Download Healthy Oceans Healthy Future

Healthy Oceans
for a
Healthy Future
1
Healthy Oceans for a Healthy Future
Our ocean covers 70% of the Earth and supports many different life forms so it is
important that we look after it for the future.
In Tasmania, we have some of the most unique and diverse marine ecosystems in
the world. From wild, exposed coasts and offshore reefs, to deep drowned river
valleys, ancient sponge gardens and towering kelp forests. These diverse and unique
local environments are home to extraordinary wildlife including migratory whales,
dolphins, sea birds, crustaceans, molluscs, and over 600 species of fish including the
endangered and utterly unique Handfish. Tasmania’s Marine Reserves are home to
over 500 species of marine invertebrates, 100 species of seaweed, 80 species of red
algae, sponges, sea tulips and bryozoans.
Source: Ocean Planet Tasmania
This booklet will explain how we are impacting on the wonders of the ocean. It’s up to
all of us to help find new ways to fix these problems, so let’s work together!
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What is Marine Debris?
Unfortunately, a lot of human-made waste ends up in the ocean; we call this marine
debris. It is made up of many different kinds of things, including plastic, metal, glass,
ceramics or wood. Some examples of marine debris are: packaging for drinks and
food, nylon materials used in fishing line, polystyrene cups, rubber tyres, light bulbs,
cloth, cardboard, and pollution (oil and other waste).
64%
25%
8%
2%
1%
10,239,538
Shoreline &
Recreational
Activities
SmokingRelated
Activities
Ocean
Waterway
Activities
Dumping
Activities
Medical/
Personal
Hygiene
Total debris items
collected worldwide
de item
any human-ma
Marine debris is
the ocean.
that ends up in
Source:Ocean Conservancy, International Coast Clean Up 2009
2009 Worldwide Sources of Marine Debris
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How do you think it got there?
Marine debris can come from;
• The land: from roadways to storm drains, canals, creeks, and rivers, out to the
ocean.
• The ocean: from a boat or platform into the ocean. Some rubbish is deliberately
dumped into the ocean. Floating debris is moved by winds and ocean currents,
sometimes far from its origin.
TOP TEN MARINE DEBRIS ITEMS
RANK
DEBRIS ITEM
NUMBER OF
DEBRIS ITEMS
PERCENTAGE OF
TOTAL DEBRIS ITEMS
1,126,774
11%
1
Cigarettes/cigarette filters
2
Bags (plastic)
3
Food wrappers/containers
943,233
9%
4
Caps, lids
912,246
9%
5
Beverage bottles (plastic)
883,737
9%
6
Cups, plates, forks, knives, spoons
512,517
5%
7
Beverage bottles (glass)
459,531
4%
8
Beverage cans
457,631
4%
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Straws, stirrers
412,940
4%
10
Bags (paper)
331,476
3%
8,229,337
80%
10,239,538
100%
TOP TEN TOTAL DEBRIS ITEMS
TOTAL DEBRIS ITEMS WORLDWIDE
2,189,252
Source: Ocean Conservancy/International Coastal Cleanup 2009
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Remember
ers eventually
… creeks and riv
21%
.
lead to the sea
Does marine debris biodegrade?
The time it takes for marine debris to break down into smaller pieces depends on many
factors such as what it’s made from, its size, thickness, and environmental conditions.
How long until it biodegrades?
Paper towel
2 to 4 weeks
Newspaper
1 to 6 weeks
Cotton rope
5 months
Apple core
2 months
Cardboard box
2 months
Waxed milk carton
3 months
Photo-degradable
6 months
Plywood
1 to 3 years
Wool socks
1 to 5 years
Plastic grocery bag
20 to 1,000 years
Tin can
50 years
Foam plastic cup
50 years
Aluminium can
200 years
Plastic beverage holder
400 years
Disposable nappy
450 years
Plastic bottle
450 years
Fishing line
600 years
A plastic bag can take 20 to 1,000 years to biodegrade!
NOTE: Estimated individual item timelines depend on product composition and environmental conditions.
Source: South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium, South Carolina Department of Health & Environmental Control
(DEHC) – Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence
(COSEE) – Southeast and NOAA 2008.
le
means “capab
Biodegradable
ia
er
down by bact
of being broken
ganisms”.
or other living or
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Why is plastic such a problem?
One of the biggest problems with plastic is that it is non-biodegradable. Plastics
degrade through being exposed to sunlight. When this happens, it breaks-down
into smaller and smaller pieces (fragmentation) but never completely disappears –
its internal structure stays the same; it is still plastic. Once plastic has degraded, the
particles are so small you can’t see them with your eyes, but they stay suspended in
seawater like a soup. Although the plastic particles are small, they can still cause big
problems in the ocean, by remaining in the environment for an extremely long time.
