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In an informative new report – Health of the Oceans
– issued in July, the American oceans lobby group, The Ocean Conservancy, calls for revolutionary changes in the way the U.S. manages the oceans as the only way to turn this imperilled public resource around. According to the report, poor management has reduced many species of fish and marine wildlife to a fraction of their historical abundance – in some cases to near extinction. And, overfishing has become the greatest threat to the oceans, with a more profoundly negative impact on our oceans than all other human impacts, including pollution.
‘As a nation we have not even earned a passing grade in managing this public resource, which belongs to all Americans. People can’t always see the pollution in the water they swim in, or in the fish they consume, so they assume all is well, but it’s not. Because the oceans look fine on the surface, people assume that, underwater, everything is fine, too, but it’s not. When they don’t catch fish, and the ones they catch are small, many people assume it’s bad luck, but it’s not,’ said Vice Admiral Roger Rufe USCG (Rtd), president of The Ocean Conservancy.
After examining five key issue areas, The Ocean Conservancy reports that:
• The status of over three-fourths of U.S. fish stocks is unknown, yet of the stocks that can be assessed, nearly half are depleted or being overfished, including Pacific salmon, Gulf of Mexico red snapper, Gulf of Maine cod, swordfish, and many shark species;
• Pollution has rendered 44 per cent of tested U.S. estuaries unfit for uses such as swimming and fishing;
• Coral reefs are being lost at an alarming rate; and,
• Numerous species of marine mammals, sea turtles, and sea birds are in danger of extinction. Only 300 North Atlantic right whales are known to exist, and all six species of sea turtles found in U.S. waters are threatened or endangered.
‘Today, almost no area of the ocean is off-limits to human alteration. With current technology, no part of the ocean remains too deep, too remote, too difficult to fish. As a result, the greatest threat to our oceans is overfishing,’ said Rufe. ‘We must change the prevailing view that fish are merely seafood and that oceans are fish factories. As certain species of fish disappear ocean ecosystems decline and this effect can have repercussions on all Americans as far-reaching as pollution or global warming.’
To make matters worse, just when fisheries all over the world are in serious decline – as demonstrated by the ongoing crises in New England and on the West Coast on July 10, members of the House Resources Committee are poised to roll back the provisions of the law that govern our fisheries – the Magnuson-Stevens Act – designed to prevent the very crisis now ahead.
Mark Powell, fish conservation director at The Ocean Conservancy stated, ‘In my assessment, the United States has done a poor job implementing and enforcing measures of the Magnuson-Stevens Act passed in 1996, and as a result has done little to stop overfishing, minimize bycatch, and protect essential fish habitat. Congress should be engaged in strengthening the Act and should consider overhauling the entire fisheries management system, up to and including doing away with the fishery management councils.’
‘For the past 25 years, the federal agency charged with managing this public resource has abdicated too much authority to the industry-dominated councils,’ he continued. ‘No other natural resource, not timber, minerals, or grazing lands are so thoroughly controlled by the very interests who extract the resource.’
Additionally, the report details the increasing impact of pollution resulting in thousands of annual beach closures, the deadly effects of the fishing industry on marine mammals, the growing problem of invasive species, and more.
The Health of the Oceans report details how destroying the natural environments of marine ecosystems will affect all Americans and offers strong solutions for how the U.S. as a nation can better manage the oceans.
The report recommends a series of actions including:
• Establish an independent agency for managing the oceans – one that consolidates and better coordinates the responsibilities now splintered among different federal agencies – an agency that sets a positive standard for how to view and conserve ocean resources;
• Overhaul the entire fishery management system, up to and including doing away with the fishery management councils;
• Adopt an ecosystem-based management approach that preserves entire ecosystems and thereby protects the species and resources they contain;
• Reduce polluted runoff by fully implementing, funding, and enforcing the most important U.S. water laws, including the Clean Water Act; and
• Adopt an ocean wilderness ethic similar to that adopted on land.
‘Five out of ten Americans have no idea their actions affect the health of the oceans,’ said Rufe. ‘Yet, just as people are the greatest threat to ocean health they are also its greatest hope. The task of managing and protecting our oceans lies with each of us.’
The full Health of the Oceans report is available on The Ocean Conservancy website at <http://oceanconservancy.com>
Vessels that have visited the Torres Strait will be targeted through quarantine measures designed to stop pests and diseases from hitching a ride south to the mainland, Agriculture Minister Warren Truss has announced.
The Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) was stepping up efforts to ensure vessels complied with the special quarantine laws on transit between Torres Strait and the mainland, he said.
Those laws included mandatory reporting requirements for returning domestic vessels that have visited the Torres Strait, and a ban on moving most goods from the Strait to other parts of Australia.
New measures included:
• prosecution of vessel masters who have been operating in the Torres Strait and who do not report to AQIS before returning to the mainland (vessels seven metres or longer);
• increased surveillance of domestic fishing vessels and yachts travelling south from the Torres Strait, with the help of additional Quarantine vessels at Cairns, Thursday Island and Bamaga;
• increased quarantine awareness including direct mail to yachting and fishing groups and regular VHF marine broadcasts throughout Torres Strait; and
• cooperation with the Thursday Island coastguard and harbour authorities in northern Australia to enable 24 hour communication between yachts and Quarantine, giving vessels ample opportunity to report to AQIS before landing.
‘Hundreds of domestic vessels visit the Torres Strait each year and these craft pose a serious threat to Australia’s biosecurity unless they comply with quarantine laws,’ he said.
‘AQIS will be vigorously enforcing the reporting requirements for vessels returning from the Torres Strait following passage of new legislation strengthening Torres Strait quarantine laws in late 2000.
‘The reporting rules aim to ensure that operators don’t unknowingly introduce any of the serious exotic pests and diseases that are present in countries to our north.
‘The Torres Strait is one of the most likely routes into Australia for a range of exotic pests and diseases. This makes vessel operators travelling through this area one of Quarantine’s most important allies in its efforts to keep exotic pests offshore.’
A fact sheet is available at <www.aqis.gov.au\tsvessels>
Courtesy The Queensland Fisherman
Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) detail a record year for Australian fisheries in 2000-01.
The figures are contained in the latest annual fisheries report, Fisheries Statistics 2001.
The ABARE statistics show that Australian fisheries production rose by around one per cent in 2000-01 to 230,000 tonnes. However, with higher prices (unit values) for some species, the gross value of Australian fisheries production rose by around four per cent to $2.48 billion.
The report says Australian fisheries production consists almost entirely of finfish, crustaceans and molluscs. The gross value of finfish production (both wild caught and aquaculture) rose by 11 per cent in 2000-01, mainly owing to higher prices for tuna. The gross value of production of crustaceans fell by two per cent, with lower production of rock lobster, principally in Western Australia, offsetting higher production of prawns. Boosted by higher prices for abalone, the gross value of production of molluscs rose by eight per cent.
The distribution of the catch reflects the wide diversity of Australia’s fisheries. By location, around half of the gross value of Australia’s fisheries production in 2000-01 originated either in or from the waters off the south-eastern states (NSW, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia). Western Australia accounted for around a quarter and Queensland and the Northern Territory, most of the remainder.
The gross value of aquaculture production in 2000-01 increased by nine per cent to $746 million, equivalent to 30 per cent of total fisheries gross value of production.
South Australian aquaculture, dominated by farmed tuna production, accounted for 38 per cent of Australian aquaculture gross value of production in 2000-01. Western Australia accounted for 24 per cent. Most of this State’s aquaculture gross value of production was derived from pearling. Pearling also represented the largest contributor to aquaculture gross value of production in the Northern Territory.
In Tasmania, the dominant aquaculture activity in 2000-01 was production of Atlantic salmon (85 per cent of the gross value of aquaculture production in that State). Edible oysters accounted for a further 13 per cent. Tasmania accounted for 15 per cent of Australian aquaculture gross value of production in 2000-01. Queensland, which accounted for seven per cent of national aquaculture gross value of production, is Australia’s leading State producer of farmed prawns, while oysters and trout are the largest contributor to aquaculture gross value of production in NSW and Victoria respectively.
Australia exported nearly $2.2 billion worth of fisheries products in 2000-01. Around 80 per cent ($1.7 billion) was edible fisheries products (seafood), principally finfish (including southern bluefin tuna), rock lobster, prawns and abalone. The remainder (nearly $0.5 billion) was non-edible fisheries products, principally pearls.
The volume of seafood exports rose by one per cent to around 64,700 tonnes in 2000-01. However, reflecting large increases in export unit values of some fisheries products, the value of edible fisheries exports rose by nearly 12 per cent. The total value of all fisheries products exports (edible and non-edible) rose by nine per cent.
