Week in Review - SSF Celebrates Success! Eighteen Marine Species Receive International Protection

1. SSF Celebrates Success! Eighteen Marine Species Receive International Protection

Sea Save Foundation, continues its ardent efforts to protect threatened marine life. Sea Save team members, Georgienne Bradley and Jay Ireland, attended the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) held in Johannesburg, South Africa this past September. Sea Save's mission at the CITES conference was to drive through international policy that would protect sharks, rays, and threatened invertebrates. A total of eighteen marine species will now be protected due to the CITES decisions.  Read more here

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2. Wins 4 Fins Followup: Virgin Atlantic Refuses All Shipments of Shark Fins

Virgin Atlantic Airways has raised its voice on the practice of international shark finning by refusing to ship any shark fins. Its "Ethical Carriage of Cargo Policy" goes in depth regarding what types of live animals and commodities it will carry on its airlines based on CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) regulations. Researchers estimate that 72 million sharks are harvested for their fins, and it is difficult to verify that all 10,000 tons of shark fins were obtained through legal and sustainable practices. Read more here

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3. Shark Finning Leads to Increased Rate of Climate Change

Recent studies have focused on the effects that shark finning is having on marine ecological communities due to the alarming decrease in shark populations. An article titled "Potential Role of Predators on Carbon Dynamics of Marine Ecosystems as Assessed by a Bayesian Belief Network" will be published this November in Ecological Informatics. Researchers are predicting that by removing predator species, such as sharks from the ocean will greatly increase the rate of carbon dioxide production. Results of the study show that fishing and shark finning have a direct link to climate change due to increasing biomass of smaller fish and zooplankton that are not efficiently transferred through the food chain when ocean predators are not sustainably harvested. Read more here

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4.  Sharks Are in Need of Increased Protection

Oceanographers are calling for increased protection for sharks, due to their dwindling numbers from unregulated fishing, commercial fishing practices and international trade of shark products. Because sharks are slow reproducers, it is difficult for low populations to rebound. This concept made sharks a hot topic at the recent Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Held in Johannesburg, CITES participants voted in favor of increased protection for silky and thresher shark species. These top ocean predators play a crucial role in the food chain, and without higher fishing regulations, ocean ecosystems are facing disruption. Read more here

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5. Antarctica: Now Home to the World's Largest Marine Sanctuary

This past week saw the unveiling of the world's largest marine sanctuary, nearly double the size of Texas, created off the coast of Antarctica. 598,000 square miles of the Ross Sea Reserve was unanimously approved for protection by the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CAMLR). The orignial proposal that would have protected 875,000 square miles was rejected, most notably by Russia. The updated agreement protects72% of the reserve that prohibits all fishing, with exceptions for scientific research, which will be allowed in the other 28% of the area. Read more here

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6. Colombia Expands Area of Protected Malpelo Hope Spot

The Malpelo Hope Spot has been such a huge ocean conservation success that Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos recently pledged to increase the size of the Malpelo Flora and Fauna Sanctuary by more than two fold. The Malpelo Hope Spot is located 300 miles off the Pacific coast of Colombia. Part of the marine sanctuary's success can be attributed to the area's strong group of ocean advocates and citizen science activity. The largest no-fishing zone in the Eastern Tropical Pacific is infamous for its large aggregation of shark species, making it a top tourist diving destination. Read more here

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Sea Save Foundation is committed to raising awareness of marine conservation. The Week in Review is a team effort produced by the Sea Save staff to provide a weekly summary of the latest in marine research, policy, and news.

Week in Review—Scientists Recreate Ocean History to Better Understand Climate Change

1. Scientists reconstruct 200 year old ocean records for insight on tomorrow

Oceanographers are set on recreating past ocean ecosystems for insight on how greenhouse gas emissions will affect future atmospheric and surface temperatures in relation to climate change. By studying decades of previous ocean biodiversity, temperature, and current circulation data, researchers can piece together what prehistoric oceans might have looked like. Humans began documenting ocean observations around 1880 from shipping routes running from North America to Europe. However, these records don’t give a full global picture of ocean observations, so many scientists are turning to models, such as the Simple Ocean Data Assimilation sparse input (SODAsi), to give a more accurate depiction of global ocean climate history spanning the previous two centuries. To learn more about SODAsi, click here.

