The Coral Sea, while known to some as a World War II battle zone or the name of a super aircraft carrier, it is in reality a body of water off the northeastern coast of Australia, southeast of Papua New Guinea, that has remained relatively unscathed from industrial fishing and other human impacts due to its remoteness and sometimes rough seas.
To preserve its good health, efforts are underway to make it a protected marine reserve. The Australian-based Cairns and Far North Environment Centre (CAFNEC) is pushing for having the Coral Sea designated as a marine park that would provide for marine tourism, recreation, and scientific research, while limiting or prohibiting commercial fishing to protect the billfish, sharks , and tuna that either pass through or call the Coral Sea home.
While the idea of a Coral Sea marine reserve has been endorsed by many scientists (as many as 250 from 35 countries have gone on record in support of the reserve), there has been opposition from local recreational fishermen who see it as a step-by-step strategy leading to expansion along the entire east coast of Australia. However, proponents recognize the needs of the locals and say that expansion is not on their agenda. But protecting one of the few unspoiled tropical areas in the ocean is.
Corals head toward the poles Protecting areas like the Coral Sea would be a good short-term strategy measure. In the long term, we need to consider what might be happening to coral reefs as ocean temperatures continue to rise. Coral thrives within a relatively narrow temperature range and as the waters become warmer, which has been documented as ongoing for several decades, coral reefs experience "bleaching" events where the symbiotic algae that lives within the soft tissues of the coral, providing much of their color, vanishes. This weakens the coral and often proves fatal.
But a new study, about to be published in Geophysical Research Letters, claims that many coral species are migrating towards the poles, to more suitable water temperatures. And the rate that these corals appear to be traveling is quite remarkable: up to 14 km (8.7 mi) annually. With average speeds of 1 km for terrestrial plants and animals and 5km for bottom dwelling sea creatures, these corals would appear to be sprinting. The study combined data with that of others who have tracked coral migrations for years and the researchers noted that of nine coral species studied, four species (all of which considered "near threatened" or "vulnerable" by the IUCN) had moved, most likely with floating larval polyps being aided by currents headed towards the poles, as found along the east coasts of the United States, South America, Africa, and Australia.
Does this mean that corals will simply out run climate change? Not necessarily. The components of climate change and the impacts on coral reefs are complex, from temperature increases to acidification to epidemics which could lead to shifts in the types of corals that stay and flourish, or migrate, or die. One way or another, the tropical reef zones will be disrupted.
In discussing coral's ability to persevere and survive in changing conditions by migrating to more hospitable environments, Paul Sammarco of the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium was quoted in NatureNews, "For corals it is good news, but for ecosystems, maybe not."
It's summertime in the U.S., folks are vacationing, heading to the beaches (well, maybe not the Gulf, unfortunately) to frolic in the surf. And like clockwork, the media reports begin to pile up, one after another: sharks reported cruising the coast, increases in sharks, attacks on the rise, it's the revenge of the evil elasmobranch . . . ad nauseam.
Following a very successful week of programming for the Discovery network (this year, Shark Week brought in its highest ratings ever at over 30 million viewers), there have been reports of white sharks seen along Southern California beaches along with indications that the population of white sharks in California is increasing; surfers are having close encounters of the third kind; shark incidents in Australia are filling the news pages of sites like Underwater Times; and South Africa has issued a coastal shark warning. I think it peaked last week but there was a moment where it seemed like the world was about to be swallowed up.
It's not the individual reports that are necessarily the problem - I'll give the reporters the benefit of the doubt that what they are writing is researched and factually accurate. And there have been some very good articles from the likes of Pete Thomas, as an example (although, Pete, you succumbed to the "summer of the shark" title temptation). My concern is the collective result of all this reporting and the impact it has on the general public's view towards sharks and, by extension, shark conservation. It makes for titillating summer media but without the all-important ingredient: context, context, context.
Sharks migrate along the California coast, giving birth in the deep coastal canyons. And this happens elsewhere in the world. Ergo, we get juveniles cruising the coastline, feeding and fattening up before the migratory impulse hits them and off they go on their annual journeys. It happens every year. Perhaps there might be a spike in sightings, maybe in actual number, but those have always been considered anomalies. Is the California population actually increasing? Well, if it is, as recently reported, then that would be GREAT! But still no reason to fear, statistically-speaking.