Within the $1.7 billion seafood export sector, the main individual products were rock lobster ($533 million), finfish ($478 million), prawns ($291 million) and abalone ($249 million). Around $53 million of scallops and $33 million of crabs were also exported. Virtually all lobster tails, scallops and crabs were exported fresh, chilled or frozen. Nearly 70 per cent of whole lobster was exported live, fresh or chilled, while nine per cent was exported frozen, and 22 per cent cooked. Just over half of all abalone exports were fresh, chilled or frozen, and the remainder canned.
Finfish exports were dominated by tuna, which made up around 70 per cent of all exports of finfish by value.
Within the $0.5 billion inedible fisheries products export sector, pearls make up the bulk of exports by value (93 per cent). Other inedible fisheries product exports include fish meal, ornamental fish, and marine fats and oils.
ABARE says the real value of fisheries product exports (seafood and non-edible fisheries products) has more than doubled over the past decade. In 1990-91, exports of fisheries products were valued at around $1 billion (in 2000-01 dollars), compared with $2.2 billion in 2000-01.
Tuna has been one of the main products contributing to this expansion in exports. Based on the development of southern bluefin tuna farming, rising tuna catches off the east coast of Australia and the depreciation of the Australian dollar relative to the US dollar and Japanese yen, tuna production has risen significantly and tuna exports have risen from only $6.6 million (2000-01 dollars) in 1990-91 to $332 million in 2000-01.
The ABARE report says most of Australia’s exports of edible fisheries products go to a few key markets. Some of the main products and markets include rock lobster to Hong Kong, Japan, Chinese Taipei and the United States, abalone to Hong Kong and Japan, and finfish (largely tuna) and prawns to Japan.
By value, Hong Kong, Japan, Chinese Taipei and the United States took 95 per cent of Australia’s rock lobster, 87 per cent of its abalone, and 71 per cent of its prawn exports in 2000-01. These four countries also took 65 per cent of Australia’s finfish exports by value in 2000-01.
Singapore and China were also important markets for Australian seafood products, taking mainly crustaceans and molluscs.
Reflecting rises in the unit values of tuna and abalone among other products, the value of Australia’s exports of edible fisheries products to China, Hong Kong and Japan rose appreciably in 2000-01.
The value of exports to Japan rose by 12 per cent to $731 million, while the value of exports to Hong Kong and China rose by 29 per cent and 22 per cent respectively (to $431 million and $49 million). The value of seafood exports to Chinese Taipei and the United States fell, reflecting falls in the quantities of exports shipped.
The largest individual markets for non-edible fisheries products exports (principally pearls) in 2000-01 were Hong Kong, the United States, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Japan.
The total tonnage of seafood exports from Australia rose only marginally in 2000-01 (by one per cent) but the value of that tonnage rose by 12 per cent. This pattern tended to be repeated with state exports, with generally small changes in tonnages but often large changes in export value. The value of seafood exports from Queensland rose by 35 per cent in 2000-01, due mainly to increased exports of prawns and scallops.
The ABARE report – Australian Fisheries Statistics 2002 – is available in printed form or via computer. For details, including costs and payment methods, contact ABARE, phone (02) 6272 2000, fax (02) 6272 2001, web site <www.abareconomics.com>, or GPO Box 1563, Canberra ACT 2601.
Courtesy The Queensland Fisherman
The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) is undertaking a global consideration of the safety issues pertaining to large passenger ships, as the cruise industry giants vie for prestige and passengers. Royal Caribbean’s flagship Voyager of the Seas is an example of the extraordinary ships now entering service. At 142,000 gross tons, she currently holds the title of the world’s largest cruise ship and carries around 1,800 crew and over 3,100 passengers. Ships such as this have broken the boundaries of convention in terms of their concept, their design and their sheer size.
So many things distinguish cruise ships from other ship types but a key factor in their very conception is that they create their own market. Whereas containerships, for instance, are built in response to their owners’ perceptions of the market’s requirement, cruise ship owners create a concept and then set out to sell it.
Safety, of course, is a vital concern for passenger ship designers and operators. These vessels have the highest of profiles and their success could be undermined entirely if the public were to lose confidence in them. Although it cannot be denied that a number of incidents in recent years have indicated the vulnerability of these ships, it is also true that overall, their safety record is good. By and large, they avoid the worst excesses of the weather. Passengers demand that they should do so and a typical power installation capable of providing 25-knots enables them to outrun a hurricane. But while the modern cruise giants have the power and speed to dodge the weather, they are particularly vulnerable to fire. Every passenger is a potential ignition source and the hotel services clearly have an inherent risk.