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2. Phytoplankton blooms occurring 4 weeks earlier than usual

A 13 yearlong study recently completed by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHO) has uncovered how phytoplankton species are impacted by rising sea temperatures. The scientific article, published in Science this month, focused on  the phytoplankton species, Synechococcus, a small bacterium commonly found in marine environments. Increasing ocean temperatures off the coast of Massachusetts saw the annual blooms of Synechococcus occurring up to four weeks sooner than average. Researchers concluded the early arrive of the blooms is a result of the cells dividing faster than normal due to the warmer conditions. Read more about the impact this can have on marine ecosystems here.

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3. New Zealand plankton blooms give insight on climate change

Milky white plankton blooms growing off the coast of New Zealand are adding fuel to the fire that climate change is already affecting the temperature of our oceans. Oceanographers from the Victoria University of Wellington studied the blooms using ship observations and satellite data to match up algae blooms with a similar warming occurrence that happened around 130,000 years ago, when ocean temperatures rose 1 to 2 degrees. Their study, published in Global and Planetary Change, cites how important these organisms are to marine environments besides showing changes, plankton also helps regulate our ecosystems by extracting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Read more about the research study here.

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4. Ocean robots to the rescue!

Robots are being utilized by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to study how much heat the ocean has the ability to absorb, helping to offset the global effects of climate change. Argo floats, the fleet of robots measuring the oceans’ heat content, has been collecting data for over a decade now. NOAA scientists now have a more detailed picture of how much heat has been taken up by the world’s upper oceans. In a report released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress claims that 93 percent of human induced warming has been mitigated by the oceans so far. Read more about the Argo project here.

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5. Dissolved Organic Carbon holds a key to understanding the ocean

Scientists have known for decades that our oceans are a huge carbon sink, holding roughly 700 billion tons of carbon, but they have just now begun studying how it is produced and impacted by changes in climate. Researchers from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science are looking at how dissolved organic carbon (DOC) helps to sustain ocean life using over 15 years of data collected during international scientific cruises that map how the DOC is distributed throughout the Atlantic Ocean. Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, data shows the production of DOC at the ocean’s surface can be estimated by measuring the levels of nutrients found in the euphotic zone of the ocean. Read more about the publication here.

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Be sure to "LIKE" http://facebook.com/SeaSave to ensure our "Week in Review" is delivered to your newsfeed every Friday. 

Sea Save Foundation is committed to raising awareness of marine conservation. The Week in Review is a team effort produced by the Sea Save staff to provide a weekly summary of the latest in marine research, policy, and news.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC REFUSES ALL SHIPMENTS OF SHARK FINS

LOS ANGELES - Virgin Atlantic Airways has made a decision to halt all shipments of shark fins on any of their flights despite international allowances. This decision goes above and beyond industry regulation, and has sparked interest among conservationists and within business sectors.

Virgin Atlantic has a shipment program in place called the “Ethical Carriage of Cargo Policy” which outlines the types of live animals and commodities approved for cargo with a valid CITES (convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora) license. The CITES license permits shipments of shark fins as long as it they are in accordance with predetermined measures of balance and sustainability. Since scientists predict 72 million sharks are killed every year to make shark fin soup (the demand for which has resulted in the near extinction of various shark species while also endangering the health of oceans at large) and 10,000 tonnes of shark fins are being traded through Hong Kong alone, it becomes questionable that every single fin in transport was acquired through verified and sustainable practices. Thus positioning the CITES license regulations in the seemingly week position of attempting to end the exploitation of sharks, but unwilling to motion for a complete end of it.

What sets Virgin Atlantic’s ethical standard above the rest of the industry, is their added policy which states, “Virgin Atlantic Cargo has chosen to refuse a number of commodities outright, such as shark fins, ivory, hunting trophies and fur products.” This outright refusal is noteworthy.

