A survey of the world’s reefs and sea mounts has revealed that deep-sea trawling is causing widespread destruction of marine habitats. Deep-sea trawlers drag giant nets over the seafloor, destroying habitat over huge areas. Cold water coral reefs in temperate regions are among the most threatened sites; these areas contain pristine habitats with many species which are new to science. Deep-sea reefs are particularly vulnerable to trawling, unlike shallow water reefs which are stronger because they need to withstand wave action.

Bans on deep-sea trawling exist in a number of sites around the world, including the biggest cold-water reef in the world, which is in Norway. However Jason Hall-Spencer, a researcher from Plymouth University involved with the survey, emphasises that more needs to be done. He calls for the establishment of an international network of marine reserves which ban deep-sea trawling.

Source: Guardian, 19th February 2010

The Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Hilary Benn MP, is due to address policy-makers assembled at the UN climate change summit in Copenhagen today, as part of ‘Oceans Day’. The Secretary of State is due to highlight the dangers posed to marine life and human well-being by ocean acidification, and the limited attention which this issue receives compared to others being discussed by climate change negotiators.

The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is now 30% higher than during pre-industrial times. A proportion of the carbon dioxide which has entered the atmosphere over the past 200 years has been absorbed by the oceans – with constant gaseous exchange between the seas and air. When carbon dioxide dissolves in water, carbonic acid is formed, which dissociates into hydrogen and carbonate ions. The Ph of the ocean, measuring hydrogen ion concentration and hence acidity, is now 0.1 unit lower, with a total decrease of 0.3 or 0.4 Ph units expected by the end of the century. An increase in the acidity of the seas will affect the ability of corals and other organisms to build calcium carbonate shells; studies have shown that coral growth in the Great Barrier Reef is already slowing.

Mr Benn told the BBC News that ocean acidification “doesn’t get as much attention as other problems; it is really important”. Destruction of corals will affect all those who depend on the reefs – from the fish which forage there to the populations which depend on these fish for protein; over 1 bilion people worldwide. He will recommend to policy-makers today that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) investigates ocean acidification during its next major assessment of world climate, scheduled for release in 2013.

Original source; ‘Acidifying oceans’ threaten food supply, UK warns, Richard Black, BBC News Website

The UK Marine and Coastal Access Bill was granted Royal Assent yesterday (12th November), meaning that it has now become law. It has taken many years of work by the ecological and environmental community, but a network of Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) will now be created in UK seas. We would like to thank all our members who contributed their considerable scientific expertise and advice to our work on this Bill.

Looking forwards, much work is now underway to identify where MCZs should be located. To coincide with the Bill’s enactment, the Marine Conservation Society has launched a new website with an interactive map showing the location and characteristics of 73 sites which they believe merit full protection. Members of the public are invited to vote for the sites which they believe should become reserves; the results will be presented to the regional bodies charged with making recommendations to the Government. Readers with marine expertise may also be interested in the facility which allows them to nominate their own sites for protection.

To vote for the protection of specific marine areas, visit: http://www.yourseasyourvoice.com/mpa/

If you would like to read a review of all the changes which have been made to the Bill during its passage through Parliament, please visit here.

New research published in the journal Science shows that efforts made to rebuild depleted fish stocks are worthwhile and can be successful. An international team of researchers evaluated the condition of marine fisheries and the effects of fishing in ten of the world’s largest marine communities. In five of the ten ecosystems they found that fishing levels had been substantially reduced and clear signs of rebuilding could be seen.

Of the ten areas studied, 63% need to be rebuilt. 14% of the assessed stocks had collapsed by 2007, although this varied regionally (60% of the assessed stocks in Eastern Canada, for example, had collapsed).

In Kenya, a successful management strategy, involving co-operating with local communities, restrictions on damaging fishing gear and the introduction of protected areas, has led to an increase in fish stocks, in the size of caught fish and in the income gained from fishing.

The researchers conclude that fish stocks can be rebuilt if strategically placed fishing closures are combined with gear restrictions, ‘ocean zoning’ – separating areas for fisheries and conservation – with catch quotas and local management. They recommend that countries take early action, before overexploitation becomes apparent, and that nations adopt a culturally sensitive approach to rebuilding fish stocks. Closing fisheries will involve short-term losses, in yield and of jobs, and so will have a disproportionate effect on those in the developing world who may rely soley on fishing for protein and for income.

Original research: Worm, B., Hilborn, R., Baum, J. et al. (2009). Rebuilding global fisheries. Science. 325: 578-585.
Source article: Science for Environment Policy, EU

New research presented at the American Chemical Society meeting in Washington this week (and reported in National Geographic) suggests that herbs and spices may offer an alternative to chemical pesticides. Oils from thyme, rosemary, mint and other herbs should repel or kill insect pests when sprayed onto crops.

Research indicates that the oils interfere with insects’ nervous systems and can also disrupt insects’ cellular membranes. Scientists think that insects may be less likely to develop resistance to plant-based compounds because they tend to be complex chemical mixtures.

However there are drawbacks to the potential widespread application of herbs and spices as pesticides. The compounds tend to evaporate quickly and degrade in sunlight; they must therefore be applied every few days, rather than every few weeks for conventional pesticides.

