Could Underwater Farms help fight Climate Change?
'' It is a curious situation that the sea, from which life first arose, should now be threatened by the activities of one form of that Life. ''
For 8 billion people around the world, seafood provides a significant source of protein and nutrition. But recent studies show that 33% of wild fisheries are overfished, while another 60% are fished at their maximum capacity. In fact, over half the seafood we eat from Finfish and shellfish to seaweed and algae isn't caught in the wild. It's grown through aquaculture or aquatic farming.
One of the most common aquaculture methods involves LARGE PENS made of nets, where fish are farmed offshore in floating cages roughly 1000 square meters in size. Just like net pens, these ponds are prone to spreading pollution and disease.
One way to solve these problems is to farm fish on land in completely contained systems. Tanks and raceways can recirculate and filter water to prevent pollution.
But even fully contained facilities still contend with another major hurdle: FISH MEAL
About 10% of the seafood caught globally is used to feed animals, including carnivorous farmed fish. Researchers are working on fish feed made of Insects and plant-based proteins, but for now, many Inland fish farms are connected to overfishing.
All these obstacles can make sustainable aquaculture feel a long way off, but Innovative farmers are finding new ways to responsibly from the seas. The most promising solution of all may be to look lower on the food chain. Instead of cramming large, carnivorous fish into pens, we can work with natural ocean systems to produce huge amounts of shellfish and seaweeds. In fact, they naturally improve water quality, filtering it as they feed off of sunlight and nutrients in the seawater. By Absorbing carbon through Photosynthesis, these farms help battle climate change and reduce local ocean acidification while creating habitats for other species to thrive.
Shifting to restorative ocean farming could provide good jobs for coastal communities, and support healthy plant and shellfish-based diets. Done properly, regenerative ocean farming could play a vital role in helping our oceans, our climate, and ourselves.
Oceanic Sea Life Is Affected by Plastic Pollution
The plastic poison in our water is killing off a wide variety of animals that live there. Examples abound, including the gray whale that perished in 2010 after becoming stranded close to Seattle and having more than 20 plastic bags, a golf ball, and other trash in its stomach to the harbor seal pup discovered dead on the Scottish island of Skye with its intestines clogged by a small piece of plastic wrapper.
Around the world, marine debris affects at least 800 species, and up to 80% of that trash is plastic, according to the UN. A trash or garbage truck load of plastic is thought to be dumped into the ocean every minute, or up to 13 million metric tons annually. Suffocation, malnutrition, and drowning can result when fish, seabirds, sea turtles, and marine mammals consume or become tangled in plastic trash. While it is believed that it might take hundreds of years for plastics to completely disintegrate, some of them do so much more quickly, breaking down into minute particles that wind up in the seafood we eat. This problem is not just limited to animals; humans are also susceptible to it.
According to research, plastic has been consumed by 50% of all sea turtles globally. After doing so, some people starve because they believe they have eaten enough because their bellies are full. Plastic pollution is so widespread on many beaches that it is reducing turtle reproduction rates by changing the temperature of the sand where incubation takes place.
According to a recent study, marine turtles are more likely to perish if they consume even 14 particles of plastic. Because they tend to consume less selectively than their elders and float with currents, just like plastic, young people are particularly at risk.
Both large and small oceanic species are impacted by plastic. Sea creatures range from small seahorses that live in coral reefs to seagulls, whales, and dolphins.
Pathogens in the ocean may flourish as a result of plastic garbage. According to a recent study, corals that come into touch with plastic have an 89 percent chance of becoming ill, compared to corals that do not have this risk having a 4% chance.
The weight of ocean plastics is expected to surpass the total weight of all fish in the seas by 2050, according to scientists, unless immediate action is taken to address this pressing issue.
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