You may not have it on your calendar – but today is World Fisheries Day – a moment to celebrate the incredible bounty that we receive from the sea. It’s also an opportunity to take stock and reflect on where we’ve been, and where we’re headed. As we look back over the past year, the EDF Oceans team has been struck by how much the global oceans community has accomplished. And we’re increasingly optimistic and energized about the future health and resilience of our oceans. Here are five reasons for hope on World Fisheries Day. Read More
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Selected tag(s): plastic
Five reasons for hope on World Fisheries Day 2018
Posted in Global Fisheries, International, Pacific Also tagged Climate change, Domestic, fisheries finance, fisheries principles, Indonesia, West Coast Groundfish Comments are closed
Are plastic eating bacteria the solution to ocean pollution? Science shows it’s not that simple
Recent reporting on the discovery and enhancement of plastic-dissolving enzymes in bacteria made me stop and think about what this might mean for the plastic pollution problem that is plaguing the oceans, including the world’s coral reefs.
While this development is interesting, and draws necessary focus to the immense problem of plastic pollution in the ocean, it is premature to guess whether these kinds of enzymes might provide an effective “silver bullet” for treating plastics floating in the five great gyres of the sea.
There is so much more we need to understand about the complex relationships between plastics and marine ecosystems before we can take draconian action. In other words, it’s too soon to start spraying the ocean with so-called plastic-eating bacteria. Read More
Posted in International, Science/Research Also tagged Coral Reefs, PET, plastic pollution Comments are closed
New research quantifies growing threat plastics pose to coral reefs
Alamy Richard Whitcombe
Plastic waste in the ocean poses a wholly unexpected and serious threat to coral reefs. The results from new research published in Science are sobering, but there is hope if we act now to mitigate the most significant threats facing corals and the vulnerable communities who depend on healthy coastal ecosystems for food and livelihoods.
As one of the co-authors, I was greatly surprised at the elevated risk of disease to corals caused by plastic: from 4% in corals without plastic, to 89% in corals with plastic. Given that the study estimated that there are already more than 11 billion plastic items on reefs across the Asia-Pacific region, and that plastic loads in the ocean are expected to grow radically, this is bad news indeed. Read More
Posted in International, Science/Research Also tagged Coral Reefs, Ecosystems, plastic pollution Comments are closed