WaterNotes

Wasabi and Chopsticks For Change

All the mercury warnings in the world hasn’t curtailed my love of sushi from delectable ebi to delicately sliced ahi sashimi.  Like any good green citizen, I try to keep up to date on which fisheries are the most sustainable and ocean friendly by using the resources from Monterey Bay and the Blue Ocean Institute whenever I chow down on chowder (ha!). 

But when it comes to sushi, there weren’t any truly definitive guides.. until now.  Monterey Bay is unveiling a brand new all sushi all the time sustainable guide today, Wednesday October 22nd.  And to kick things off to a good start they even formed up the first ever National Sushi Party, also today, to encourage people to get out and enjoy one of their favorite things in the bluest way possible by making use of the new guides.

Want a guide for yourself?  Hop on over to the Seafood Watch program and download your own wallet-friendly resource. 

The Ocean Conservancy, also interested in sustainable seafood, has been inspired by the political season and started their Fish Vote 2008 campaign.  You vote for your favorite fish and they keep you in the loop on the progress of ensuring that species sustainable future.  Don’t let me persuade you, but I’m voting grouper.  (From black to goliath to Caribbean, I just love those big beautiful predators!)

Mercury Contamination in Beluga (Not Caviar)

In 2005, Lockhart et al reported upon mercury contamination in beluga whales in the Canadian Arctic from 1981 to 2002.  The team reported a steep increase in mercury levels in the marine mammals that did not seem to correlate with the relatively steady mercury levels measured in Arctic environments. 

PLOS Biology today published Arctic Sentinels as a summation of their follow up work to  determine the source of the “extra” mercury.  Interestingly, the team may have evidence to suggest that climate change increased accumulation of mercury in whales, seals, fish, and other top Arctic predators. 

Some mammals in the Canadian Arctic have shown 10-fold increases in mercury levels since the end of the 19th century. Of particular concern are the steep increases of mercury—a potent neurotoxin—in beluga whales and other marine mammals that have been hunted for food by northern peoples for centuries.

Gary Stern, a researcher with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and a professor at the University of Manitoba, and his colleagues measured mercury levels in samples of liver, kidney, muscle, and muktuk—frozen whale skin and blubber, frequently eaten by the Inuit—taken from beluga whales from the Mackenzie Delta between 1981 and 2007. Stern says the highest mercury concentrations were measured in animals from the mid-1990s. The levels have since declined a bit, but they remain higher than they were in the 1980s [1], even though global atmospheric mercury has been in decline since the 1980s. And in the high Arctic, where scientists have been measuring atmospheric mercury levels since 1995, mercury levels have remained stable, and may be decreasing. “We didn’t see an increase in mercury that could explain the mercury concentration in the biota,” says Wang.

Because of the complex mercury cycle within the high Arctic it is very hard to pinpoint the exact source of the mercury contamination although researchers estimate: “that there are more than 47 metric tons of abiotic methylmercury in the upper ocean and 450 metric tons in the entire Arctic Ocean, but only 4.5 metric tons of methylmercury in the marine biota.”  The researchers also suggest that rising temperatures may actually increase areas of new sea ice formation - where mercury contamination may start. 

The article goes on to discuss the impacts of this type of mercury contamination and its relevance for Inuit cultures which rely upon marine mammals and Arctic fish species as the bulk of their traditional diet.  (Yes, traditional cultures are still allowed to hunt marine mammals even within United States waters where all marine mammals are protected.  A provision in the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 - which had its 36th anniversary today - allows for indigenous people to continue traditional hunting practices.)

However.. what we’re in no way prepared to answer are questions concerning the impact that methylmercury contamination may have upon the health and reproductive capacities for the marine mammals!  If the belugas are carrying mercury loads high enough to endanger humans when consumed then perhaps these levels also alter normal health and physiology for the whales. 

It would be incredibly interesting to study rates of birth defects and other physical abnormalities in the wild populations of belugas, polar bears, ringed seals, and walrus.  (That is, if it were truly possible.)  The NRDC lists symptoms of mercury poisoning including: hair loss, vision and hearing disruptions, headaches, seizures, delayed learning, memory loss and others. 

I wonder which, if any, of these symptoms might also be observed in marine mammals?  Or if mercury poisoning, given the potential alterations to human senses, might impact a marine mammal’s use of echolocation or migration patterns?  Either way it seems we need more information in order to understand fully our impact and chart a path to better protect arctic species.   

Speaking of protecting Arctic species, if you’re a voter in the US you might be interested to know about a certain VP candidate’s position on beluga whale conservation.  Don’t forget to make your voice heard on or before Election Day. 

Rising Concerns For Lagoon Dolphins

The Indian River Lagoon (IRL) system is home to a semi-residential population of roughly five hundred Atlantic bottlenose dolphin.   Well, roughly four-hundred and fifty after this summer.  Researchers from Fish and Wildlife and the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute have noted fifty dolphin deaths within the lagoon from May to October 11th when a female was reported pushing a dead calf near Titusville. 

While there are certainly natural fluctuations in any population’s size, the mortality rate for summer 2008 is nearly twice the typical rate seen for bottlenose dolphin in the IRL.  What’s going on?  No one has a ready answer.

