Living Oceans is working to remove the barriers to selling locally harvested sustainable seafood in British Columbia. Approximately 80 percent of B.C.’s harvested seafood is exported to international markets. British Columbians are then obliged to buy seafood that comes from far away and was likely farmed or caught using unsustainable practices.
Most people know that trees and other land plants absorb CO2. So do coastal ecosystems. It's called blue carbon. In fact, coastal ecosystems are up to 2,000 times more efficient than land plants at removing CO2 from the atmosphere. Wetlands store carbon in a stable, solid form in the marine sediments beneath their roots for thousands of years. Unfortunately, these ecosystems are threatened worldwide because of coastal development and pollution.
Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity. On land its impacts are well known: higher temperatures, stronger storms, droughts for some and more rain for others, wildfires and pest outbreaks, etc.
Without the ocean, climate change would be much worse. The ocean absorbs huge amounts of CO2. It’s taken in roughly 25 percent of all CO2 emissions since the late 1700s, and 80 percent of the heat from global warming! This is great for our climate, but it comes at a cost to the ocean. We can expect to see:
Rising ocean acidity reduces the availability of carbonate minerals which are used by thousands of marine species to form shells and skeletons. These “calcifying” organisms – such as corals, shellfish, and tiny marine snails known as pteropods – are important in marine ecosystems from the tropics to high latitudes and the deep sea.
When there is less carbonate available, it is increasingly difficult for these creatures to build their homes and sources of protection. Ocean acidification threatens species throughout the web who feed on these creatures – from salmon to whales.
The ocean is one of the largest carbon dioxide (CO2) sinks on the planet. It naturally absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere and can store it for thousands of years. However, since the Industrial Revolution the ocean been trying to keep up with the extra emissions from humans. Here’s the chemistry lesson:
When CO2 is absorbed by the ocean it reacts with water (H2O) to form carbonic acid (H2CO3). CO2 + H2O = H2CO3
Our ocean acidification communications strategy enhances our work to push the Canadian government to develop effective climate policy. Living Oceans sounded the alarm about ocean acidification in Canada, an unknown subject to most people. In 2010 we set out to change that through an information campaign featuring print publications, e-newsletters and action alerts that aimed to increase political, media and public awareness of ocean acidification. The first place we went with our message was to Ottawa.
Our oceans’ inhabitants are in trouble. 75 percent of the world’s fisheries are either fully exploited, over-exploited or have collapsed. Worldwide fishing capacity is 2.5 times larger than what the oceans are able to sustainably produce. It’s time for humans to change the way we use the ocean’s once bountiful resources, because there are no longer plenty of fish in the sea.
Fishing Gear
At least half of our seafood comes from fish farming or ‘aquaculture.’ Fish farming is an incredibly diverse industry. It can occur in open water, semi-contained or contained systems, and involve countless different species and rearing methods. Different types of fish farming also cause a wide range and intensity of environmental impacts.
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