Oceans & Seas
For centuries people have regarded our oceans and seas as an inexhaustible supply of food, a useful transport route, and a convenient dumping ground - simply too vast to be affected by anything we do. However, human activity, particularly over the last few decades, has finally pushed oceans to their limit.
Our oceans have been overfished, polluted, taken for granted, carelessly abused and destroyed, and are much more fragile and complex than we once thought ... the largest living space on Earth covering over 70% of our planet is fast deteriorating. This doesn’t just threaten marine habitats and species - many of which have only recently been discovered - but also our own health, way of life, and security.
Today, as part of World Oceans Day we explore some global and national issues that our impacting these ecosystems and explore how you could take action to protect them.
Our oceans have been overfished, polluted, taken for granted, carelessly abused and destroyed, and are much more fragile and complex than we once thought ... the largest living space on Earth covering over 70% of our planet is fast deteriorating. This doesn’t just threaten marine habitats and species - many of which have only recently been discovered - but also our own health, way of life, and security.
Today, as part of World Oceans Day we explore some global and national issues that our impacting these ecosystems and explore how you could take action to protect them.
Global Issues: Unsustainable Fishing
90% of the world's fisheries are already fully exploited or overfished, while billions of unwanted fish and other animals die needlessly each year. Unsustainable fishing is the largest threat to ocean life and habitats ... not to mention the livelihoods and food security of over a billion people.
The story of the Vaquita
Extinction of the vaquita, the world’s most endangered marine mammal, is imminent without the immediate elimination of illegal fishing and removal of deadly gillnets from the vaquita’s environment. Despite the heroic efforts of the Mexican government to protect vaquitas, the animals are continuing to die at an alarming rate with fewer than 30 vaquitas remaining in the wild.
The vaquita is an unwanted bi-catch of the illegal totoaba trade driven by the Chinese market for its swim bladder, also known as maw. Totoaba maw is illegal and can fetch more than US$10,000 apiece on the black market. Netted in the coast of Mexico, it is smuggled through the U.S. into Hong Kong and mainland China. It is this illegal trade that is driving the vaquita porpoise to extinction, as they get entangled in illegal gillnets. |
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We welcome the Consul-General of Mexico, Damián Martínez Tagüeña to talk on the issue and to screen the film Souls of the Vermilion Sea, created by Wild Lens. You can find out more about this project at The National Marine Mammal Foundation.
Fish Bombing
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Fish bombing (also known as ‘dynamite fishing’, or ‘blast fishing’) is a destructive fishing practice in which typically homemade bombs are dropped into the ocean or onto the seabed. Shock waves produced by the explosion either stun or kill fish, some of which are then collected from the surface while the rest sink to the seabed. Fish bombing not only targets fish but all other surrounding marine life, as well as destroying the coral reef which takes many decades to recover.
We welcome George Woodman from Stop Fish Bombing! (SFB) a dedicated non-profit charity in Hong Kong to talk on the issue. You can find out more about this project at www.stopfishbombing.org |
National Issues: Pollution
Untreated sewage, garbage, fertilizers, pesticides, industrial chemicals, plastics ... most of the pollutants on land eventually make their way into the ocean, either deliberately dumped there or entering from water run-off and the atmosphere. Not surprisingly, this pollution is harming the entire marine food chain - all the way up to humans.
The tiny plastic pollutants that end up on your dinner plateEnvironmental experts say Hong Kong should follow the US and ban microbeads, so why is the government standing firm in its refusal to regulate the particles?
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Hong Kong water sportspeople called on to help in battle against plastic pollution on World Oceans DayOcean pollution is so bad in Hong Kong that water sportsmen and women constantly battle with skin and eye infections
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National Issue: Inadequate Protection
Oceans might cover over 70% of our planet’s surface, but only a tiny fraction of the oceans has been protected: just 3.4%. Even worse, the vast majority of the world’s few marine parks and reserves are protected in name only. Without more and better managed Marine Protected Areas, the future of the ocean’s rich biodiversity - and the local economies it supports - remains uncertain.
‘Imagine eating a panda’: Wildlife campaigners urge Hongkongers to give up shark fin as animals face extinction |
Extinction threat faced by pink dolphins in waters around Hong Kong far greater than expected, study finds |
Shark’s fin soup, considered a symbol of wealth, has been a mainstay of the Chinese wedding banquet for hundreds of years, but the tradition is contributing to the deaths of 73 million sharks annually
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Research by HKU shows not enough ideal habitat under protection, while population is ‘fast approaching its viability threshold’
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TASK: How could I take action?
In your groups you will each choose one of the four national issues above that is linked to Hong Kong. Press on the image and it will take you to a recent news article on the topic. Read this article and undertake the below before next week.
You will be asked to present the information that you have found above during the lesson next week.
- Find 3 pieces of evidence from their news article that highlight what this issue actually is and what is causing it.
- Find 3 pieces of evidence from other sources that highlight the causes and consequences of this issue.
- Discuss the issue with 2 students outside of their Explorations class. What is their opinion on the issue? Do they have a different perspective at all? What action do they feel should be taken, if any?
- Highlight the issue with their family. What is their opinion on the issue? Do they have a different perspective at all? What action do they feel should be taken, if any? How would they go about taking action on this issue?
- Highlight the issue with a responsible adult beyond their immediate family. Again find out what their opinion is on the issue? Do they have a different perspective at all? What action do they feel should be taken, if any? How would they go about taking action on this issue?
- Investigate a group/organisation in Hong Kong and a group/organisation internationally that is taking action on this issue. Identify 2 ways that each group is taking action around this issue.
- Once they have completed the above investigation, students should highlight 3 possible options for their group to take action around this issue.
You will be asked to present the information that you have found above during the lesson next week.