Other research presented at the same meeting indicates that plastics degrade far faster in water than previously thought. Scientists thought that plastics broke down only at very high temperatures and over hundreds of years. Now, new research by a team in Japan shows that polystyrene can degrade at temperatures of only 36 degrees celcius in the sea. As it degrades, the plastic is leaching toxic chemicals such as bisphenol A into the water. Bisphenol A has been shown to disrupt the reproductive systems of animals. The researchers suggest that plastic should be considered a new source of chemical pollution in the ocean.

The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), in collaboration with the UN Environment Programme-World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), has prepared a report on the potential impacts of direct human-induced ocean fertilization on marine biodiversity. The report is now available for peer-review, upon the completion of which it will be submitted for consideration at the 14th meeting of the CBD Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA), scheduled for May 2010. Comments should be submitted to the CBD Secretariat by 31 August 2009.

The Chair Designate of the Marine Management Organisation has been announced as Christopher Parry. Mr Parry will become Chair once the Marine Bill has passed through Parliament and received Royal Assent.

In making the announcement yesterday Defra outlined Mr Parry’s credentials to lead the MMO, the new delivery body for the Government in the marine environment. Mr Parry is a former naval officer with a career spanning 30 years. He has held Director and Director-General roles at the Ministry of Defence.

Under the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Member States must agree on common environmental targets and should establish a programme outlining how these targets will be met. Researchers have demonstrated that mussel farming may be a cost-effective way to remove excess nutrients from the marine environment, reducing eutrophication its associated algal blooms, and should thereby be a method considered by EU Member States in meeting these targets.

Working in the Baltic Sea, researchers examined the cost of nutrient removal – nitrogen and phosphorus – using mussel farms, comparing this with: increasing cleaning at sewage plants; buffer strips; wetland construction and cultivation of catch crops. Four scenarios were modelled: with and without mussel sales options and in terms of low and high cost due to growth rates and nutrient content in mussels.

In all four scenarios, mussel farming was shown to cut costs in meeting stringent environmental targets. The overall cost savings of using mussels ranged from 20 – 138 million EUR. The mussels grown in this way could be used for fish meal in poultry feed.

Expansion of mussel farming in this way could have adverse impacts on marine ecosystems and this would need to be examined further before any widespread introduction to combat eutrophication in this way. If results are favourable the researchers propose that a ‘nutrient trading’ scheme could be introduced across Europe whereby, for example, a sewage treatment plant could trade nitrogen cleaning with a mussel farm.

Original Source: EU Science for Environment Policy

Gren, I-M., Lindahl, O. and Lindqvist, M. (2009). Values of mussel farming for combating eutrophication: An application to the Baltic Sea. Ecological Engineering. 35:935-945.

Coral reefs are directly impacted by the synergistic effects of global warming and ocean acidification and are likely to be placed into a situation of irreversible decline if immediate steps are not taken to reduce CO2 emissions. In December 2009, Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will be meeting in Copenhagen to discuss and hopefully agree to greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. The scientific community has a critical role to play in informing the decision makers involved in the UNFCCC talks about the level of greenhouse gas emissions cuts required to avoid the most severe impacts of climate change and ocean acidification.

Professor J.E.N Veron is the former Chief Scientist of the Australian Institute of Marine Science and widely regarded as the world’s leading authority on coral reef ecosystems. He has extensively researched the highly synergistic threats posed to coral reef ecosystems by global warming and ocean acidification. Professor Veron will summarise these threats and the action he believes is essential at Copenhagen this December.

This presentation will be followed by a summary of the findings and recommendations of a Technical Expert Workshop held earlier in the day.

Time and date: 15.30 – 17.00 (doors open at 15.10), Monday 6th July

Location: The Royal Society, 6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AG (HUlink to mapUH) HUhttp://royalsociety.org/UH The nearest tube station is Piccadilly Circus (5 minutes), Charing Cross (10 minutes) and Victoria (20 minutes).

This event is being organised by the International Programme on the State of the Ocean, the Royal Society, and the Zoological Society of London.

Please note seats are not reserved unless prior arrangements have been made with aylin.mcnamara@zsl.org. Doors open 20 minutes before the presentation starts.

A quick update to let you know that the Marine Bill had its second reading in the House of Commons yesterday. The second reading debate is unusual as it is not the time for detailed changes to be made to a Bill, but is rather an opportunity to debate the aims, principles and big issues surrounding a piece of legislation. On the basis of this, the results were encouraging.

The debate was very well-attended, with numerous MPs expressing their deep interest in Bill, as well as the notably high interest that had been expressed to them by many of their constituents. The debate also focused largely on the nature conservation aspects of the Bill, which are undoubtedly seen as its core component. A significant number of contributors did however express concern over whether science was really going to play a sufficiently important role in the designation of the marine protected area network. The Bill now proceeds onto the Committee Stage, where the contents of the Bill are discussed and amended in fine detail. The promising tone of the Second Reading would suggest that the nature conservation measures of the Bill will hopefully be further improved upon.