Education

Tips to Live Sustainably

NO to plastic

Reduce Single-Use Plastic

The first step into living ocean friendly is to become more aware of personal consumption of single-use plastic. These single-use plastics can enter the ocean environments through rivers, storm drains and poorly managed disposal. All plastics are damaging or poisonous to ocean ecosystems. By 2050, we are on track for the mass of plastics to surpass the biomass of all plankton, fish, whales and other marine animals. When plastics enter the marine environment they are consumed by smaller species and move up the food chain to the apex predators, ultimately consumed by humans. All humans now have micro and nano plastics detectable in our muscles, blood and organs.

CARBON FOOTPRINT

Reduce your Carbon footprint

Green house gas emissions cause climate change and ocean acidification. By driving, flying, and choosing renewable energy whenever possible increases the potential of regaining and maintaining the health of the oceans and its marine life.

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Choose Sustainable Seafood

Overfishing is a big problem throughout the world. Over the last 55 years, we have eliminated 90% of the oceans top predators like: sharks, bluefin tuna, marlin, swordfish, and king mackerel. When there is decline in number of apex predators species lower in the food chain see rapid population growth disrupting the entire ecosystem's function. Overpopulation can lead to an unsustainable biome and depletion of resources. Check out the Monterey Bay Aquarium's seafood watch at www.seafoodwatch.org for more advice on diet choices.

Causes of Coral Mortality

Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) was first reported in Florida in 2014 shortly after a dredging project in the Port of Miami. Today SCTLD affects over 20 species of stony corals, including brain corals, star corals and pillar corals with mortality rates exceeding 80% in some areas. The disease spreads rapidly, causing the tissue of corals to die off and leaving behind just the calcium skeleton. SCTLD poses a significant risk to the reef ecosystems in the Caribbean.

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Coral Bleaching

Coral reefs are very sensitive to sudden changes in environment such as salinity, temperature and solar radiation. Coral bleaching is the main cause to coral mortality. Increase in ocean temperature exceeding the normal maximum temperature will drive a mass bleaching event. Ocean acidification is a decrease in the overall pH balance caused by the uptake of carbon dioxide released from natural and anthropogenic forces. Why does it matter? “25% of marine life depends on coral reefs for habitat. 500 million people depend on coral reefs for food, tourism, employment and even protection from extreme weather.” Bleached coral does not mean it is completely dead. With the return of colder waters coral can make a comeback. (Credit: Reef Resilience. Mass Bleaching. reefresilience.org)

Black Band Disease
Black Band Disease
Withe Band Disease
Withe Band Disease

COMMON DISEASES TO CORAL

Black Band Disease

Symptoms: A black band moving across the coral. Potential to kill entire colonies within months.
Causes: Black band disease is caused by a bacteria called Phormidium corallyticum

White Band Disease

Symptoms: Tissue peels off of stag horn and elk horn coral, leaving behind the exposed tissue of coral.
Causes: Not yet known by scientists.

(Credit: South Florida Aquatic Environments. Coral Diseases)

Plastic Pollution

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Plastic use and its subsequent breakdown is having a devastating impact on not only marine life but as it travels up the food chain human life and land animals such as sea birds and seals. Most of the fish humans consume on a daily basis are littered with tiny bits of micro plastics. Help the world and yourself by significantly reducing the use of single use plastics!

THREATS TO MARINE LIFE

Many species of marine life are exposed to the opportunity of ingestion, entanglement, and suffocation due to incorrect marine plastic disposal. Sea birds, turtles, whales, and fish mistake plastic pieces and particles as prey. When ingested, the plastic does not break down, and their stomachs slowly fill with plastic debris. In the video above, a Good Samaritan saves not one but FOUR Sea Turtles entangled in an improperly discarded fishing net.

A NEW WORLD OF TRASH

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a massive accumulation of plastic and debris located in the North Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and California.  It spans over 1.6 million square kilometers with plastics as large as discarded fishing nets to tiny microplastics. This patch is not a solid island of garbage but rather a soup of floating plastic particles that move with ocean currents.  This plastic pollution poses a severe threat to marine life ecosystems and potentially human health through the food chain.