Sea Notes

Saving Seahorses, Conserving Corals

Good news today for ocean wildlife, here at home in the United States and overseas in Cambodia.

In the U.S., Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a new pilot program -- backed up with money -- to protect coral reefs in Puerto Rico from the impacts of sediment and nutrient runoff. Similar pilot projects are planned to protect reefs in Florida, Hawaii, the U.S. Virgin Islands and in Pacific Islands under U.S. jurisdiction.

The announcement came at a meeting of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

A world away, Marine Conservation Cambodia is celebrating success in establishing the largest community managed marine area in the country to help restore habitat essential for Cambodia's rich marine life -- including seahorses.

As is true everywhere, community involvement is essential. So too is government action, and part of the success story is action by the Cambodian government to prohibit fishing for or trading of seahorses.

You don't have to go to Cambodia to help seahorses. If you're a California resident, go to our Take Action page and urge Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to support creation of marine protected areas in southern California that will protect essential habitat for many species, including Pacific seahorses.

Talking Trash

Researchers from the Project Kaisei/Scripps expedition to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch are back ashore. They're sharing what they found -- and it's not a pretty picture.

Not too many surprises, just confirmation that there's an obscene amount of plastic debris floating in the ocean, causing a great deal of harm to marine life that confuses plastic with food.

While they expedition team was at sea, new research found that it's not just debris that's a problem. Turns out the plastic decomposes in seawater, leaving behind a soup of toxic chemicals that poses an additional set of problems for marine life.

It's a wake-up call to deal with how we use plastics. Here at Monterey Bay Aquarium, our cafe has eliminated all plastic straws and disposable beverage cups, and switched to plant-based materials for "plastic" food containers. We're reducing the amount of disposable plastic used elsewhere -- including encouragement for our vendors not to use plastic shrink-wrap on products they ship to us.

And our Laysan albatross, Makana, is a great ambassador for cleaner oceans.

It will take more, to be sure. But one step at a time.

Pick Your Poison

We blog as a way to inspire conservation of the oceans. At the same time, we're not Pollyannas, painting a rosy picture regardless of what's going on.

So, a couple pieces of grim news today, having to do with two significant types of pollution in the ocean and fresh water: mercury and plastic.

A new study published by the U.S. Geological Survey found mercury in every single fish tested over a seven-year period, in every one of the nearly 300 streams sampled by USGS scientists throughout the United States. No exceptions.

The Environmental Protection Agency considers mercury a neurotoxin; the new study found that one-quarter of the fish sampled had mercury levels in their tissues above the threshold considered safe by the EPA. Main sources of the mercury include mining operations and coal-burning power plants.

On to plastics. In a report presented at the American Chemical Society this week, researchers led by a team from Japan's Nihon University announced that plastics -- previously thought to last nearly forever in the environment -- in fact will decompose fairly rapidly. When they do, they release potentially toxic substances into the water.

There are billions of pieces of plastic in existence, washing down streams and into the ocean -- an estimated 150,000 tons a year. Much has accumulated in what's now called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a plastic-filled region in the north-central Pacific that may cover an area twice the size of the state of Texas.

The toxics, including bisphenol A and PS oligomer, are known to disrupt hormone function in animals, and seriously affect reproductive systems.

We've got a lot of work to do.

Photo credits:  Power plant smokestacks, © John Zieran; trash in Los Angeles River, © Algalita Marine Research Foundation.

San Francisco Spill: What can I do?

As members of the Oiled Wildlife Care Network, Monterey Bay Aquarium's aviculturist (bird) and sea otter teams are trained to respond to an oil spill emergency, such as the one which occurred in San Francisco Bay last week.

Aquarium staff is currently working with rescued seabirds at the Wildlife Center in Fairfield. They brought a donation from the aquarium for those birds lucky enough to survive their ordeal; white bait (fish) and 380 lbs of krill.

The aquarium is also on standby to accommodate wildlife in need of temporary homes following treatment. Some birds may prove to be non-releasable; the aquarium is still home to seven seabirds (Common Murres) from a 1986 oil spill off the Central California Coast that killed over 10,000 seabirds. We're pleased that at this time, there are no reports of oiled sea otters, but it's a sobering reminder of the precarious position we stand in with only 3,000 California Sea Otters ranging along such a narrow stretch of the California coastline.

As the extent of the spill became clear, wildlife organizations and state agencies were inundated with calls from people desperate to help. Many were turned away, resulting in frustration and disappointment. Happily this situation has resolved, somewhat, and there are things you can do, some as bizarre as donating your hair! Check out this amazing story about hair mats soaking up oil in the Bay this week.

For more conventional ways to help:

- Check the Oiled Wildlife Care Network website regularly. They're posting their needs and status daily.

- Register for training to assist with beach cleanup in San Francisco and Berkeley this weekend.

- Report oiled wildlife, DO NOT approach birds or other wildlife. But, DO call (415) 701-2311 or call your local SPCA.

- You can also report a sighting online to the International Bird Rescue Research Center.

- Sign a petition to ask Congress to consider banning the use of bunker oil that spilled in the bay.

- Join the aquarium's Ocean Action Team. We'll let you know when there's important ocean legislation you can take action on, or other ways to get involved to help, such as beach cleanups, or tips for reducing your environmental footprint.