Because climate change is seriously uncool.
Peak Fish and Climate Change -The End of The Line?
Earlier this week I saw a public screening of the deeply (no pun intended) disturbing and compelling documentary movie ‘The End of Line’, which powerfully lays bare our reckless plundering of fish. Industrial fishing is so effective that scientists predict that business as usual practices will see the end of most seafood by 2048 – about the time human population peaks at around 9 billion – and about 20 years after we pass the 450ppm carbon dioxide and two or more degrees of warming threshold. Surprisingly, for me anyway, the movie points out a causal link between loss of fish, natural bio-sequestration of carbon dioxide and atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide; loss of fish populations will increase atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. I'll come back to this shortly.
The End of the Line chronicles the decimation of fish populations with modern fleets that use military technology and spotter planes. With nets that could hold thirteen 747 jumbo-jets, hi-tech fishing vessels leave no escape routes for fish and are indiscriminately devastating. The fleet owners show scant regard for poor coastal communities that depend on fish. Overfishing was recognised as one of the world's greatest and most immediate environmental problems in 2002, when it was first demonstrated that global catches of wild fish had peaked around 1989 and have since been in decline. Farmed fish as a solution is a myth with more fish being used to feed the farmed species than are produced. There are profound implications of a future world with no fish.
The film lays the responsibility squarely on consumers who innocently buy endangered fish, restaurateurs and supermarkets who knowingly supply threatened species, politicians who ignore the advice and pleas of scientists (business as usual), fishermen who break quotas and fish illegally, and the global fishing industry that is slow to react to an impending disaster. The End of the Line points to solutions that are simple and doable, but political will and activism are crucial to solve this international problem. The Web site for the movie provides more insight and resources:
- http://www.ru.org/81fish.html ; (insights from 1998)
After the screening we were fortunate in having Duncan Leadbitter, an international consultant from the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, and Genevieve Quirk, Greenpeace Oceans Campaigner, give their perspectives. We were also fortunate in having local caterer The Red Kitchen provide excellent food using sustainable fish. Duncan pointed out for instance that for every kilo of prawn netted from coastal waters, the indiscriminate by-catch is between 5 and 10 kilos. There have been reports of up to 21 kilos for every kilo of prawn caught.
Duncan recounted some of his experiences in attempting to get information from the industry and getting supermarkets to adopt a sustainable fish policy. Coles have had a policy in their bottom draw for several years, but have yet to put it into practice. Aldi (accredited by the Marine Stewardship Council) and IGA in contrast do source sustainable fish. Genevieve commented that the UK was well ahead of Australia, with all major supermarkets supplying only sustainable fish. She aptly compared before and after seeing the movie to diving under water without and then with goggles. Duncan and Genevieve reinforced the message from the movie - the solution is in our hands – by getting fussy about which fish we buy to put on our forks and into our mouths.
Greenpeace and the Australian Marine Conservation Society provide valuable information, including a pocket guide to which fish stocks are sustainable and which are not:
What’s the connection with climate change? One of the surprises from the movie for me was learning that the decline of fish stocks has an impact on atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. Research published recently in Nature has revealed that across the globe phytoplankton have declined by 40% since 1950, about the same time industrial fishing began in earnest. While the cause of the decline is not yet entirely clear, one of the contributing factors seems likely to be over-fishing that results in increased levels of their zooplankton prey, and this in turn leads to reduced levels of phytoplankton. Phytoplankton produce about half of the oxygen in the atmosphere, and do so by absorbing atmospheric carbon dioxide. Phytoplankton are an important carbon dioxide sink.
The research published in Nature suggests green house gas driven ocean warming results in ocean stratification that deprives phytoplankton of nutrients. Completing the impact circle, rising atmospheric carbon dioxide results in ocean acidification and oxygen depletion, both of which adversely impact on fish and extend ocean ‘dead zones’. Compounding the problems for fish, recent research shows that by 2050 there will be a wholesale redistribution of species, with ocean warming driving fish towards the poles on average by more than 40 kilometres per decade. This shift is expected to undermine biodiversity and further reduce fish stocks, taking more species to the edge of extinction:
Researchers from the University of Queensland’s Global Change Institute recently published a review in Science titled ‘The Impact of Climate Change on the World’s Marine Ecosystems’:
A bottom line from the of The End of The Line? By choosing to consume only sustainable fish, you’ll be contributing to the survival of fish populations and an important food source, and contributing to the reduction of atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Thanks to the Red Kitchen, Helensburgh Lions and Helensburgh Public School for the opportunity to see the End of the Line.
Cheers, Peter.
Views: 17
Add a Comment
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Comment by Peter Turner on October 22, 2010 at 7:42 -
Thanks Ronnie; great site!
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Comment by Ronnie Wright on October 21, 2010 at 12:00 -
Here is another interesting article that you may want to read which is posted on my website:
The Earth has nine biophysical thresholds beyond which it cannot be pushed without disastrous consequences, the authors of a new paper in the journal Nature report. Ominously, these scientists say, we have already moved past three of these tipping points
Read the article here: Provocative New Study Warns of Crossing Planetary Boundaries
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Comment by Peter Turner on October 20, 2010 at 14:02
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Hi Ronnie and Karen, thanks for the tips – I’ll follow them up. Had a feeling the RN programme I half remember might have been the Health Report, but see no sign of it on the Web site.