Prompted by a concern that the trend toward ever larger vessels could lead to new giants of the cruise world which might pose safety-related questions unforeseen by existing regulations, IMO Secretary-General William O’Neil took a personal initiative to raise the issue during the 72nd meeting of the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) in May 2000. As a result, the MSC agreed to undertake a global consideration of the safety issues pertaining to these ships and a working group on large passenger-ship safety began work at the next session of the Committee in November-December 2000, to review the current safety regime as it relates to large passenger ships.
Others have joined Mr O’Neil in his efforts to place a coherent emphasis on the safety of large passenger vessels. Michael Crye, president of the International Council of Cruise Lines (ICCL), an industry body with consultative status at IMO, said ‘Safety is our most important priority.’ He added, ‘Sixty million people have safely sailed on cruise ships over the last two decades.’ And Rear Admiral Robert North, Assistant Commandant of Marine Safety for the United States Coast Guard, has said ‘Passenger cruise ship safety is the number one priority of the Coast Guard and we are committed to working to ensure continuous passenger safety improvement.’
In March this year, the Cruise Industry Coalition (CIC), a joint initiative of the ICCL and the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), announced the results of a passenger safety study which they commissioned in response to Mr O’Neil’s initiative. Among other things, the study highlighted the difficulty in safely evacuating some passengers, such as the elderly and injured, from lifeboats to rescue vessels. It is clear that the difficulties would not end, even with successful evacuation. Thousands of people, unfamiliar with ships and the sea, crowded into lifeboats and liferafts, would present a unique search-and-rescue challenge.
What has now emerged from IMO is a plan for a body of work that will constitute one of the largest ever investigations into the safety-related aspects of a particular ship type ever carried out. The guiding philosophy of the work hinges on the following five elements.
• the regulatory framework should place more emphasis on the prevention of a casualty from occurring in the first place.
• future large passenger ships should be designed for improved survivability so that, in the event of a casualty, persons can stay safely on board as the ship proceeds to port.
• the regulatory framework should permit alternative designs and arrangements in lieu of the prescriptive regulations, provided that at least an equivalent level of safety is achieved.
• large passenger ships should be crewed, equipped and have arrangements to ensure the safety of persons on board for survival in the area of operation, taking into account climatic conditions and the availability of SAR functions.
• large passenger ships should be crewed and equipped to ensure the health safety, medical care and security of persons on board until more specialized assistance is available.
These five elements have spawned a host of specific tasks and objectives. The work will be spread among seven IMO bodies and will build into a thoroughgoing review of the existing safety regime as it applies to these ships.
The unique circumstances of the cruise industry encourage ship designers to seek the key selling points that will make their creation some-body’s dream holiday destination. Passengers’ demands for comfort, space and sheer prestige, coupled with economies of scale, mean that the quest for size is likely to continue. IMO’s work is aimed at ensuring that, while this buoyant sector of the shipping industry continues to expand and push at the boundaries of convention, the key issues of safe design and operation can keep pace.
Courtesy IMO Newsroom
The midterm report from the congressionally-mandated US Commission on Ocean Policy was issued in September 2002. It was presented to President Bush by retired Admiral James Watkins, chair of the Commission and former head of the US Department of Energy under the first President George H.W. Bush.
The report follows months of public meetings and visits to marine facilities around the nation, and comes half-way through the Commission’s planned two-year mission to detail the problems facing US ocean resources, and recommend a course of action to protect these resources. It is the first step toward a comprehensive national oceans policy for the US. The Commission was particularly concerned about a need for ‘heightened public awareness about the oceans and the consequences of the policy choices the nation faces.’
The following is an extract from the summary of long-term observations made by the Commission.
The oceans are in trouble. Our coasts are in trouble. Our marine resources are in trouble … all, perhaps, in serious trouble. These are observations on which the 16 Commissioners of the US Commission on Ocean Policy, after completing a portion of its extensive information gathering process, can readily agree. This same process, however, has also exposed the Commission to a wide range of new and exciting opportunities to address those troubles, opportunities which it intends to emphasize in its final June 2003 report to the President and Congress.
