Share
What are some of the conservation challenges facing the most extreme and remote habitats on Earth? How can we protect these environments for future generations?
Modern advances in deep sea submersibles and image capturing technologies have allowed for the discovery of an enormous repository of biological life in our deep oceans, but both this environment and Antarctica are increasingly under threat from exploitation, fishing, and climate change. With this in mind, Dr Rob Doubleday was joined by doctoral researcher Alice Millington, marine biologist and author Dr Helen Scales, and marine ornithologist Dr Lucy Quinn for a discussion about the threats facing these environments and the the role scientists and conservationists can play in protecting them.
You can listen to this episode of CSaP's Science & Policy Podcast here:
Conservation Threats Facing Seabirds in Antarctica:
According to Dr Lucy Quinn, there are three main conservation threats facing seabirds in Antarctica. The first and most pervasive is bycatch – the incidental mortality of birds on fishing lines. This has had an enormous effect on petrels and albatrosses, an effect which is compounded by climate change. Climate change has resulted in a mismatch in timings of prey items, changes to prey distribution, disruptions in the food chain and wind patterns, and changes to the breeding habitats of some birds such as emperor penguins as a result of melting sea ice. Thirdly, invasive species in sub-Antarctica have become a threat in recent years, leading to huge campaign to eradiate invasive rats which are harmful to seabirds in South Georgia, for example.
There are international agreements in place to help try to prevent and mitigate threats such as bycatch, however, Dr Quinn emphasizes that the management of fishing requires coordination among several players – it is a global responsibility because these species are wide-ranging across political borders. Here, technology is beginning to help us improve our conservation efforts, by putting tags on albatrosses so that conservationists can track the proximity of birds to fishing vessels with the aim of reducing their proximity. Other efforts to improve conservation have included placing more observers on fishing vessels and using public communication and the Blue Planet effect to change public perception on issues such as pollution from single use plastics.
Marine Conservation in Deep Oceans:
“It seems that just about every week, some extraordinary new life form is discovered in the deep… we are stretching our understanding of what life is on this planet by exploring the deep ocean”, mused Dr Helen Scales, reflecting on the insights gained thus far during an ongoing golden era of deep-sea exploration. However, Dr Scales fears that as we uncover the abundance of little fish in the Twilight Zone and the deep, that these ecosystems will become over-exploited and overfished as part of reduction fisheries for fishmeal and fish oil. She noted the prevalence of a problematic mentality that assumes the oceans exist for humanity’s exploitation and highlighted that already trawling in deep sea fishing is negatively impacting delicate ecosystems in the ocean. At the moment, fishing on the high seas is poorly regulated, however, Dr Scales pointed to a glimmer of hope on the horizon in the form of a potential new United Nations High Seas treaty which could lead to improved monitoring and managing of fisheries. Dr Scales also noted that fish in the Twilight Zone are important for drawing carbon down into the deep away from the atmosphere, meaning that protecting these ecosystems could be vital at a time when our climate is already changing.
As we go forward, Dr Scales suggests that while we have now come to realize how diverse and important deep ocean ecosystems are, there are crucial things left to be discovered – including the impact industrializing the deep would have on the health of these ecosystems and our planet.
The Role of Treaties:
The Antarctic Treaty has led the way in protecting remote and relatively untouched parts of our planet, and experts participating in this episode of our podcast series argued that this model could be used to help protect deep oceans. The Antarctic, polar regions, and the deep sea are fragile, sensitive environments which are ‘canaries in the coal mine’ on our planet, and need looking after. Here, our guests argued that international collaboration and cooperation, as well as engagement with industry and scientists, will be key for working across political divides and among stakeholders to protect these environments.
CSaP: The Science & Policy Podcast’s six-part miniseries on Science & Policy for Space, Deep Oceans & Antarctica will be released throughout March and April 2021. This series is available across all major podcasting platforms, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, RadioPublic, Pocket Casts, Podbean, ListenNotes, Acast, Player.FM, Podcast Addict, and Castbox. This series is hosted by Dr Rob Doubleday and is produced by Kate McNeil with the support of research assistants Alice Millington and Anthony Lindley.