Plastic bags are a big problem. They litter the landscape and once they are used,
most plastic bags go into landfill. Each year, more and more plastic bags end up
littering the environment. Once they become litter, plastic bags find their way into our
waterways, parks, beaches, and streets. If they are burned, they release toxic fumes
into the air.
Did you know?
Australians use 3.9 billion plastic shopping bags a year – this is about 10 million a day!
Source: Planet Ark 2007
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ng time
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Mos
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ow
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r really disappea
and some neve
Plastic in the food chain
Phytoplankton (microscopic organisms) are the base of the food chain for all marine
creatures. They are too small to see with your eyes. Plastic breaks into smaller and
smaller pieces until it is the same size as phytoplankton.
Fish and other animals that eat phytoplankton can ingest plastic at the same time
and it builds up inside them as a toxin. Humans can then eat the fish. Moving up the
food chain, the amount of plastic inside each animal increases because animals at
the top of the food chain eat lots of smaller animals with a lot of plastic inside them.
Food Chain
Large shark
quaternary consumer
Small shark
tertiary consumer
Ocean sunfish
secondary
consumer
Copepods
primary
consumer
Dinoflagellates
producer
energy from the sun
tion of toxins
is the concentra
n
tio
a
ul
um
cc
chain.
Bioa
time, in the food
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ov
),
ic
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p
s
(such a
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Plastic can kill animals
About 100,000 animals such as dolphins, turtles, whales and penguins are killed every
year due to plastics in the ocean. Many animals eat plastic bags, thinking that they are
food, and end up dying. To make it worse, when that animal dies and decomposes
the plastic bag that was inside the animal is released back into the environment
where another animal may eat it.
Source: Belinda Colson
Available information indicates at least 77 species of marine wildlife found in Australian
waters and at least 267 marine species worldwide, are affected by entanglement in,
or ingestion of marine debris, including 86% of all sea turtles species, 44% of all seabird
species and 43% of all marine mammal species.
Source: GhostNets Australia
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iodegradable
Plastic is non-b
e life.
ig threat to marin
and causes a b
Plastic Fast Facts: Did you know?
•
•
•
Plastic was invented by Alexander Parkes in 1860.
Australians use 3.9 billion plastic shopping bags a year – this is about 10 million
a day! Source: Planet Ark statistics, 2007
Plastic bags are produced from polymers that come from petroleum. The amount
of petroleum used to make a plastic bag can drive a car about 11 metres.
(Based on Australia’s daily usage of plastic bags, this equates to enough petrol
to drive approx.110,000 km/day!)
•
•
•
•
In 2010 Australia produced 43.8 million tonnes of human-made waste!
About 7,150 recyclable plastic bags are dumped into Australia’s landfills every
minute or 429,000 every hour. Source: Clean Up Australia
Nearly half a million plastic bags are collected on Clean Up Australia Day each
year.
It is estimated that over 13,000 pieces of plastic litter float on every square kilometre
of ocean and this figure continues to grow. Source: Derraik, J.G.B. 2002: The pollution of the
•
marine environment by plastic debris: a review. Marine Pollution Bulletin
Some whales can have so much plastic toxins in them that they only live until they
are 30 years old when they should live until they are 80 years old! The toxin builds
up in the animal slowly poisoning them.
•
In recent years, many people have started to use reusable bags, such as the
‘green bags’ you can buy at most supermarkets. Because of these efforts, the
number of plastic bags used in Australia has fallen from around 6 billion in 2002
to 3.9 billion in 2007. Some States and Territories have even introduced bans and
taxes on plastic bags. However, there is still a lot more that can be done.
uce
changes to red
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a
m
ll
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lastic we use.
the amount of p
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The 7 ‘R’s’
RETHINK
Do you need it?
REFUSE
To buy things in plastic bags or with a lot of packaging
REDUCE
The amount of non biodegradable items that you buy
REUSE
What you can; and remember your reusable shopping bags
RECYCLE
Paper, plastic, glass and metal (Australia currently sends 70-80% of waste to landfill
and only recycles about 20-30% of total waste. Source: Nolan-ITU, 2002)
REINVENT
Write or email companies asking them to reduce packaging or create new oceanfriendly materials
REMOVE
Organise or participate in a Clean Up or World Oceans Day event
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nt
duce the amou
You can help re
n.
ea
ds up in the oc
of waste that en
What can you do to help reduce marine debris?
Here are some hints / ideas:
†† Use green bags instead of plastic bags.
†† Buy things with little or no packaging. If there is packaging, check if it can be
recycled and recycle it.
†† Recycle supermarket (HDPE) plastic bags.
†† Pack a waste-free lunch in reusable containers or wraps.
†† Put rubbish in the bin. Don’t litter our streets or the environment.
What else can you do to help look after our oceans?
