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The Law of the Sea• 1702: The first “territorial sea” was

designated as the distance a canoncould fire

• 1772: British set the limit at 1 league• 1950-1975: Iceland extended its fishing

rights to 200 nautical miles

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The Law of the Sea• 1958-1982: the United Nations establishes

a series of treaties (“The Law of the Sea”),signed by 130 countries, but NOT the US

• Signed by theUS in 1993 andenforced in 1994but never ratifiedby Congress

The Law of the Sea

• The Law of the Sea includes:– EEZ: each coastal country has a 200

nautical mile economic zone– Rights of Ship Passage through

important waterways, regardless of theEEZ

– Deep Ocean Mineral Resources– Arbitration of Disputes in International

court

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The Exclusive Economic Zone

• 1995: HalibutWars betweenCanada, Spain

• 1997: SalmonWars with Canadaover fishing rights

FishingPressure

• Before 1950, >90% of fish caught werefor human consumption

• Since 1950, world fisheries increased6X, but only ~50% of fish go to feedhuman populations (as fish)

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Fishing and theFood Chain (Web)

• To assess thisscientifically, we canassign a trophic valueto each organism

• Sustainable fisheriesgenerally start withlow values

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Fishing and theFood Chain (Web)

• To assess thisscientifically, we canassign a trophic value toeach organism

• Sustainable fisheriesgenerally start with lowvalues

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The Rise of “Slime”

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/10/photogalleries/ocean-mucus-sea-pictures/

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• http://comlmaps.org/extra/biodiversity/• http://www.coml.org/video-gallery

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There ARE some positive trends!

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Disease & HABs are Spreading

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There is not just one problem (or solution)

Marine Pollution - the introduction by humans,directly or indirectly, of substances to the marineenvironment resulting in deleterious effects.

Contaminant - a substance with a concentrationelevated above the natural background level for thearea or organism in which it is found.

A Pollutant has a proven deleterious effect

Our first example will be of a Persistent Organic

Pollutant (POP) - DDT and DDE

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DDE

These are stable refractory compounds and last forThese are stable refractory compounds and last fordecades in the environment - they are decades in the environment - they are ““lipophylliclipophyllic”” or orlipid (fat) soluble and are concentrated or lipid (fat) soluble and are concentrated or bioaccumulatedbioaccumulatedup the food chain:up the food chain:

Seawater Seawater ⇒⇒ Plankton Plankton ⇒⇒ Herring/Anchovies Herring/Anchovies ⇒⇒ PelicansPelicans 0.0000010.000001 ⇒⇒ 0.040.04 ⇒⇒ 0.2 to 40.2 to 4 ⇒⇒ 3 to 75 3 to 75 ug/gug/g

DDT and DDE - chlorinated aromaticorganic compounds - dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethylene = DDT

Degrades

DDT

The California BrownPelican was one ofthe first non-targetedanimals recognized tobe severely effectedby DDT/DDE.

The Pelican Story

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Year # of nests # of young DDT/E in eggs DDT/E in sardine

1969 1125 4 907 ppm 4.3 ppm

AnotherAnother indication of a problem:indication of a problem:Blubber of Male Sea LionsBlubber of Male Sea Lions 19701970 DDT 17;DDT 17; DDE 740 DDE 740 ppmppm

Nesting area in the Channel Islands a shocking problemwas discovered!

The DDT and DDE generally did not killthe adult pelicans. The effect wasthat it interfered with the enzymethat deposited calcium in their eggshells. As a result the pelicans laidvery thin-shelled eggs. They eitherdessicated and dried up, or the eggshells broke while the parentsincubated them - young were unable tobe hatched.

In searching for DDT and DDE, environmental chemistsdiscovered the presence of other persistent,chlorinated, aromatic, and lipophyllic organiccompounds that were also being bioaccumulated upthe food chain:

PCB’s (polychlorinated biphenyls) and dioxin

Used in electrical transformersand large capacitors and as aplasticizer - discontinued in1977

From pulp and paper mills

These other lipophyllic,chlorinated, aromatic, persistentorganics were also bioaccumulated!

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Methyl-Hgremains a problemfor fish consumersdue to thebioaccumulation ofthis form. Methyl-Hg is produced bybacteria in naturalwaters and isbioaccumulated upthe food chain tohigher trophiclevels. Apexpredators with lotsof trophic levelsare most atrisk. It is bestnot to eat largefish that are atthe top of longfood chains -especially youngwomen andchildren.

Methyl-Hg is a potent toxinto mammals and birds

TBT - Tri-butyly-tin

In the 1960’s and 70’s tributyltin or TBT became common as amajor ingredient in ship and boat paints. It leaks out of the paintto be toxic to organisms that want to grow on the hull (biofouling).

The Dog Whelk, a snail, was the first non-targetorganism impacted by TBT. Exposure to TBT causedfemale Dog Whelks to develop large malereproductive organs and interfere with their abilityto reproduce and lay eggs (imposex). This raisedconcern for an effect on oyster populations.

In 1987, TBT paints were banned for use on boatsunder 25 m length, but still used on ships.

Dog Whelks & egg capsules

Low toxicity to mammals andbirds, but high toxicity to shipfouling organisms - extremelyeffective

Lipophyllicorganotincompound

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Plastic Pollution of our OceanCaptain Moore -“Captain Plastic”- showing plasticcollected with a“Manta Trawl”

There is no doubt thatplastic debris is, andhas been, a pollutant -in particular causingthe death of millions ofseabirds.We definitely need tomarkedly reduce ourexcessive use ofplastics (bags, bottles,etc.).

The problem with plastics is they do not biodegrade.Plastic is a synthetic material and does not biodegrade like paper ornatural organics. Instead it undergoes a process called 'photodegredation',whereby sunlight and physical processes break it down into smaller andsmaller pieces over very long periods of time. Plastic 6-pack rings forcans take 400 years and a plastic water bottle can take up to 450 yearsto degrade, disposable diapers even longer.Every year we eat and drink from some thirty-fourbillion newly manufactured bottles and containersthat we then discard. We patronize fast foodrestaurants and buy products that consume anotherfourteen billion pounds of plastic. In total, oursocieties produce an estimated sixty billion tons ofplastic material every year. Our use of plastics isastounding and almost incomprehensible.

How can you take action:www.plasticrecycling.comwww.greenerchoices.orgwww.seashepard.orgwww.peopleinaction.com

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An extreme example of plastic pollutionin a coastal estuary

Wetland Restoration in San FranciscoRemember, wetlandsprovide a “nursery” foranimals, and act as afilter to removepollutants….

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More Wetlands and Less Pollution

The Oceans As Drugstore….25% of ALL marine species are found on coral reefs….

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Free Energy?

Dutch Wind Farms70 feet into the bedrock, 100 feet of water, with a 200 foot tower

Boston recently approved the first US wind farm….

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Wave Energy

Already installedoff Portugal

Harnessing theGulf Stream