While much more work and analysis needs to be done, some preliminary and more specific observations and challenges can also be highlighted:
• Dramatic increases in population and pollution along our shorelines clearly indicate that the Nation’s capability to manage our coasts is inadequate and yet more critical today than it was 30 years ago when Congress enacted the Coastal Zone Management Act … but what would be required to enhance that capability? The depletion of our fish stocks continues. Marine fishery management has an uneven, and often poor, record. Scientific advice has been ignored all too often at the expense of fisheries and the longterm sustainability of the fishing industry. Reform is needed … but what kind?
• Ocean pollution is a growing problem, much of it caused by nonpoint sources, such as farming practices, urban runoff, and air pollution deposition. The sources are numerous and dispersed while the solutions are elusive and challenging. All Americans should be able to enjoy clean and healthy beaches and wholesome seafood … but what can be done? Water-borne commerce is essential to the Nation’s economic wellbeing. Over 95 per cent of the cargo volume moving into and out of the United States is by ship and this is expected to double by the year 2020. It is imperative that our ports and marine transportation infrastructure have the capacity to handle this increase in a manner that protects and conserves critical coastal and marine resources through environmentally sound planning for port expansion, dredge material disposal, and management of ballast water and other discharges from commercial ships … but will we be able to establish a process to determine that the proper balance between economic and environmental considerations is struck?
• Oceans and climate are inextricably linked and climate change affects everyone and all aspects of our economy. Through greater understanding of the oceans, we can better position ourselves to predict droughts, with their devastating effect on agriculture; hurricanes and storm surges that affect coastal areas; and public health threats now shown to emanate from a warming ocean. With modern technological advances, we have the opportunity, urged by many presenters, to develop truly integrated ocean and coastal observing and prediction systems that are more sophisticated than ever before … but will we seize the opportunity?
• Scientists are concerned with recent findings of abrupt climate changes that have occurred throughout recorded history. Significant climate changes have occurred in periods under 10 years and profoundly altered the landscape of large regions of the Earth. Although the oceans clearly play a crucial role in controlling climatic events, this is not understood in sufficient detail to predict or take action in a timely fashion on rapid climate change events and their impacts … but what can we do to strengthen our scientific understanding to lead to more informed public policy actions?
• The Arctic Ocean is one of the least understood of all of the world’s oceans; yet, for our Nation, it is vitally important. The Arctic is a key component of global climate change, a known sink for contaminants, the habitat for one of the Nation’s largest and most valuable fisheries, and the basis of subsistence for northern peoples. Overall funding for basic oceanic and atmospheric research in the Arctic has remained modest and relatively level since the Cold War era … but is this level of investment sufficient to better understand the environmental dynamics and unique processes of this important area?
• Particularly important features of our ocean and coastal environment may require special protection for future generations of Americans. Many presenters have stressed the need to protect and restore coral reefs and other ecologically unique and important coastal and estuarine habitats and to preserve marine biodiversity. Protection of these areas requires a more effective and coordinated approach to avoid long-term damage … but will we be able to develop and accept those protections?
• Jurisdictional and legal confusion and ambiguity are not uncommon in our coastal laws. Multiple use problems are exacerbated by growing litigation, regulatory confusion and delay, and uncoordinated policy. Balancing the economic and ecological health of the oceans is made more difficult in some cases by this lack of coordination … but how can our laws and policies be better coordinated?
• The lives of all Americans – from landlocked States as well as coastal States – are affected by the oceans. And, in turn, all Americans affect the oceans wherever they may live. Yet, we do not fully understand the nature of these interactions and relationships. It is unclear whether we have devoted adequate resources to ocean science and technology to address these and other oceanic and atmospheric matters … if we have not, what would be a responsible education, management, and investment strategy?
The Commission is struck by the impressive scope and importance of these and many of the other issues that have come before it. As it concludes its information-gathering phase, and begins to analyze results and make recommendations to the President and Congress on a comprehensive national ocean policy, it encourages a heightened public awareness about the oceans and the consequences of the policy choices the Nation faces. The Commission is optimistic that it can provide answers to many serious challenges, yet it is concerned whether there is a sufficient sense of national urgency to implement a coordinated and comprehensive national ocean policy to address these challenges as contemplated by the Oceans Act of 2000.
The full midterm report is available online at: <http://oceancommission.gov/documents/midterm_report/Report_Covcolor2.pdf> .
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URL: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/MarStudies/2002/21.html