†† Report whale sightings in Tasmanian waters, whale or dolphin strandings, injured
whales, dolphins or seals, strange or unusual marine mammals and turtles to the
Whale hotline on 0427 – WHALES (0427 942 537).
†† Organise or participate in a beach clean-up day or World Oceans Day event
(held annually on the 8th June).
†† Collect and record marine debris and contribute your data to the National
Marine Debris Project Database www.oceancare.org.au
†† “Dob in a Dumper” and report illegal dumping to the Environment Protection
Authority (EPA) on 1300 135 513. If you come across dumped waste report its
location to your local Council so they can investigate who may have dumped it.
u can
Think of ways yo
debris and
reduce marine
d to others.
spread the wor
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Pollution
Everything that you put down the sink may end up in the ocean. Human-made
chemicals such as cleaning detergents, acids and oils can pose serious problems
to marine life. These liquids combine with seawater to make a seawater soup that
can kill marine creatures. Would you like to drink and swim in this seawater soup?
Ocean pollution is a result of several industries and different practices. Landbased activities are responsible for more than 80% of ocean pollution. Pollutants
can enter the sea directly (via rivers and other waterways), from urban sewerage
and stormwater, industrial waste discharges, agricultural run-off (pesticides and
fertilizers), by sea transport (oil tankers; fuel and oil spills, ballast water), or ocean
mining operations.
Marine Debris Fast Facts:
Around 8 million items of litter enter the marine environment every day. An
estimated 70% of marine litter ends up on the sea bed, 15% on beaches,
and the remaining floats to the surface. Source: Marine Litter - An Analytical Overview –
UNEP 2005
An estimated 80% of marine debris is from land based sources 20% sea based. These
sources fall into four major groups: Source: Plastic Debris in the World’s Oceans – Greenpeace
Product related - eg. food/beverage packaging etc
Waste/stormwater related – eg. stormwater drains, sewer overflows etc
Fishing related - eg. lines, nets etc
Ship/boat related - eg. waste/rubbish deliberately or accidentally dumped overboard
International Bird Resuce Research Centre
•
•
•
•
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‘Think of the link;
nk’.
the sea to the si
Pollution: Human-made chemicals
Human-made chemicals in the ocean can make sea creatures sick, by affecting
their reproduction, nervous system, digestion, growth and development; or can lead
to cancers. Toxins can accumulate in the food chain, and also in top predators,
including marine mammals and sea birds (eg. sea eagles). Humans can potentially
be affected, by eating contaminated fish or seafood.
Interesting fact:
Typically the first born calf to a female orca whale dies, because the mother passes
on much of her accumulated toxins in her breast milk.
u sink it,
Think before yo
in it, or drink it!
you might swim
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Overfishing / By-catch
In the past, the oceans have been teeming with fish, but as the human population
continues to increase, and our ability to catch fish improves, fish stocks have become
drastically reduced. As a result, some fish species are struggling to survive.
Some methods of fishing are not selective, such as drift netting, which catches
everything in the net, not just the fish you want to catch. Non-target fish are called
‘by-catch’ and are often not eaten. By-catch can also include marine mammals, sea
turtles, seabirds, sharks and invertebrates (eg. crabs and other crustaceans). Often
by-catch die by drowning in fishing nets. To reduce this, innovations such as Turtle
Excluder Devices (TEDs) have been designed to allow non-target species to swim out
of the nets.
Overfishing can result in reduced numbers of juvenile fish; or mature breeding-age
fish, thereby leading to low growth rates; or dramatic changes in the composition of
species in a particular area.
You can help by choosing to eat sustainable seafood.
www.sustainableseafood.org.au
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in the sea,
breed more fish
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and keep our oc
Recreational fishing
When you go fishing, take care to make sure no fishing tackle is left in the ocean (eg.
rope, fishing line, food containers). Selectively fish by taking only what you need, and
ensuring it is of the correct size. You can find out the legal size required for each fish
species by contacting the Sea Fishing Line on 1300 386 550, or visit
www.fishing.tas.gov.au, or ask for a free Recreational Sea Fishing Guide from your
local outdoor store.
: only
Fish for the future
take what you
need.
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Marine Pests : Invaders and ocean raiders
The introduction and spread of marine pests is a key threat to the health and diversity
of marine and estuarine ecosystems. Introduced marine pests can threaten our
enjoyment of many coastal recreational activities including fishing, sailing, boating
and scuba diving. They may also threaten the viability of our fishing and seafood
industries.
Some marine animals have migrated from foreign seas by hitching a ride in and on
boats, and are infesting Australian waters. Australia has over 250 introduced marine
species. Some of these marine pests compete with our native animals for food, and
some even feed on our native marine life.
If these pests become established in our waters, they can have serious consequences
including threatening the survival of our native marine life and damaging the
attractiveness and value of our favourite marine areas.
