheries.

Experts estimate that 25 to 30 percent of the world’s major fish stocks are overexploited, and a recent report indicates that U.S. fisheries are experiencing similar difficulties. Of our nation’s 259 major fish stocks—representing 99 percent of total commercial landings—roughly 25 percent are either already overfished or experiencing overfishing (Ocean Commission, 2004).

Well who knew that the first thoughts I’d transcribe under Thriving Oceans would be so politically charged. I guess it is perfect timing considering the upcoming elections as anti-this and pro-that rallies drift from state to state solely for the opportunity to discharge their nematocysts and hook passersby with talking points.

Additionally, environmentalists, conservationists, legislators, representatives, and citizens continue to spar over the safety and expansion of nuclear power plants. Even a few years back, Patrick Moore, co-founder of Greenpeace, declared in The Washington Post, “Nuclear energy is the only large-scale, cost-effective energy source that can reduce these emissions while continuing to satisfy a growing demand for power. And these days it can do so safely.” Such comments exploded like Chernobyl, setting off a chain of events that resulted simultaneously in condemnation and praise.

While our society still continues to swim amongst the fall out, a bloom of jellyfish managed to exercise their innate marine right to congregate and protest yesterday. The target of these activist cnidarians was the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in California. Although they did not manage to shut down the plant completely, they were effective enough to force a reduction in operating power.

Now that we know the stance of jellyfish on nuclear power, it will be interesting to see how this floating “block” influences our future alternative energy decisions.