Lagoon dolphins - like other marine mammals - are impacted by boat traffic, entanglement in fishing gear, and changes in habitat quality that alters their food sources’ location and population.  But it seems they’re squaring off against other troubles too.  Mercury contamination from necropsies of dead dolphin tissues was reportedly very high. 

Bioaccumulation is another potential threat in the form of toxic algal species like Pyrodinium bahamense which produces saxitoxin.  Saxitoxin enters, and accumulates, in the lagoon food chain as it becomes concentrated in the tissues of filter feeding shellfish, then shellfish-loving pufferfish and burrfish, which are in turn consumed by the dolphins.  If saxitoxin seems familiar, its because I’ve written about its impacts in the IRL before: Left for Dead, Burrfish Bycatch in the Lagoon. 

Harmful algal blooms are suspected in the sudden increase in dolphin mortality in the IRL since a Pyrodinium bloom was recorded in August.  The deaths also declined suddenly following Tropical Storm Fay when conditions for Pyrodinium would have deteriorated lowering its count in lagoon waters and, hopefully, within the food chain. 

But, there could be more at work on the bottlenose then we are currently aware.  Marine disease - especially viral disease - is an emerging field of study and current projects have revealed intriguing evidence for increased rates of disease in several marine mammals living in coastal areas heavily impacted by human use.  Whether or not there is a strong relationship between disease and pollution (or mercury or algal bloom toxicity) is a question that needs to be answered not only to assess the health of the dolphins but the Lagoon as a whole. 

Visualizing (and Animating) Excess

Every now and then you hear completely unbelievable facts about our consumer culture in America.  Facts like, “US consumption of plastic bottles reached 30 billion per year in 2005 and only 12% were recycled” or “four million cups are used on American airline flights every day.”  

Its hard to put a logical grasp around the dizzying meaning behind such statements because they involve numbers large enough to terrify even number-loving accountants and math teachers.  Like so many statistics they exist in a scale-less world where meaning gets lost in the sheer enormity of the numbers involved.

And every now and then you come across visualizations and animations that beautifully demonstrate these facts in actual comprehensible visuals.  Check out the YouTube video above for a truly shocking animation on the reality of plastic bottle recycling. 

When you’ve digested that, mosey on over to the always fantastic TED page to listen to Chris Jordan explain his artistic work that sheds a very revealing focus on the incredible excess of what he calls unconscious behaviors that culminate into catastrophic proportions. 

Recycling is often pushed aside as a passe phrase in the overall realm of green living and conservation messages.  But unfortunately, as these visuals confirm, we still have a lot of work ahead of us to reduce our culture’s environmental footprints upon the wild.

Appealing to the Public Through Their Wallets

Its hard to motivate people (or kids) to fall in love with seagrass.  While leading field trips in Florida I found it necessary to relate the importance of seagrass back to more enigmatic species like manatees, Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, locally revered redfish and spotted sea trout, and the beautiful green sea turtles so often found meandering through the lagoon’s seagrass meadows. 

Interestingly, it seems that in an uncertain economy that it might be possible to wedge a respect - if not a love - for the habitat by attaching a financial value to the resource.  Florida Today, a local paper focused on the central Atlantic coastline of Florida, recently published some findings from a partnership involving an outside research firm for the good folks at the St. Johns River Water Management District and the South Florida Water Management District. 

According to them:  “An acre of seagrass — the main money machine when it comes to supporting fish, crabs and other lagoon life — is worth about $4,600 per year in the recreational and commercial fishing it supports” […] and the IRL system as a whole is worth $3.7 billion yearly in the local economy.

Interestingly they included $91 million of the value as an estimation of the worth of the resource in terms of research and education activities that are carried out in the area.  This, more than any other number, caught my attention.  There are several institutions conducting field trip and classroom activities tied into the IRL estuary system including the Marine Science Center, the Brevard Zoo, the Florida Oceanographic Society, the Smithsonian Marine Station, and several county parks and recreation groups along the span of the 156 mile long system. 

Each facility easily serves several hundred to several thousand students every year - Brevard alone leads every fourth grade student out into the Lagoon for a required lesson on estuary systems in their curriculum!  Surely the value of all that work and dedication and education and inspiration is worth more than a measly $91 million!

Perhaps that’s always the case with education - its devalued.  Then again, how do you put a price tag on your first experience holding a slimey American eel, or learning to pull a seine net, or reading Secchi disks, or estimating the pH or salinity of the water, or counting quadrats of seagrass coverage, or getting over your fear of stingrays in the shallows?  Perhaps you can’t.  Too much of education - and especially informal education - falls outside the realm of hard statistics and financial estimations. 

Still, its nice to have an idea of what the Lagoon is worth.  If we cannot approach the problems of pollution and improper fishing practices with appeals to residents’ lingering nostalgia for an estuary that was once crystal clear and teeming with now-endangered species, perhaps we can rally their support for improved water quality and preservation of habitat by attaching their heart strings to the salty waters through their wallets. 

