“The deep sea, in particular, is our greatest buffer against climate change … But the ocean can only continue as our ally if it remains healthy. A warmer ocean absorbs less carbon, and loses oxygen more rapidly. A stressed ocean, polluted by plastics and overexploited, struggles to support life.” (The High Seas, Olive Heffernan)
The oceans cover 70% of the planet’s surface and play a vital role in shaping its weather, atmosphere, and living creatures. But if you don’t live along the coast, the ocean may feel remote and somewhat irrelevant. That would be a mistake. Three recently published books provide valuable information about why we should value and protect our oceans.
The Blue Machine: How the Ocean Works by Helen Czerski (2023)
Helen Czerski describes the ocean as an engine, powered by sunlight and driving huge flows of energy, water, life, and raw materials. She says:
“For me, the biggest reasons for caring about the ocean are twofold. The first is a deep visceral appreciation of ocean life and its ingenuity, beauty and variety. Knowing that it exists, seeing and exploring it and connecting to it, makes our lives richer and better … The second reason is pragmatic. For the vast majority of us, Earth is the only place we’re ever going to be. Perhaps the most fundamental driver of human behaviour is the need to survive, and if we want to survive, we need Spaceship Earth to be in full working order … the ocean engine, both its physical and its biological systems, is a major part of that life support system. So if we want to survive and thrive as a species, being good stewards of the ocean is essential.”
“So what do we actually do in practice? The first and biggest task is to learn about and articulate our status as citizens of an ocean planet. We need to talk about the blue machine, to share and develop an ocean perspective, and to build it into our world view. And then we need to act … Much of that contribution may take the form of voting, writing to politicians, making our preferences clear through what we buy, and making sure that the small, local decisions are constructive.”
The High Seas: Greed, Power and the Battle for Unclaimed Ocean by Olive Heffernan (2024)
The focus of Olive Heffernan’s book is the high seas, a legal definition describing the part of the ocean that is beyond the reach of national ownership, usually starting 200 nautical miles from shore. She says, “The simple fact that international waters belong to no one is what makes them so important – roughly half of the surface of our planet, and two-thirds of the ocean, is a vast global commons. It is an unclaimed ocean whose resources we are free to pillage or protect.”
Heffernan describes the high seas as being under siege. While mining corporations are eager to lay claim to the ocean floor, Norway is preparing to fish the twilight zone, 200 to 1,000 metres below the surface. Melting ice in the Arctic is opening new opportunities for shipping routes and oil and gas explorations. Fishing operations far from land are unregulated and a con
What The Wild Sea Can Be: The Future of the World’s Ocean by Helen Scales (2024)
“Humans are in the unique position of having a chance to make conscious decisions about the future of the earth’s biodiversity and with it our own future … We can contemplate who the likely winners and losers will be, human and nonhuman, and look for effective ways to overcome the challenges facing the ocean.”
What the Wild Sea Can Be opens a window on the creatures that live in the world’s oceans and the challenges they face due to climate change and human exploitation.
The seabirds, penguins, whales, and other creatures who inhabit the Antarctic peninsula are reliant on vast shoals of krill for survival. But a plentiful resource is threatened by industrial fishing:
“Factory ships, notably from Norway and China, head south to scoop up Antarctica’s krill. Specially designed trawl nets are lowered into the water and continuously scoop up krill shoals for weeks at a time, sending them straight to onboard processing plants. These krill will end up being eaten by domesticated animals. Most are mashed and turned into feed for salmon farms or into pet food.”
More than half the world’s oceans, four times the land surface devoted to agriculture, are industrially fished. Longliners send out a single line stretching anywhere from 28 to 60 miles, with shorter baited lines at regular intervals. They snag sharks and rays as well as their intended target of tuna, contributing to a 71% decline in the shark and ray populations since the 1970s.
We can prevent so many sharks being caught on longlines. Adjusting the depth of the lines, switching the type of bait, or using simple deterrents (electric shock or lights) would all save lives. But this would require a change in perspective:
“There is an underlying presumption that the ocean provides animals for humans to hunt and eat and, perhaps most importantly, make money from … Imagine what the ocean could be like if, instead of siphoning off profits to a handful of conglomerates and industry leaders, ambitions for sustainable fishing focused on two things: first, on providing food and livelihoods for people whose income and food security most depend on the ocean and who are most at risk from the climate crisis; and second, on running fisheries and looking after the ocean with the ambition of keeping wild species diverse and abundant, keeping whole ecosystems intact and functioning, and maintaining the countless benefits this brings to all of us alive now and for generations to come.”
“If you choose to eat seafood, you have a direct line between your body and the ocean, and you can decide to use that link in a positive way. You can seek out the options that tread most lightly on sea life and give your business to the people working hardest to make a sustainable, ethical living from the ocean.”
Additional Information
Aquaculture Uses Far More Wild-Caught Fish Than Originally Estimated, New Research Suggests [Inside Climate News]
Global Catastrophe Looms as Key Ocean Current Nears Collapse, Experts Warn [Gizmodo]
Industrial Fishing Undermines World’s Greatest Carbon Sink, Experts Warn [DeSmog]
Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/apmckinlay/22352790241
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