And speaking of statistics, we all know that with more people in the water, the chances of a sighting or an encounter goes up. Drastically? Well, no - but that always seems to get glossed over.
So, the bottom line is: this shark activity is all VERY NORMAL! Time of year, migratory and birthing patterns, increased numbers of people in the water - with these factors there is bound to be an increase in sightings or encounters. Sharks just don't need the accompanying hysteria when its whipped up by the media. Shark conservationists are having a tough enough job as is.
BTW: Regarding shark conservation, there is some interesting headway being made in Hong Kong, where Asian-based conservation groups are promoting anti-finning policies. Read the latest from The Daily Caller.
Where I live in Southern California, it's been making the news that Humboldt squid, also known as jumbo squid, have been showing up in greater numbers and local sportfishermen having been having a field day, catching the squid in the early evening hours. In just the past few days, over 400 squid have been reeled in. While edible (if you like calamari rings the size of small tires!), the squid are more known for putting up quite a fight. These are very large and aggressive squid, reaching a body length of as much as 6 feet and weighing 100 pounds.
There's a very important developing story behind these occasional encounters with Humboldt squid along the eastern Pacific coast. Their traditional range was along the Mexican coast at a depth of about 500 to 600 feet. What determined their range was temperature and natural predators - two factors that dictate territories for many ocean species. But those factors have been changing.
Humboldt squid have been reported now as far south as Chile and as far north as Alaska. And they have been reported more and more in shallower waters, disrupting the populations of several commercially fished species like Salmon in the Pacific Northwest. These squid are particularly ravenous, with a very high metabolism, and they have been a major disruption to fishermen - not to mention what these predators are doing to their newly targeted prey populations.
It has been theorized that changes in ocean temperatures and loss of natural predators, like sharks and whales, are the root causes behind the squids' appearance in areas never before seen. And it poses a risk to fish populations and even divers - these squid are very fast, hit hard, and are very aggressive - even cannibalistic when a squid is injured in a feeding frenzy.
Scott Cassell, head of the Undersea Voyager Project, has become a sort of unofficial "squid guy," having spent considerable time observing and filming these animals. He has appeared in several documentaries talking about these animals and has a healthy respect for them and a measure of concern as to how they can disrupt local ecosystems along the eastern Pacific coast.
I have been working with Scott on several projects and we plan on diving with the squid shortly in Northern California. It's not something to be taken lightly. If he knows he will be having some close encounters, Scott typically wears a set of protective armor and chain mail and he has had broken bones thanks to these powerful cephlapods.
Ocean climate change through global warming and a disrupted predator-prey relationship through overfishing - two man-made changes that could have unintended ecological consequences with the expansion of the Humbodlt squid's hunting territory.
The Coral Sea, while known to some as a World War II battle zone or the name of a super aircraft carrier, it is in reality a body of water off the northeastern coast of Australia, southeast of Papua New Guinea, that has remained relatively unscathed from industrial fishing and other human impacts due to its remoteness and sometimes rough seas.
To preserve its good health, efforts are underway to make it a protected marine reserve. The Australian-based Cairns and Far North Environment Centre (CAFNEC) is pushing for having the Coral Sea designated as a marine park that would provide for marine tourism, recreation, and scientific research, while limiting or prohibiting commercial fishing to protect the billfish, sharks , and tuna that either pass through or call the Coral Sea home.
But a new study, about to be published in Geophysical Research Letters, claims that many coral species are migrating towards the poles, to more suitable water temperatures. And the rate that these corals appear to be traveling is quite remarkable: up to 14 km (8.7 mi) annually. With average speeds of 1 km for terrestrial plants and animals and 5km for bottom dwelling sea creatures, these corals would appear to be sprinting. The study combined data with that of others who have tracked coral migrations for years and the researchers noted that of nine coral species studied, four species (all of which considered "near threatened" or "vulnerable" by the IUCN) had moved, most likely with floating larval polyps being aided by currents headed towards the poles, as found along the east coasts of the United States, South America, Africa, and Australia.
