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Science
Friday > Archives
> 1998
> April
> April 24, 1998:
Hour Two: The Oceans
Environmental problems aren't something that stops at the land's edge. The ocean has its problems too, from overfishing to the health of the coral reefs to the quality of the water.
Many experts fear that species are being rapidly depleted by people harvesting fish faster than the species can reproduce. Though catches are still strong today, experts predict that continued overfishing may one day bring the harvest to an abrupt halt. New fishing techniques allow fishermen to work more efficiently - but if misused, the techniques can be very destructive. | Commercial fishermen often use "long lines," fishing lines dozens of miles long containing hundreds of hooks, to fish for swordfish (which once was harvested mainly by harpoon). The use of huge drift nets, covering enormous areas, was banned by the United Nations in 1997, but smaller drift nets, up to one and a half miles in size are still allowed. Trawling, a technique that involves dragging a large net along the ocean floor, indiscriminately takes large numbers of fish - and can also damage habitats like coral reefs. | 
swordfish | Coral covers over 232,000 square miles of ocean floor and provides shelter, food, and breeding territory for an estimated thirty-five to sixty thousand marine species. But lately, coral reefs worldwide have been suffering from a combination of problems. Too many nutrients in the water allow algae to run rampant, blanketing the coral and suffocating it. Overdevelopment along coastlines often causes soil runoff - and that excess soil in the water can block the light that coral reefs need. Coral can be damaged by fishing nets, or poisoned by cyanide solutions put down by fishermen trying to stun exotic reef-dwelling fish. Once injured, coral can become infected with a variety of diseases.
On this hour of Science Friday - world oceans, their secrets, and their problems.
Coral reef images courtesy of the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI)
Guests:
Carl Safina
Author, "Song for the Blue Ocean"
Contributing Editor, Audubon
Founder and Director, National Audubon Society's Living Oceans Program
Islip, NY
John Ogden
Director
Florida Institute of Oceanography
Professor of Biology
University of South Florida
St. Petersburg, FL
Roger McManus
President
Center for Marine Conservation
Washington, DC
Books/Articles Discussed:
Related Links:
Oceans
International Year of the Ocean
Home Page
National Oceanographic Data Center
Oceanography Library at Scripps
Institution of Oceanography
Coral
Reef Alliance
Fishing
Audubon Magazine Good Fish Checklist
"East Coast Chefs No Longer Hooked on Serving Swordfish" - Christian Science Monitor article
National Fisheries Institute (a trade
group)
National Marine Fisheries Service |
