Worldviews
Uses and management of coral reef environments
Global Warming
Humans have been aware of pollution and climate change ever since the 19th century, and humans are the cause of its sudden increase.
We are large consumers of coal burning, which is the dirtiest fossil fuel. There's been a steady decrease in coal burning as scientists have discovered many more eco-friendly and efficient ways to produce energy which are currently being experimented on.
Some examples include solar energy, wind energy, hydro energy, tidal energy, biogas energy, and nuclear energy. Many of these renewable energy sources are more beneficial for the environment but they come with many drawbacks such as a lack of investment, research, accessible materials, and funds, and possible danger if there were to be an issue with the technology.
Global warming is slowly killing coral reefs.
The first effect is the temperature rising, it creates stress on the coral and causes it to bleach. When bleaching it also becomes more vulnerable to diseases, If it’s unable to recover then the coral will die and be unable to create new coral.
As it heats up, the sea level begins to rise. This will eventually lead to sedimentation runoff that will bury the coral.
Rising sea levels also bring more intense weather patterns. This will lead to ocean currents changing that will drag land pollutants into the reefs, which create algal blooms that block sunlight which is crucial for photosynthesis.
Coral bleaching causes by global warming and rising sea temperatures threatens vital habitats for marine life.
Garbage
About 260 million tonnes of plastic worldwide is thrown away. Only 12% of this plastic gets recycled. Most plastic is turned into landfill or incinerated, but a large portion is abandoned and eventually travels into the ocean.
Water will break down plastic into microplastics, they can be as tiny as 1.6 micrometres but they only have to be 5 mm to be considered a microplastic.
When whirlpools occur it gathers all these microplastics and forms floating islands, a famous example is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch which is double the size of France and is continuing to grow larger.
There is also a large issue of animals mistaking rubbish for food or disrupting their environment. 1 million marine animals die yearly from plastic, and 1 in 3 Marine animals suffer from consuming or being injured by plastic waste.
Re-use and recyle
Humans are now regularly reminded of the dangers of plastic and how harmful it can be, it's now quite common to find replacements that are either reusable or biodegradable.
For example, many fast food-related chains have replaced plastic utensils with wooden cutlery or paper straws, and shopping centres have paper or recycle bags available.
Instead of throwing things away, selling them is also better for the environment. Secondhand items are often sold at a lower price than the original so it's not only saving waste, but money as well.
Donating is also beneficial, there are many places without necessary materials, so instead of turning unused items into waste, give them to someone else who can give them a new and useful purpose.
Overfishing
The ocean is constantly under pressure from human activity. Overfishing is causing species to be unable to breed enough to keep up and have a sustainable population. As species become more scarce the food chain will have to adjust. Species can migrate to a new place due to competition over prey.
Billions of humans worldwide rely on the fishing industry, whether it’s to sell or for consumption.
The number one culprit of overfishing is fishermen, who are unaware or neglectful of how many fish they've caught. Many fishing companies will illegally fish to get more stock such as unreported or unregulated fishing.
The more fishing fishermen do, the less mature fish there are so the more fishing fishermen have to do.
To counter this, there are now Marine Protected Areas (MPA’s) where there are consequences to fishing. Fines can reach up to $22,000 depending on the size of the catch, or how harmful their gear is to the environment such as throwing fishing lines into the ocean.
Nets and traps often catches unintended species which can put the ecosystem out of balance.
Big fishLarge fish are often breeding stock and are likely to produce more young fish, Catching and keeping too many large fish reduces fish numbers over time.
DebrisLarge nets scrape the bottom of seabed which destroys many habitats. They are also often discarded if they get tangled in reefs, and can trap and harm many marine creatures.
AggregationsSome species of fish return to the same place to spawn at predictable times and in huge numbers. Fishing spawning populations makes those species vulnerable to rapid decline.
NurseriesClose to shore habitats are often full of young fish. Inshore fishing, especially with nets, catches many young fish and removes them before the population has a chance to replenish.