Since the 1970’s when the movie Jaws first showed up on big screens around the country, people have been afraid of beaches, in fear of shark attacks. Not only have they been apprehensive about swimming in the ocean, but some have such malicious feelings towards sharks (especially Atlantic White Sharks due to their role in the movie) that they have taken to hunting and killing this already dwindling species. (Earth Island Institute) It is no secret that pollution and overfishing, as well as numerous other factors have caused the biodiversity of marine life to drastically decrease. It is also known that the ocean ecosystem relies much on all members of the food chain- particularly top predators like sharks. Larger sharks,…
Rowan Jacobsen’s article in Outside magazine, Obituary: Great Barrier Reef (25 Million BC-2016), is titled the complete death and passing of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Jacobsen says the famous Barrier Reef passed away in 2016 at 25 million years old. He says the Barrier Reef is the largest living structure; stretching 1,400 miles long, 2,900 individual reefs, and 1,050 islands. This grand reef harbors thousands of species. The Barrier Reef is formed by corals, tiny anemone-like animals, that give the reef it’s magnificent colors.…
Many people aren’t sacred to enter the territory of sharks and their environment. A number of Australian’s oppose the culling of sharks and do not fear of getting back into the ocean. Miranda Devine published an opinion piece with the headline “A tasty dish for a very big fish… and it’s all our fault” in The Daily Telegraph newsletter on February 12th, 2014 with the contention that it is our fault that we have become part of shark’s food chain. This is directed to the people that do not support the culling with a very direct tone.…
Then the primary consumers in the Great Barrier Reef are mostly the green sea turtles and dugongs because they are the herbivores and eat the producers. From there the secondary consumers in the reef would be what eats the primary consumers and these organisms would mostly be the bigger reef fish like the parrot fish, sturgeon fish, and also turtles like the leatherback sea turtle, hawksbill sea turtle, and other organisms like that. Then from there are the tertiary consumers which consume the secondary consumers and some examples of these in the reef are the epaulette shark, whale shark, tiger shark, and other examples like that. The last category of the organisms would be the decomposers which are the organisms that are stay on the bottom of the reef and eat whatever is down there and those are the prawns, sea cucumbers, shrimp, crayfish, crab, and brittle…
The Western Australian government, run by the premier Colin Barnett, has commenced the shark cull policy due to the occurrence of recent shark attacks on people. 72 drum lines or baited hooks have been placed one kilometre from the coastline of Western Australia’s eight most popular beaches. Any sharks or other marine animals that will get caught on the baited hooks and are longer than three metres will be shot and killed. It is more devastating that they will only be monitored for 12 hours per day. What about the other 12 hours? Any animal could get caught in these hideous hooks and die in an inhume way, suffering from pain and just left bleeding to death. This policy includes performing such actions that are cruel, vicious and very harsh to the marine biodiversity near the coast of Western Australia’s most popular beaches. Boat patrols and professional shark hunters have the permission under this discreditable policy to catch and kill sharks as well as other marine animals measuring over three metres.…
Fishing can disrupt food chains. For example krill fishing in the southern ocean is depleting food supplies for whales and penguins. Overfishing of a species can severely deplete its population, sometimes beyond recovery. Overfishing of the patagonian toothfish in the Antarctic is currently a concern. Bottom trawling catches fish by dragging nets along the sea-bed. This disrupts the eco system by reducing light levels thought increasing turbidity and catches other species as well as the target one. Its carried out in the gull of Alaska, the greenland sea and the barents sea. Fishing quotes have been introduced to limit the number of fish caught and prevent overexploitation of the resource.…
Over time, reef management strategies have been introduced to help with the preservation and conservation of the reef, these strategies include traditional and contemporary management. Traditional management was when the Aboriginal people had complete control over the land, the indigenous people’s management included great admiration for the land, treating it with respect and using only justifiable amounts of food and materials. This was a sustainable and successful management strategy used to conserve and preserve the GBR. Contemporary management included reef exploitation, un-sustainable usage of materials, disregard for pollution and un-policed fishing which led the GBR to be at risk (GENETIC DIVERSITY, UTILITY VALUE, INTRINSIC VALUE AND HERITAGE VALUE AS ALL REASONS FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE GBR)…
Analyse the human impacts affecting the nature and rate of change of two ecosystems at risk.…
