Saving the Ross Sea

Friend of ASOC Peter Young, who works with our partner group the Last Ocean Trust went on New Zealand morning television to make the case for saving the Ross Sea. Watch the video here. He does a great job making the case that the Ross Sea, with its abundant wildlife and pristine habitats, is too valuable to go the way of the rest of the world's oceans. I hope the NZ government is listening!

Lessons from a Tragedy

Last week a Norwegian ship called the Berserk went missing somewhere in the Ross Sea. Sea Shepherd, who has aided in the search for the missing ship, found a damaged liferaft about 70km north of the original location of the yacht’s stress beacon. 2 members of the crew had been dropped off near Scott Base, to undertake a trip to the South Pole on four-wheel-drive quad bikes, to mark the 100th anniversary of the Norwegian Roald Amundsen’s Antarctic expedition. When the pair learned of their yacht’s disappearance they went to the US base at McMurdo Sound and were then flown to New Zealand.

This trip is regarded as a significant break in protocol, considering that this is a rather poor time of the year to travel to the Antarctic, and the ship never gained permission from the Norwegian government. But, no laws were broken. Had there been a ‘Polar Code’ or a commonly agreed upon law that strictly governed Antarctic tourism, this boat may not have made its way to the Antarctic, and thus would not have met its dire fate. The tragedy of the Berserk is just the latest in a string of similar incidents. It shows how not only for the preservation of the Antarctic, but also for the safety of would-be explorers, there needs to be an internationally agreed upon, well enforced Polar Code.

Cool new pictures from the Ross Sea

Over at the Huffington Post, there's a gallery of pictures taken onboard a ship travelling throughout the Ross Sea as part of a research mission. It's a great reminder of how vibrant the seas around Antarctica are - and how much is going on, scientifically speaking, in a region that is pretty devoid of humans otherwise. Most of us won't ever get to see the Ross Sea in person. But it's still important, because the Ross Sea is the most intact marine ecosystem remaining on earth, according to a 2008 study (Halpern et al.). It's therefore an unparalleled marine laboratory, not to mention a haven for wildlife. There are some who want to take out about half of one of the top fish predators in the Ross Sea, changing the ecosystem forever. This may not wipe out the toothfish population, but it will have consequences. Others like us, however, say that we should set it aside as a marine park- the fish harvested from the Ross Sea is sold for $20 per pound, so no one will go hungry without it. Humanity would lose a lot, on the other hand, if the Ross Sea becomes subject to increasing human interference in the delicate balance of its ecosystem.

We have one last chance to protect one very special place in the ocean. Look at the slideshow and think about what you'd rather have - a few fish filets, or an amazing marine laboratory that can help us understand how to restore damaged marine ecosystems to health?

What seafood can I eat?

As someone who works at an ocean conservation-related organization, I am always wondering what seafood can I eat? I read a recent blog post related to this problem with interest. The author of the post was bothered that seafood experts don't want to eat seafood. I can understand his point. Bison populations in the United States are growing mostly because people want to eat them again. And it's true that it's probably an easier task to tell people which seafood to eat than to tell them not to eat any. However, I can sympathize with the people happy not to see fish on the menu. I still recall attending a reception a couple of years ago, with an empty stomach, only to find that they were serving mostly seafood that, as a conservationist, I didn't feel right about eating. I would have been happier had there been no fish. Of course, meat and dairy have their own problems, but there are fewer variables - for example, a fish population could be currently healthy, but fished in a destructive way. At least I know the basics of farming and what it's doing to the environment - it's more difficult to learn that for seafood. The debate over the right approach, whether the environmental movement creates too much guilt, is one I can't resolve. But a couple of recent stories bring home just how complicated it is for even the highly motivated to figure out which fish they should seek out.

First up is Food and Water Watch's report on seafood eco-labels. As the report points out, the desire to raise awareness and promote sustainable seafood is admirable, but the proof is in the pudding, and eco-labels have plenty of room for improvement. MSC comes under reasonable criticism. The best advice is still to check out Blue Ocean Institute and the Monterey Bay Aquarium - they can give you the best information, and by text to help you figure out those tough restaurant/grocery store decisions. Eco-labels may look authoritative, and certainly are accurate some of the time, but seafood sustainability is hotly contested enough that you'll probably never be able to turn off your critical thinking skills when examining various claims.

Next is this great story about one retailer's quest to continually improve its sustainability. Wegmans is a pretty famous grocery store, with many dedicated fans - and it also has a forward-thinking seafood management team. Wegmans has made some tough decisions over the years, and their commitment to sustainability is admirable. In particular, their decision not to sell any fish from the pristine Ross Sea demonstrates that they are concerned about the overall health of the ocean, not just about the long-term viability of their seafood department.

For my part, I try to learn as much as I can, and make as many smart seafood and food decisions as I can. One decision everyone can make is to support companies that, like Wegmans, have a thoughtful approach to seafood. If you find a restaurant or store that has a good overall philosophy, you might be able to save yourself some research. A great example is the San Francisco sushi restaurant Tataki. The menu was created with the help of Greenpeace campaigner Casson Trenor. The seafood's fantastic, and you can rest assured that everything on the menu is a good choice. Let's face it, the average person will never be able to keep up with all the information needed to select environmentally friendly seafood, but if we support the businesses that put the effort into doing the work for us, we can help make sustainability automatic.

Guest Post at the Reef Tank

The Reef Tank has once again graciously hosted a guest post from me. Check it out - it's all about the Ross Sea and a symposium held on it at the International Marine Conservation Congress!