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Environmental Management
Ocean ecosystems, currents and fishing 1) Life in the ocean
Why are oceans important? They control weather and climate They stabilize temperatures on land They yield moisture back into the atmosphere by evaporation, which replaces the Earths fresh water supplies in rivers and lakes so that all of us can use it. Trophic Level 4th Food chain Carnivores 2: - Human - Polar bear Carnivores 1: - Whales - Fish - Seals Herbivores: - Zooplankton Comment Top of the food chain Depend on everything below Eat the flesh of the herbivores 1 2% of energy left (respiration waste) Energy loss 100% energy at start Energy

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They are small organisms that graze on the phytoplankton They convert nutrients into organic Primary Producers: compounds using energy as sunlight - Phytoplankton They live near the surface

2) Ocean currents An ocean current is a great surface movement of water in a fairly well-defined direction. Causes: The prevailing wind direction The shape and position of the land masses The friction between wind and surface which causes drifts of water

Effects: Warm ocean currents keep nearby coastal areas warmer in winter Because of this, outdoor activities can continue all year and less energy is consumed for heating, resulting in economic benefits Cold ocean currents reduce amounts of rain and increase amount of mist and fog Because of this, economic activities on land (especially farming) are limited They increase fishing opportunities 2.1) El Nio Causes: 1

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For reasons not fully understood, the south-east trade winds are weaker in some years. Warm water from Indonesia is allowed to drift eastwards across the Pacific. This happens every 3-8 years, Effects: Warm ocean water kills plankton and fish because it is low in oxygen and nutrients; up-welling does not occur Beaches become littered with washed up dead fish and sea birds The large fish shoals move further offshore into colder waters, out of range of fishermen with only small boats The climate merges into a colder and more humid state; there are many rainstorms which cause floods and landslides that destroy crops, irrigation channels and even whole villages Mosquitoes and insects multiply 3) Fishing Why is fish important? Fish is a major source of food Many jobs depend upon it It affects processing industries such as canning, curing and freezing for human use There are related industries, notably boat building, making nets and fishing tackle, and ice production Why is fish distribution the way it is? Traditional fishing grounds are located predominantly in the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere due to natural factors Wide expanses of continental shelf (more up-welling, more fish) These areas are rich in plankton because of their shallow waters The presence of mineral-transporting ocean currents Shoal fish prefer cooler temperate waters In warm tropical waters nutrients are scarce because a thermo-layer occurs because of the lack of mixing between the warm surface waters and the cold deeps Coastal regions in temperate areas are heavily populated Fish is an important part of diet Fish demand has greatly increased, encouraging the search for new fishing grounds. The increasing size of fishing boats and the development of factory ships have allowed commercial fishing to be extended to the far south into cold waters. The sea fish caught fall into two groups: 1Pelagic, which live near the ocean surface and include herring, mackerel and sardine 2Demersal, which live closer to the floor of the continental shelf and include cod, haddock, plaice and sole. Other main marine animals of commercial value include: Crustacean: crabs, lobsters and crayfish 2

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3.1) Overfishing Every major fishing ground is now considered to be at risk; some have collapsed. Commercial fishing is no longer sustainable. Overfishing has meant that there are insufficient fish left to carry on the reproductive cycle and raise stock levels to the point where large scale commercial fishing can return. The number of fish caught should not be determined by the number of fish available, but by the number that will be left to maintain future fish stocks. Causes: Use of new technology: sophisticated fish-finding sonar and satellite navigation allow locations to be pinpointed with great accuracy. Working close to the home port is no longer essential. Modern boats are larger, can travel further, can detect where fish stocks are located and use nets so large that they even catch small and immature fish Demand increases as population does so Poor fishers are desperate to stay in business and preserve their livelihoods, so they use small nets to catch many fish Effects: lost Hundreds of thousands of jobs in fishing and related industries were Fishing boats were left rusting in ports Small port communities have been badly hit The desperate search for new fish supplies

Solutions: The Economic Exclusion Zone (EEZ): countries are responsible for marine resources in their own territorial waters Quotas, annual limits set for the amount and types of fish that can be caught, further fishing is forbidden. They can be supported by other management policies: closed season for fishing, usually the breeding season restricted areas so that fish can breed and fish stocks recover limits on net types and sizes so that immature fish can grow and reproduce Problems: Fishermen do not declare the full amount of fish caught Fishermen use nets which are not allowed Fishermen fish in restricted areas or trespass into fishing grounds from other country 4) Marine pollution 75 per cent of marine pollution comes from land; the rest mainly comes from dumping by ships and from offshore mining and oil production.

Marcos Lund Type Sources - 50% sewage - 50% farming Deforestation, soil erosion, mining and farming

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Effects Decomposing algae lowers water A Nutrients oxygen levels, killing marine life Blocks water flows and covers B Sediments coastal ecosystems Contaminates coastal swimming Pathogenic C Sewage and livestock wastes places and seafood, spreading organisms diseases Litter, Disposal by people and the plastics Unsightly beaches with plastic D especially industry in land, thrown overboard bags, containers, bottles, nylon plastics by ships ropes, fishing nets - 50% land resources - 33% oil tanker operations and Oil slicks kill sea life: low level E Oil other shipping discharges contamination can kill larvae and - 17% most from offshore oil cause diseases in marine life industries Discharges from nuclear power Causes diseases in marine life, Radioactive stations, reprocessing plants, F endangers humans if it enters the waste discarded submarines, military food chain waste, fallout from the atmosphere Toxic waste Metals from mining and industry, (heavy Poisons marine life and G pesticides from farms, discharge metals and contaminates seafood waste from cities chemicals) Impacts from some pollutant are immediate and easy to observe: Oil spills devastate marine life throughout the affected area It can take many years after exposure to radioactive isotopes for cancers to grow in humans to the point where they are life-threatening Traces of metals travel through the food chain until a point is reached where they begin to seriously affect sea birds and marine animals Consequences from oil spillages and other pollution last longest in cold environments, where ecological recovery is low Which areas are most at risk? Risks of pollution are higher in sheltered bays and river estuaries where wave action is weak and pollutants can concentrate more easily. Narrow or enclosed seas and gulfs are at high risk as well because through water flows are restricted. Political instability is another factor. Solutions: World-wide organizations, which can only respond once pollution has already taken place and the problem has been identified as serious (United Nations Environment Programme UNEP) Dealing with oil spills: 1) Booms: floating inflatable tubes prevent slicks from spreading 2) Detergent sprays: chemicals break up oil into droplets, dispersing larger slicks 3) Skimmer: oil drawn up absorbent bell. Rollers scrape and squeeze oil into collecting tank 4