There are a number of recognised marine pests in Tasmania including:
•
The Northern Pacific Sea Star (Asterias amurensis)
•
Japanese Kelp – Wakame (Undaria pinnatifida)
•
The European Green Crab (Carcinus maenas)
•
Rice Grass (Spartina anglica)
An example of a marine pest, the Northern Pacific Sea Star
You can help by:
•
Keeping your boat and fishing gear clean.
•
Reporting unusual sightings of marine creatures to the Marine Pest Hotline on 0408 380 377 or 03 6233 7577.
•
Not emptying aquarium fish or plants into waterways.
For more information www.marinepests.gov.au or www.dpipwe.tas.gov.au.
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Classroom activities
1. Maths – Plastic Bag Survey
How many plastic shopping bags do families in your class use in one year?
ESTIMATE THEN COUNT
My Family
Whole Class
How many plastic shopping bags do you have at home now?
My Guess
Number Counted
How many plastic shopping bags are brought home in one fortnight?
My Guess
Number Counted
How close was your estimate?
How can we reduce the number of plastic shopping bags we use?
CALCULATE - averages
WRITE THE EQUATION
How many bags per person?
Divide the total number of shopping bags counted by the
number of people in all the families in your class.
How many bags (per person) in one month?
How many bags (per person) in one year?
How many bags might students and teachers at your
school, collect in one year? Find out how many students
and teachers there are in your school.
Graph - your results
conclusions
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Classroom activities
2. art – get Creative!
Design and create a kite using plastic shopping bags. You could use a group of kites
(or a large box kite) to display a ‘Better Bag –Better Environment’ message.
Make a plastic bag windsock in the shape of a fish, jellyfish or sea bird.
Cut a small hole (for a mouth) in the bottom of a bag and tape around a small ring.
(The inside of a roll of sticky tape is ideal). Cut the bag handles to make a tail and
gather the bag in the middle, so that some wind can be trapped inside. Decorate
with streamers made from different coloured plastic bags.
3. Science - experiment
Scientists say plastic bags can take between 20 and 1,000 years to breakdown in
landfill.
Design and conduct an experiment to test plastic bag breakdown times under
different conditions.
Use 5 or 6 different plastic bags (include some that claim to be bio-degradable)
Possible variables: buried in different types of soil, moisture (wet or dry soil / wet or dry
‘waste’ material inside the bag), temperature, sunlight, and oxygen.
Record, graph and present your results.
Thanks for
helping me
to survive!
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ensure
a difference to
ke
a
m
to
lp
he
althy future!
everyone can
t healthy for a he
p
ke
re
a
ns
ea
oceans
the oc
of change, the
ve
a
w
xt
ne
e
th
Youth are
s!
are in our hand
References and websites
Australian Marine Conservation Society www.amcs.org.au
Australian Seabird Rescue www.seabirdrescue.org
Clean Ocean Foundation www.cleanocean.org
Clean Up Australia www.cleanup.org.au
Coastcare www.coastcare.com.au
CSIRO Australian Marine Research www.cmar.csiro.au
Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water & Environment (DPIPWE)
www.dpipwe.tas.gov.au – Sea Fishing & Aquaculture
Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities
www.environment.gov.au – Coasts and Marine
Dolphin Research Institute www.dolphinresearch.org.au
Environment Australia – Coasts & Marine www.environment.gov.au/coasts
Environment Protection Authority (EPA) Tasmania www.epa.tas.gov.au
Keep Australia Beautiful www.kab.org.au
National System for the Prevention and Management of Marine Pest Incursions
www.marinepests.gov.au
Ocean Planet Tasmania www.oceanplanet.org.au
The Ocean Project www.theoceanproject.org
REDmap: a Tasmanian initiative to spot, log and map marine species uncommon in
Tasmania and report any sightings of unusual marine species. www.redmap.org.au
Red Project – recycling + education = the difference www.redproject.net.au
Surfrider Foundation www.surfrider.org.au
Sustainable Seafood Guide www.sustainableseafood.org.au
Sustainable fishing www.fishing.tas.gov.au
Tangaroa Blue Ocean Care Society www.oceancare.org.au
Whale rescue www.dpipwe.tas.gov.au
World Oceans Day www.worldoceansday.org
Inspire yourself by recycling and creating some art and craft!
For some ideas: http://hellejorgensen.typepad.com/photos/artcraft/#tp
Invent a solution:
Converting plastic to oil http://www.flixxy.com/convert-plastic-to-oil.htm
Fi
r ocean.
lp look after ou
ys you can he
nd out more wa
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www.cradlecoastnrm.com
www.oceanwatch.org.au
This project is supported by Cradle Coast NRM, through funding from
the Australian Government’s Caring for our Country.
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