When any large company takes any type of public moral stance, varying degrees of backlash from critics and consumers is expected.  Not to mention the possibility of profit loss.  So why is it worth it for the airline?  And could Virgin Atlantic be paving the way for other airlines to start making decisions that value social responsibility over fiscal policy? The Virgin Atlantic Communications Department provided us with this statement from their cargo team:

“As part of our ethical cargo policy adopted a number of years ago, we do not carry certain cargoes including hunting trophies, endangered species, shark fins and any animals for research purposes. It’s great to see other carriers adopting similar policies and an industry-wide agreement that all airlines support would be a significant step forward in helping to prevent such shipments in the future.”

Wildlife stories that reach a mainstream audience, from shark finning to trophy hunting, continue to raise awareness about a problem that has been swept under the (tiger skin) rug for far too long. However, we can’t be too quick to assume corporations will be jumping at every chance to save the planet. In fact, it is very likely Virgin Atlantic’s policy could be a somewhat unique case spearheaded by the company’s billionaire founder, Richard Branson, who has been vocal about his stance against shark finning since 2011. He famously appeared alongside NBA star, Yao Ming, who was born in China (and fittingly, also played basketball nationally for a team called the Shanghai Sharks) in an appeal to the Chinese people to end the demand and consumption of shark fin soup.

By Aliya-Jasmine SovaniVirgin Atlantic Refuses All Shipments of Shark Fins

Week in Review: Are the Paris agreements enough to mitigate climate change?

1. Developing Nations Urging for Swift Climate Action

As developing nations are already feeling the heat from extreme weather fluctuations, they fear not enough is being done to mitigate climate change. The Paris agreement was ratified earlier this week with agreements from wealthier nations to put up the capital required to keep our planet's global average temperature from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius. However, 48 of the world's least developed nations believe it just may be too little, too late. Based on the UN's report that mitigation costs could be up to $500 billion a year by 2050, which is almost five times as originally estimated, they may be correct. Read more...

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2. Longest Ocean Record Keeping Institution Seeks Funding to Continue 

For the past hundred years, The Shore Stations Program researchers have collected a sample of water from below the Scripps Pier located in La Jolla, California. The water sample is tested for temperature and salinity. This program, based at Scripps Institution, boasts the longest continuous series of ocean temperature measurements taken from the Pacific Rim region. These records contribute directly to climate change research. However, the team is finding difficulties lately getting funding to continue the valuable program. There aren't very many ocean based series that extend back that far and data collected by the Shore Stations Program has been invaluable to agencies such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Read more...

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3.  Trapped Wale Calf Sparks Debate Over Beach Safety

Despite recommendations from Baird's local government, it has allowed shark nets to be incorporated using shark nets on its northern beaches. This action lead to a juvenile humpback whale becoming ensnared in a net on the Gold Coast. Rescues were alerted to the trapped whale and were able to cut it free while it's mother made sure to keep the young whale near the surface until it was freed. The whale was able to be cut loose from the 150 meter long net that stretches to depths about six meters deep. While local government officials are seeking to make the beaches safer for recreational use, the shark nets and drum lines have detrimental impacts on the area's marine life. Many would like to see the current safety practices being replaced by more ecologically sustainable technologies. Read more...

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4. Antarctica's Ross Sea May Lie in the Hands of Russia

The international science community is putting heavy pressure on the last country standing in the way of approving an Antartic marine protection plan (MPA). 24 countries from around the world recently met up with the goal they've been working on for over five years to provide protection for the Ross Sea and other waters of East Antarctica. The proposal would help ensure the vitality of regional krill and penguins. Russia seeks to block the plan due to concerns over the area that would be covered by the protection act, as well as potential monitoring that would be required by the MPA.  Read more...

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5. Celebrate National Marine Week with Us!

The second week of October is officially known as National Marine Week and people are stepping up to raise awareness for ocean conservation. This year's theme, "our ocean, our future", couldn't be more fitting at a time of increasing climate change influences effecting the entire planet. With mass extinction of marine life and coral reef die offs, our next steps in preserving our ocean is so critical. National Marine Week seeks to raise concern for our next generation, seeking to avoid a future theme of, "our ocean, our loss".  Read more...

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Be sure to "LIKE" http://facebook.com/SeaSave to ensure our "Week in Review" is delivered to your newsfeed every Friday. 

Sea Save Foundation is committed to raising awareness of marine conservation. The Week in Review is a team effort produced by the Sea Save staff to provide a weekly summary of the latest in marine research, policy, and news.