Review shows ocean life could rebound in 30 years!
A review in Nature points to rising marine life populations in response to protection measures, including humpback whales near Australia, sea otters in Western Canada, and grey seals and cormorants in the Baltic Sea. (Photo: Andrea Holien via Pexels)
With everything humanity is going through, it’s comforting to come across good news. The best is that people are co-operating to an unprecedented extent, coming together even as we remain physically distant, to help neighbours and families and do our part to slow or halt the virus’s spread.
Another good news item this week shows the value of caring co-operation. A review in Nature concludes that global ocean conservation through marine protected areas and other means is paying off — so much, the researchers conclude, that stepped-up efforts could bring large areas of ocean back to resilience by 2050.
The report points to rising marine life populations in response to protection measures, including humpback whales near Australia, sea otters in Western Canada, and grey seals and cormorants in the Baltic Sea. Where I live, increasing numbers of humpback, killer and grey whales, pods of Pacific white-sided dolphins, spawning salmon and herring have been returning to Atl’ka7tsem/Howe Sound over the years since mining, pulp and paper and other industries were closed and individuals were restricted from developing the shoreline.
(If you’re interested in exploring this exquisite region, the David Suzuki Foundation has created the Atl’ka7tsem/Howe Sound marine conservation map, with more than 140 layers of data, ranging from estuaries to eelgrass, glass sponge reefs to shipping routes, herring spawning grounds to log-sorting sites.)
Countries around the world committed to safeguarding 10 per cent of their ocean territories by this year, through marine protected areas and other means. Some have done better than others.
Canada has surpassed its commitment to protect at least 10 per cent of its oceans before 2020, thanks in part to significant collaboration between Indigenous communities, governments, conservation organizations, communities and industries. But the report shows all countries should and could go further to accelerate fisheries reform, curb pollution and climate disruption, and more.
The benefits of healthy oceans to humans are immeasurable — from providing food and regulating climate to facilitating transportation and offering recreational opportunities.
The benefits of healthy oceans to humans are immeasurable — from providing food and regulating climate to facilitating transportation and offering recreational opportunities.
One immediate Canadian concern is pending federal approval of a large container-shipping terminal in South Delta near Vancouver. A federally appointed environmental assessment panel determined last week that the project risks putting marine species in peril, including already struggling southern resident orcas and the Chinook salmon they depend on. Increased noise and pollution from shipping traffic would further degrade already compromised habitat. Just as the Nature report shows that giving ecosystems a chance to recover pays off, we must give the orca and salmon a chance.
The report’s authors write that achieving “substantial recovery of the abundance, structure and function of marine life” and strengthening the services oceans provide is possible within 30 years, with international co-operation to reduce pressures, including climate change. Although billions of dollars would have to be invested, the returns would be enormous.
“One of the overarching messages of the review is, if you stop killing sea life and protect it, then it does come back.”
“One of the overarching messages of the review is, if you stop killing sea life and protect it, then it does come back. We can turn the oceans around and we know it makes sense economically, for human wellbeing and, of course, for the environment,” said University of York Prof. Callum Roberts, from the review’s international team, quoted in the Guardian.
The review notes we have a good start on the 2030 goal, with successes already evident from an international push toward sustainable fisheries and restoration of coastal ecosystems such as seagrass meadows and mangrove forests.
The world still has danger zones, where agricultural runoff, sewage and pollution escape to the oceans, or too much industrial activity puts marine life at risk. Unsustainable fishing is still widespread, especially on the high seas.
This report shows it doesn’t have to be that way. If we invest in oceans and find healthier ways to live, we’ll all be better off.
We’re showing now what humanity is capable of in the face of an immediate crisis and beyond. Our priority now should be to take care of ourselves and each other. We need our strength to get through this pandemic. And if we keep our distance (but stay connected, at least virtually, when we can), and wash our hands thoroughly and frequently, we’ll get through it with the spirit of co-operation and altruism that we’re demonstrating constantly through our individual and collective actions. Everything is interconnected.
David Suzuki
David Suzuki, Co-Founder of the David Suzuki Foundation, is an award-winning scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster. David is renowned for his radio and television programs that explain the complexities of the natural sciences in a compelling, easily understood way.
Education
As a geneticist. David graduated from Amherst College (Massachusetts) in 1958 with an Honours BA in Biology, followed by a Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Chicago in 1961. He held a research associateship in the Biology Division of Tennessee’s Oak Ridge National Lab (1961 – 62), was an Assistant Professor in Genetics at the University of Alberta (1962 – 63), and since then has been a faculty member of the University of British Columbia. He is now Professor Emeritus at UBC.
Awards
In 1972, he was awarded the E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship for the outstanding research scientist in Canada under the age of 35 and held it for three years. He has won numerous academic awards and holds 25 honourary degrees in Canada, the U.S. and Australia. He was elected to the Royal Society of Canada and is a Companion of the Order of Canada. Dr. Suzuki has written 52 books, including 19 for children. His 1976 textbook An Introduction to Genetic Analysis(with A.J.F. Griffiths), remains the most widely used genetics text book in the U.S.and has been translated into Italian, Spanish, Greek, Indonesian, Arabic, French and German.
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