Keeping Our Oceans Healthy
Ocean health is vital in conserving not only marine creatures but also the natural ecosystems they call home. The conservation team at New Heaven Dive School in Koh Tao, Thailand raises green sea turtles every summer until they are strong enough to be reintroduced into the ocean.
This project encourages green sea turtle reproduction and plays a huge role in repopulating the sea turtles falling population in the Gulf of Thailand. Unfortunately, during my time working with the conservation team all the baby sea turtles that arrived were very sick with bacterial infections, due to the health of the ocean, and died.
Therefore, no turtles were reintroduced in 2017. In working to conserve the ocean, ecological monitoring programs are put in place in which different bays off the island are surveyed to understand the population status of different species. In surveying species such as sea turtles, the island has seen a massive population decline, primarily due to the amount of plastic and pollutants being put into the water daily.
The island use to be home to 9 different types of turtles and now is only home to green sea turtles and hawksbill. In addition to a decline in turtle diversity the island has seen a decrease in the number of sharks around the island. Through surveying for fish as well as invertebrates, numbers can be recorded to evaluate species that are declining due to the health of the ocean and other predatory species.
As we survey and see consistent decline, it is crucial that people worldwide are contributing to ocean conservation; if more participation is not seen, conservation efforts will be significantly less effective.
What’s Happening Right Now In The Ocean?
Only about 0.1% of the ocean is coral and since the early 1900’s, 96% of the coral coverage in the Caribbean has been lost. The coral loss in the Indo-Pacific is at about 57%. With increasing levels of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere, the level of carbon dioxide in the ocean is rising.
This increase is causing seawater to become more acidic and in turn decreasing the number and diversity of living organisms, such as zooplankton which are a major food source of corals. Additionally, much of the coral is being bleached due to increasing temperatures of the currents coming into the reefs. In bleaching events, corals expel the algae that lives in their tissues which causes the coral to turn completely white.
Marine life face many struggles in present day which greatly affects the marine ecosystem as a whole. Shark hunting has had an unimaginable impact on the balance of the food chain in our oceans. Due to the delicacy that is shark fin soup, many sharks are being terrorized by fisherman. Sharks are being illegally fished, pulled onto ships and getting their fins cut off. After their fins are cut off they are often thrown back into the ocean to die.
This cruel fishing method has wiped out 90% of the sharks worldwide. This has a huge impact on the oceans as without sharks the food chain cannot remain balanced, therefore certain species will no longer have predators while others will be predated on at a faster rate causing potential extinction. Many people do not protest this abuse due to the stigma that sharks pose as danger to humans.
When in reality, there are only about six fatalities per year attributed to a shark attack worldwide! To put that into perspective, the average number of fatal dog bites in the United States alone averages 35 per year.
Many of the issues faced both in the ocean around Thailand and around the world are due to tourism and lack of awareness. Chemicals such as sunscreens and bug repellants are damaging to coral as well as fish and invertebrates in the ocean.
With increased ocean tourism, there is a huge influx of chemicals pollutants the ocean which can be reduced by tourists using reef friendly sunscreens and refraining from using harsh chemicals such as deet mosquito repellents. Reef friendly sunscreens can be found online and at many stores! This is a small way you can contribute to reducing pollutants and death of marine life.
What Can We Do About It?
With so much emphasis on plastic use lately, many people are becoming more aware of the amount of plastic they are putting back into the environment. Due to increased amounts of micro plastics in the oceans, our waters are extremely unhealthy for both plant life and animal life. There is a huge increase in animals dying from ingestion and suffocation of plastics.
Some tips for conserving marine life include cutting back on your use of straws and single use plastics. There are a variety of different alternatives to plastics, including: bamboo silverware and straws, metal and glass straws, reusable mugs and coffee cups and more! You can contribute by cutting any plastics that are circular before disposing of them (such as the rings that hold together six packs of sodas).
By cutting these rings, you are reducing the amount of animals getting caught in the rings and possibly suffocating or having health issues. Additionally, using reusable grocery bags to reduce the amount of plastic bags getting into the ocean and paying attention to labels on your cleaning and beauty supplies can also contribute to a cleaner ocean.
By using brands such as Mrs. Meyers, Honest Company, Dr. Bronner’s and more, there are no harsh chemicals being flushed down your drain and into the ocean. Organic cleaning supplies can hugely reduce chemical pollution and save marine life. All of these small lifestyle changes can make a huge impact on marine conservation, making our oceans more hospitable for all life!