Panorama
 
 
 
 
 

HOT SOUTHERN SUMMER THREATENS CORAL
WITH MASSIVE BLEACHING EVENT


Environmental Panorama
International
December of 2008


19 Dec 2008 - Sydney, Australia - A widespread and severe coral bleaching episode is predicted to cause immense damage to some of the world’s most important marine environments over the next few months.

A report from the US Government’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts severe bleaching for parts of the Coral Sea, which lies adjacent to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, and the Coral Triangle, a 5.4 million square kilometre expanse of ocean in the Indo-Pacific which is considered the centre of the world’s marine life.

“This forecast bleaching episode will be caused by increased water temperatures and is the kind of event we can expect on a regular basis if average global temperatures rise above 2 degrees,” said Richard Leck, Climate Change Strategy Leader for WWF’s Coral Triangle Program.

The bleaching, predicted to occur between now and February, could have a devastating impact on coral reef ecosystems, killing coral and destroying food chains. There would be severe impacts for communities in Australia and the region, who depend on the oceans for their livelihoods.

The Coral Triangle, stretching from the Philippines to Malaysia and Papua New Guinea, is home to 75 per cent of all known coral species. More than 120 million people rely on its marine resources.

“Regular bleaching episodes in this part of the world will have a massive impact on the region’s ability to sustain local communities,” said Leck. “In the Pacific many of the Small Island Developing States, such as the Solomon Islands, rely largely on the coast and coastal environments such as coral reefs for food supply. This is a region where alternative sources of income and food are limited.

“Time is crucial and Australia needs to step up to the plate. Following the government’s lack of resolve to seriously reduce future domestic carbon emissions, Australia has a huge role to play in assisting Coral Triangle countries and people to adapt to the changes in their climate.“

The Australian government this week announced a 2020 target for reducing its greenhouse gas pollution by 5 per cent, which WWF criticised as completely inadequate. Reductions of at least 25 per cent by 2020 are needed to set the world on a pathway to meaningful cuts in greenhouse pollution.

Australia’s Coral Sea, which will also be affected by coral bleaching and climate change, is a pristine marine wilderness covering almost 1,000,000 square kilometres and is extraordinarily rich in marine life, including sharks and turtles, with a series of spectacular reefs rising thousands of metres from the sea floor.

WWF is urging the Australian government to declare the Coral Sea a marine protected area, as well as working to establish a network of marine protected areas that will assist ocean environments to adapt to the changes caused by rising temperatures, and to absorb the impacts from human activity.

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Discards to be included in fisheries quotas - says WWF

19 Dec 2008 - Every year in December, European Fisheries Ministers meet to decide how much fishers can catch the following year. Quotas, however, do not include the amount of fish which are caught in nets and then discarded.. This happens when fishermen catch fish for which they don’t have a quota, or when they have already reached their quota. Sometimes they get rid off less valuable but healthy and marketable fish to provide storage for bigger specimens..

“Europe's Fisheries Ministers and the EU Commission have presided over a systematic failure in fisheries management. If they want to be serious about ensuring a prosperous and sustainable fisheries for Europe, they should get around to dealing with the large amount of discards. The next years, with the preparation of the Common Fisheries Policy reform, they have a chance to end the failure.” says Aaron McLoughlin, Head of the European Marine Programme at WWF.

Irresponsible fishing practices and lack of controls have produced in the last year records of discard rates. In 2007, in the North Sea fishermen have landed 24 thousand tonnes of cod in the North Sea and thrown overboard another 23 thousand tonnes. Despite the EU commitment last year to reduce discards to 10%, scientists report that by the end of 2008 discard rates will be even higher than last year.

WWF highlights that the 30% increase in total allowable quota for cod agreed today, together with a commitment to reduce fish mortality by 25%, can only be accepted if industry sticks to the tough controls agreed to. According to the conservation organisation, the measures adopted today including the obligatory use of selective gears when the quota is almost reached, the ban to discard marketable fish and the closure of areas during the spawning season could halve discards, but need to be implemented properly.

WWF would like to see all fishing vessels adopting more selective gears from the outset and calls the European Union for a new policy that will deliver the systematic reduction of current discard levels till its elimination.

EU Fisheries Ministers have also decided upon fisheries quotas for 2009 for a number of other fish stocks. WWF is particularly concerned about the 15% increase of quotas for Southern hake opposed to zero catch advised by scientists. In addition, the 10% cut in quotas for whiting is absolutely insufficient to guarantee the recovery of this imperilled stock.

“Every year the fisheries quotas circus is repeating the same show. We need to change this if we want to preserve valuable fish stocks and marine life,” said Aaron McLoughlin.
Aaron Mc Loughlin, Head of European Marine Programme, WWF European Policy Office,

 
 

Source: WWF – World Wildlife Foundation International
Press consultantship
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