Making Waves Weekly: Europe is making the ocean quieter, coral mass bleaching, and more…
Plus: Up 680%.
Happy pre-Earth Day weekend! Whatever your plans for the next few days, take some time to honor this beautiful planet we live on by cleaning up a beach, donating to a marine conservation organization, or simply talking to your friends and family about what’s going on in the world of environmentalism.
HIGHLIGHTS
Europe is making the ocean quieter for marine life
Have you ever turned on soothing ocean sounds to help you fall asleep at night? The ocean is known for calming, quiet noise. Unfortunately, while we benefit from the soothing sounds of crashing waves, marine life has to deal with noise from manmade activity.
Europe wants to quiet the noise.
The European Commission set the first cap on manmade underwater noise earlier this year. Now, the 27 member states of the European Union will be required to enforce strict noise thresholds, with the International Fund for Animal Welfare summarizing these thresholds as follows:
Continuous noise: No more than 20% of a marine area can be exposed to continuous underwater noise over one year.
Impulsive noise: No more than 20% of a marine habitat can be exposed to impulsive noise over one day, and no more than 10% over one year.
Read more about what these thresholds mean for marine life and the EU here.
Coral reefs worldwide face mass bleaching event
Coral reefs are in DANGER. These animals (because yes, coral is actually an animal) are extremely sensitive, and even slight changes in water temperature can cause major damage. Now, with heat waves across the globe, coral reefs are facing a mass bleaching event.
“This is the fourth time, on record, that coral bleaching has occurred simultaneously within all major ocean basins,” explained Derek Manzello, coordinator of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Coral Reef Watch. “If that trend continues, this will be the most spatially expansive, global bleaching event on record — in as little as a few weeks, potentially.”
What exactly is coral bleaching? The NOAA put together this handy graphic to illustrate exactly bleaching:
Read more about the current coral bleaching crisis and why it could cause problems for our planet here.
What is the High Seas Treaty?
The Our Ocean Conference took place in Athens, Greece this past week, and the High Seas Treaty was a prominently featured discussion item. If you have no clue what the treaty is about, don’t worry—since the United States has yet to ratify it (even though it has signed the treaty), you’re certainly not alone.
Formally ratified by Palau, Chile, Belize, and the Seychelles and signed by 89 other countries, the High Seas Treaty is essentially a global pact to protect biodiversity in the open ocean ruled by no country.
The finalized treaty language states:
“The objective of this Agreement is to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, for the present and in the long term, through effective implementation of the relevant provisions of the Convention and further international cooperation and coordination.”
Read more about current action to advance this treaty here.
DATA POINT
Dolphin bycatch reporting increased by 680% after cameras started monitoring the actions of New Zealand fishing vessels. A new sense of vigilance or some desperately needed accountability? Read the report from New Zealand’s government here and decide for yourself.
ICYMI
SWIMMING ACROSS YOUR SCREEN
Signing off on this week's marine news. See you next week with a new wave of ocean updates!
Kelvey 🌊🦈
P.S. You can send news tips, story ideas, hate mail, and photos of cute ocean creatures to thesaltwaterchronicles@gmail.com. You can also keep up with The Saltwater Chronicles on Twitter here.