It may be that support for culling and shark hunts in Australia is waning. For more than 30 years, there has been a trend toward greater balance between wildlife, marine life and national values.…
is gets caught on something. They are a danger to our reefs ecosystem because they…
(Miffin, 2015) In a document published by the United Nations, it states that “80 per cent of the world’s fish stocks for which assessment information is available are reported as fully exploited or overexploited and, thus, requiring effective and precautionary management.” (Overview - Convention & Related Agreements, 2010) Although varying slightly, this research is conclusive with that of The Water Brothers and supports their findings that such a large number of global fish stocks are depleted. Overfishing, when fish are caught faster than they can reproduce (Lee & Safina n.d.) has decimated marine ecosystems around the world. One of the leading contributors to overfishing is bottom trawling. This fishing technique uses weighted nets, which drag across the ocean floor, catching anything in its path. This is the most destructive method of fishing and is described by The Water Brothers, saying, “bottom trawling kills indiscriminately, ruining the bottom habitat and catching a high number of species unintentionally, known as bycatch.” Trawl fisheries for shrimp and demersal finfish account for over 50 percent of total estimated discards. (Kelleher, 2015) In addition to the bycatch from trawling, the weighted nets that drag across the sea floor destroy corals, sponges, seagrasses, and rock garden habitats. (Morgan & Chuenpagdee, 2003) By removing habitat-building organisms (source nature.com) and senselessly killing so many aquatic animals, this method of fishing has a domino affect on other species and environments. The brothers note that in addition to catching too many fish, “it also damages the entire seafloor ecosystem.” (Miffin, 2015) Like the show…
The food web is one of the quality things about a coral reef; without the shark, its food web would be off balance. Even though coral reefs are located in different areas within the ocean and they are different shapes and sizes, the food web remains the same. Among the different types of coral reefs, fringing reefs or shore reefs are the most common. The Great Barrier Reef is one of the world’s secret treasures; without it the world wouldn’t have the underwater beauty that it holds. Unfortunately, climate change could affect the loss of coral reefs and the ocean wouldn’t be what it is today. Not only can climate change affect the life of a coral reef, but a human’s touch can damage it too. Just think of a coral reef as a house to humans; the humans would want to maintain the reef just like they maintain their houses. With that being said, protect the coral…
Most techniques for commercial shark fishing uses the methods of Long Lining, Gillnetting and Trawling (sustrainableseafood.org, 2013). All three methods can potentially cause a catastrophic impact on the environment and the surrounding ecosystems. Long Lining uses a central line that can extend to a maximum of 80km with smaller lines and hooks with bait evenly descending beneath the surface of the water. This method results in a high amount of by-catch while also snaring dolphins, seals and seabirds in the line (monterybayaquarium.org, 2012). Gillnetting is the most frequently used method of catching sharks in Western Australia. This method uses curtains of net suspended in the water with floats and weights which are virtually invisible to fish, sharks and most other marine life. Gillnets have a larger amount of by-catch than Long Lining as there is a larger surface area for marine life to be snared in which often results is turtles, dolphins and seals perishing from drowning as they cannot reach the surface for air (monterybayaquarium.org, 2012). Trawling is the third method most used in the capture of sharks. Trawling involves dragging nets which can be the size of football fields along the ocean floor or midway between the floor and the surface. Sea floor…
Overfishing is “the act of catching fish from the oceans faster than the the fish can reproduce and replace the caught fish numbers. Modern day technology and hi-tech equipments have made it easy to catch a larger number of fish in a shorter span of time and with minimal effort. The more and more fish are caught the lesser they are found in the waters. This is one of the main reasons that fishermen have to travel longer distances deeper into the sea to catch fish.”…
The first advantage of coral reef is providing food for many species of fish. As we already know coral reef is home for thousand species of marine creatures. For example, “The Great Barrier Reef” that located in Australia is home to more than 400 types of coral, which shelter more than 1.500 species of fish and 4.000 types of mollusks. It also serves as habitat for endangered species, such as the sea cow (dugong) and the large green sea turtle. Besides, it is home for thousand marine creatures, it also provides food for us (human). Nowadays, many people like eating seafood such as fishs, shrimps, crabs, squids, lobsters, and clams. There are many kinds of marine creatures like fishes that can be made for food or dish. For example, salmon fish. Salmon fish is usually made for “sushi” or it becomes baked salmon. Japanese people usually make…