Be A Contender (and Activist!) at Oceana

I’m a huge fan of the outreach campaigns supported by Oceana.  From trawling to Arctic melt to sea turtles to sharks, they’ve taken the steps that make it easy for the public to make their voices heard on ocean conservation and to become informed citizens.

A few weeks ago I was trolling through my local Target aisle looking for a new moisturizer for my freckled face.  My inner nerd makes me read all the labels and I noticed one ominous ingredient on the list of several national brands: squalane.  Why the paranoia?  Squalane sounded a lot like squalous to me, and if I remember my Jaws correctly its Dreyfus’ nerdy marine biology character that mentions the word in relation to sharks!

With a little home research it appears that there are two main sources for squalane: from the liver oils of deep water sharks (or perhaps any sharks, the deep water part may be hype from the marketers) and olive oil.  The problem is, how the heck do you know who is using which source? 

Well, in some cases, they give it away.  Oceana is currently running a letter campaign against one company in particular that is using squalane that most certainly is from an ocean source.  How do they know?  Its the premise of their marketing!

I would really like to know how a concerned consumer can go about learning if brands like Aveeno, L’Oreal, and others are using a plant source or a shark source for their squalane.  For now I’m going to avoid all products that make use of it at all while I contact the companies and see if they will shed some light on the situation.

Speaking of scary ocean related things, Oceana is also running a Freaky Fish Contest!  Vote for your favorite deep sea goblin or ghoul and you could win tickets to an IMAX experience. 

And the TED Prize Goes To:

If you’ve been reading WaterNotes long enough you may have noticed my love for the ideas and intellect archived at TED.com.  TED is the annual Technology, Entertainment, Design convention meant to bring together the best and brightest in major fields of inquiry for the purpose of sharing knowledge and inspiration.  I have, certainly, been deeply inspired by the brilliance regularly offered up by TEDsters and I’m grateful that the conference is made public through video posting to the website on a continuous basis throughout the year. 

In 2005 TED began awarding a yearly TED prize to deserving candidates at the forefront of their fields.  The 2009 recipients were recently named and I was excited to see my personal hero Sylvia Earle on the list. 

Besides Dr. Earle’s many contributions to deep-ocean science, she has been an unswerving advocate for marine conservation.  Dr. Earle is, in my opinion, a role model par excellence for young women interested in scientific research and has proved many times over that women can stand alongside men within the field of oceanography and deep-ocean exploration both physically and intellectually. 

As part of the TED prize winners give a talk at the annual conference - scheduled for early February of the coming year - and are asked to present one wish to the world.  In the past wishes have ranged from calls to service to our communities and to the world as the ONE campaign, calls for short films defining the viewpoint of people from across the world as with Pangea Day, an Encyclopedia of Life from EO Wilson, and the Meet The Greens campaign to sustainable lifestyles particularly through motivating children. 

I absolutely cannot wait to see what Dr. Earle proposes for her wish to the TED conference. 

Between now and the conference in February you can read more from Dr. Earle and her colleagues with the National Geographic Society in a new book set for release this month.  Ocean: An Illustrated Atlas debuts October 28th (my birthday, how appropriate!). 

Vaquita: An Endangered Little “Sea Cow”

EarthOcean is at it again.  In addition to their frontline coverage of marine conservation - particularly their focus on enigmatic species - they have recently launched a new website: WhaleTrackers.  WhaleTrackers continues their use of posting online video documentaries that highlight various expeditions around the world searching for cetaceans.

The current expedition is drifting off of San Felipe, Mexico searching for the vaquita, the smallest species of true porpoise.  Vaquita (or “little cow”) are considered the most endangered species of marine mammal in the world.  The world population is estimated at 100 - 200 individuals with regular drownings of the tiny mammals as bycatch in nets for fisheries off the Mexican coastline. 

Unfortunately not much is known about the biology of the vaquita.  The species was described from skull material in 1958 and scientific sightings and specimens were not obtained for a full description until 1985!  Its hard to believe that a new marine mammal was described when I was three years of age!  They are similar in size to the Commerson’s dolphin, achieving an average weight of 90 - 110 pounds and a full length of nearly five feet for mature females. 

Their known distribution is a frighteningly tiny area within the Sea of Cortez (also known as the Gulf of California) in a biologically rich but restricted zone that is currently set aside as a refuge tied into the larger Biosphere reserve.  While the population was thought to be in the thousands just twenty years ago we are now faced with the very real potential for their extinction inside of two to five years without intervention.  (Read more at Vaquita.org.)

What can we do?  Public support for the vaquita as well as awareness are expected to become the key for long term success for this species.  The Sea of Cortez is affected by the loss of freshwater influx via the Colorado River, which is now being heavily diverted for water resources in the arid American southwest. 

While we cannot perhaps drink less water there is a more pressing need for action from the American public: Eat Ocean-Friendly Seafood!!  Our power to change the world in a global economy and a global food market is strongly tied to our wallets.  Make the commitment to eat only sustainable seafood choices and prevent animals like the vaquita, seals, sea lions, sharks, stingrays, and other whale and dolphin species from ending up as bycatch in irresponsible fisheries.