Sympathise with the virus perspective Ronnie, and sometimes I hear Marvin the robot from Hitchhiker’s Guide moaning “Humans, waste of a good planet”.
But there’s still time, and the hope of change.
Cheers Peter.
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Comment by Karen Horne on October 19, 2010 at 11:04 -
Turns out it's the year of biodiversity - so on Radio National there were several programs on the topic recently.
For example, On Sept 22nd RN Breakfast there was a report on the UN's Convention on Biological Diversity - who are warning that the extinction crisis is getting worse.
www.abc.net.au/rn/breakfast/stories/2010/3018425.htm
Probably not the one you were thinking of but, the guest, Dr. Jane Smart said:
"As a result (of the crisis), all the wonderful things that nature does for us like clean water and clean air are degrading.... We will have healthier populations if we can maintain biodiversity."
You can download the audio file from that link, and listen to the program.
K
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Comment by Ronnie Wright on October 19, 2010 at 8:43
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There is a good book out about the impact humans are having on the oceans that might be of interest to some people here. It’s called Seasick: Ocean Change and the Extinction of Life on Earth. I read this book a few months ago and was shocked by what it uncovered. My own review of the scientific literature pertaining to the issues covered in the book confirmed what the book claims. And, as it was when scientist first started sounding the alarm about Climate Change and nobody would listen, they are now sounding the alarm about the dying Oceans and the possibility of destroying all life on earth, and again nobody is listening. If we don’t change our ways we will hit the tipping points. As Peter pointed out Phytoplankton provides half of the earth’s oxygen. Without Phytoplankton life on earth can not survive. They are going into decline and it is human activity that is driving that decline.
Sometimes I feel like humans are just like a virus; they attack the host that they depend on for survival and when the host dies so does the virus.
Ronnie Wright
World Change Cafe
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Comment by Peter Turner on October 19, 2010 at 5:49
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Karen and Ronnie, thanks for your comments. Further underscoring the importance of biodiversity and the human connection, there was a discussion on ABC Radio National a couple of weeks back that I didn't pay full attention to alas. As I recall (or was it a dream) it suggested that the strength of the human immune system has a dependency on biodiversity. Irksome that I don't recall more or remember which programme it was that discussed this.
My understanding is that the term Anthropocene was coined in recognition of the profound impact of humans, including what appears to be the Earth's sixth great extinction event being caused by humans:
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/es903118j
I too like fish, but am for sure being careful after seeing the movie.
Cheers, Peter.
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Comment by Karen Horne on October 18, 2010 at 22:46
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Peter this is great. My goggles are less fuzzy, and all those links are marvellous, as now I know there's actually something I can DO about the problem in addition to merely being aware of it.
I don't know how i'm going to get my local SushiTrain to explain where they source their salmon sashimi - so it'll be back to avocado and veggo sushi from now on. With alacrity.
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Comment by Ronnie Wright on October 18, 2010 at 14:45
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Thank you Peter for such an informative article. I’ve got a copy of “The End of the Line” film at home. It’s yet another example of how humans are trashing the planet and putting the natural systems that we and all other life on earth depend on, for our very survival, at danger of collapse.
We are witnessing a massive loss of the earth’s biodiversity. Biodiversity underpins the functioning of the ecosystems which we depend for food, water and health. If we continue with our current trends we may reach a number of tipping points that would catastrophically reduce the capacity of ecosystems to provide these essential services.
Here are but a few examples of the impact we are having on biodiversity taken from the report Global Biodiversity Outlook 3 issued by the Convention of Biological Diversity:
- The population of wild vertebrate species fell by an average of nearly one- third (31%) globally between 1970 and 2006, with the decline especially severe in the tropics (59%) and in freshwater ecosystems (41%).
- 42% of all amphibian species and 40% of bird species are declining in population.
Species extinction might be a natural part of the Earth’s history but over the past 100 years humans have increased the extinction rate by at least 100 times compared to the natural rate. The current extinction rate is much greater than the rate at which new species arise, resulting in a net loss of biodiversity.
Although nations have been taking action in this area it has fallen far short of that which is needed to protect life on earth. One only need look at the lack of action on climate change to get a feeling of where we are headed.
I see all of this as being a direct result of the way we view what it means to be human. And by that I’m saying that it’s all about how we view ourselves in relation to nature. We have the false view that as humans we are above all of nature and can do with nature as we see fit. Such a view, and the resulting actions, will have grave consequences if we don’t bring about a paradigm change in the way we view nature.
Ronnie Wright
World Change Cafe
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Comment by Peter Turner on October 16, 2010 at 11:47
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Apologies if I continue to point out the obvious or well known, but kind of related to The End of The Line and sustainability concerns, is this 2007 video which takes a different approach to raising awareness about sustainability and climate change:
http://www.tinyurl.com/thecarbonator
Here's a useful resource for Australian consumers:
http://www.ethical.org.au/
http://www.ethical.org.au/guide/browse/product-types/
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