MARINE EVENTS
MARINE NEWS
December 2008
November 2008
1. Coastcare week 1-7 December - Get involved!
2. Ocean Planet Meeting - Wednesday 26th Nov 6pm, ET office
3. Save Ralphs Bay Fair - Sunday 30th Nov, Lauderdale Hall
4. Sea Shepherd Benefit this Sunday 23rd 2pm, Brisbane Hotel
5. Volunteer help needed
Please call 6224 6319 or email ocean.planet.tas@gmail.com to help out!
6. News in brief
From http://www.aussmc.org/Acid_ocean_tipping_point.php
A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) indicates that 450ppm atmospheric carbon dioxide could well be a tipping point beyond which marine organisms will be severely affected by the increasing acidity of the ocean. Scientists have known for some time that increasing CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere are causing the oceans to become more acidic. This new research ... shows that the widely accepted limit of 450ppm CO2 is a tipping point for some of the oceans most important organisms, the microscopic zooplankton with calcium carbonate shells. The shells of these organisms start to dissolve when sea water becomes too acidic.
"Ocean acidification has been called the 'silent climate change issue' because it gets far less press than global warming, sea level rise and rainfall changes. Yet for marine systems, it could end up being the most important consequence of industrial pollution of all because it risks dissolving coral reefs and undermining the food chain upon which the world's fisheries and marine mammals depend..."
In other news, outgoing US President George Bush is trying to secure a positive environmental legacy by pushing for the creation of the world's biggest marine reserves in the central and western Pacific covering some 750,000 square miles! http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2008/11/an_environmental_legacy_of_dis.html
OCTOBER
Abalone virus, climate change, new species all reinforce the call for increased marine protection
Discovery of the abalone virus ganglioneuritis in Tasmanian abalone sent a tidal wave of action through the fishing industry recently. Despite findings of the virus in only about 3 individuals, the multi-million dollar industry responded quickly to the disease scare. They happily agreed to closing off large areas to divers, demonstrating that a strong network of no-take MPA's that would benefit our greater marine wildlife and environment, could easily be dealt with by industry. And indeed, the presence of the virus pushes home the need for more marine protection in times of increasing pressures. For more info check http://www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/WebPages/SCAN-75F423?open
Canadian author Alanna Mitchell came to Hobart to launch her new book Seasick - the hidden ecological collapse of the global oceans. Environment Tasmania hosted a very successful book launch and discussion at UTAS, at extremely short notice. Alanna's book clearly summarises in layman's terms how climate change will impact on the health of our oceans and their wildlife. For a copy of the book go to the Hobart Book Shop or for a review go to the independant weekly.
CSIRO's new report "Implications of climate change for Australian
fisheries and aquaculture - a preliminary assessment"
has highlighted the need for Tasmania to increase marine protection if we are to withstand impacts from worsening climate change. The report highlights the heightened sensitivity of our marine environment and industries to climate change impacts, and the need to build as much protection into our marine ecosystems as possible. For a copy of the report go to http://www.climatechange.gov.au/impacts/publications/fisheries.html
CSIRO revealed that hundreds of new species have been found of south east Tasmania in deep waters with over 300 new species identified. Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett was there to talk up the value of marine protection in light of this new news - http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iBNNcadL-MwV8HpqW6554HdM72oQ
Unfortunately, most of these environments aren't fully protected from commercial and recreational fishing, despite a number of marine reserves being declared. Seems as though the federal government is also confused about the mathematics of taking fish out of an ecosystem, and the impacts of that on biodiversity. Despite this, this new discovery does provide us with an opportunity to encourage Minister Garrett to improve the Federal Government's record on marine protection for federal waters (3-200 nautical miles out to sea, state waters being <3 nautical miles out to sea).
There is a constant stream of news stories both nationally and internationally on the dire state of our marine environment and the growing movement to better protect it. For more information, do a google news search on marine, oceans, fisheries.