Life on earth first crawled out of the sea millions of years ago. Today we must find our way back to protecting the oceans on which we depend for so much.
In October Malta hosted a week of parallel international meetings for a better understanding of the ocean by us all.
One of these events was organised by the European Marine Science Educators Association (EMSEA), which aims to support teachers “in the task of making European citizens ocean-literate”.
The vast stretches of ocean, which give our home the name ‘Blue Planet’, seem endless. But what influence are we having on the health of the ocean? What will be the effect on our own well-being if we fail to take care of it?
Ocean literacy is about understanding why we need to reduce pressures on marine ecosystems and make responsible decisions to protect the ocean and its resources.
We are aware that we are polluting, overfishing, acidifying and warming the sea. Major fish stocks, upon which humans and other sea life rely, are being rapidly depleted. Nearly 90 per cent of our oxygen is produced by phytoplankton yet this is being impacted by seabed mining as resources on earth become more scarce. Efforts to find ways of limiting harm to marine resources are hardly able to keep pace with ocean science as new discoveries are made almost daily.
So far, we know that the ocean has been absorbing more heat as the climate warms up, making conditions ripe for invasive species to move into new territory and compete with local species. Crabs from the Caribbean are showing up in northern waters. Marine life in general is being driven to the relatively cooler waters of the poles.
Marine creatures with an exterior housing made of calcium carbonate (shellfish, sea snails, corals) are in peril as carbon emissions make the oceans more acidic. Their protective outer casing is being slowly dissolved. The altering pH factor of seawater turns an environment to which they are well adapted into a more hostile one.
Thanks to the EMSEA event, 40 teachers in Malta now have the training to guide their students towards becoming ocean-literate.
According to Prof. Paul Pace, a pioneer in environmental education in Malta, teachers must create a space for marine education. Traditionally the focus has been on woodlands in the Maltese school curriculum, an inheritance from the islands’ colonial past.
We are aware that we are polluting, overfishing, acidifying and warming the sea
Addressing the EMSEA conference in Valletta last month, Prof. Pace said: “We need to create a common language, not just understood by scientists and politicians but by ordinary people.” He stressed that ocean literacy was “not just for kids”.
Sea Change, a Horizon 2020 EU project, aims to change the way we see our relationship with the sea and encourage direct, sustainable actions for a healthy ocean. It is hoped that the project will use the concept of ocean literacy to create a deeper understanding among Europeans of how closely their own health is linked to the health of our seas and oceans.
When a tropical crab showed up in Sicilian waters, then on the shores of Malta, it became clear that the impacts of alien crabs on our marine ecosystems deserved more attention.
An application is now available for download to your phone for anyone wanting to find out more about crabs. Records of different crab species spotted on Europe’s shores can be submitted. This will help scientists understand how crabs from different regions are moving around and assess any possible impacts on native populations. The app includes a crab identity-kit featuring photos of the most common European species.
Sea change project manager Fiona Crouch, who attended the Malta EMSEA conference (co-organised by Prof. Alan Deidun) describes the Crab Watch app as a citizen science tool for increasing ocean literacy and collecting scientific data.
“Crab Watch will generate data to enhance our knowledge of the changing distribution of native and non-native crabs, as well as information to support environmental management.”
Scientists have long observed marine animals mistaking plastic debris for their natural prey. Last month saw the publication of a new study which showed that chemical additives in plastics may actually make them more attractive to some types of underwater life.
Not only are there large artificial islands of floating plastic out at sea, but the seafloor is also being carpeted with our refuse. Where do we begin to turn all this around?
A new law, due to come into force in Malta next year, aims to reduce a portion of plastic waste through a plastic bottle return scheme. The environment minister told marine educators at the conference that the groundwork had already been done and discussions would be held with stakeholders on how the scheme can work – and how to enforce it.
The predicament we are in today has come about as a result of many individual actions. It will take an equal number of actions to turn the fate of the oceans around. Our future depends on it.
http://www.seachangeproject.eu/seachange-media-2/factsheet