LATE at the Museum
Overfishing, one-use plastics and farming run-off threatening our oceans: LATE at the Museum
What do two
marine scientists, the Young New Zealander of the Year and
one of this country's most iconic singers have in common?
Major fears for the health of our oceans.
Ahead of
their discussion "Tangaroa - Our Oceans", the panel guests
for tonight's LATE at the Museum (Thursday 1 August)
including Sustainable Coastlines founder Sam Judd, marine
scientists Dr Rochelle Constantine and Dr Tom Trnski and
singer/songwriter Don McGlashan have shared what they see as
the most significant threats to our waterways.
The
LATE debate at Auckland Museum also coincides with this
week's Ministry for the Environment report showing grim news
on the suitability for swimming of over half the country's
monitored waterways http://www.mfe.govt.nz/environmental-reporting/fresh-water/suitability-for-swimming-indicator/suitability-swimming-indicator.html
and with moves toward tighter limits on snapper quota for
recreational fishing.
Judd, who was named Young New
Zealander of the Year earlier this year, says the major
threats to our waterways right now are plastic and other
human caused pollutants, contamination of the food chain
which will lead to a food shortage and unsustainable fishing
methods.
"Nutrification (waterways receiving excess
nutrients from a variety of sources, including farming
run-off, which then sets off a cascade of environmental
changes) is also a huge threat to a country that relies on
farming. We should be finding smarter ways to manage to the
land if we want it to continue to sustain
us."
McGlashan says while he's not the expert on the
scientific aspects of the discussion "you only have to be
mildly awake to conservation issues to know that we're
overfishing our seas, dumping too much plastic and
radioactive waste into them, and not paying enough attention
to global warming."
If we don't take action on global
warming, McGlashan says we can expect disastrous
effects.
Head of natural sciences at Auckland Museum
Dr Tom Trnski says it’s easy to ignore what’s happening
in our oceans given our relatively limited contact with it
even in an ‘island nature’ but the consequences of
ignoring it will be dramatic.
“Most people see only
a speck of the ocean, either the narrow coastal strip, or
the surface looking from a boat or the lucky few that dive a
bit deeper below the surface. But the effect of people is
visible all through the ocean: floating rafts of waste
generated by people, the huge reduction in the biomass of
most large marine species that has affected ecological
function, smothering of coastal areas by high sediment
loads, and even local blooms of algae – the basic energy
source for marine animals and the supplier of half of our
oxygen – caused by nutrient overload.”
“These
effects have mostly occurred in the last 50
years.”
Despite the grim predictions there is a way
forward according to the panellists but it requires action
now.
“Given the opportunity, the ecological function
of the ocean’s many species can recover, but it will
require determined stewardship by this and future
generations not to treat the ocean as an inexhaustible
resource with unlimited capacity to absorb human-generated
waste,” says Trnski.
McGlashan suggests people think
about what they are about to buy.
“I think it's good
for people to shop with their minds engaged. We should all
check the list of overfished species before planning a menu;
and when we're buying canned seafood, we should go for
companies with a good conservation record.”
A fan of
recreational fishing, McGlashan says it’s about a balanced
approach.
“I love recreational fishing, so I'm not
going to say we shouldn't do it. I mainly do it for the
peace and quiet – I don't mind if I don't catch anything
– but I'm aware that there are lots of better organised
fisher-folk than me out there, who have a more aggressive
approach. We should just stick to the quotas, throw back the
little ones, and leave our favourite spots alone for a while
when they get a bit tired.”
Judd recommends moving
to spear fishing instead of trawling and commercial fishing,
where you can select the fish you are killing and ensure it
is one that is not already being depleted, and upper limits
on fish size “as it is the big ones that breed and we need
to leave them in the oceans”.
“Some really simple
changes we can all make are simply reducing our use of
single-use plastics and washing our cars on the grass and
not concrete so the run off doesn’t go down the drain,”
says Judd.
“In the end it is about looking after the
spaces we live in. Do we want to be swimming and spending
time on a clean beach or a polluted one?”
For
McGlashan taking action to stem the threats to our ocean is
also about protecting a vast source of
inspiration.
“We crawled out of the oceans millions
of years ago; and there are still many mysteries about how
the seas interact with the climate and the food chain. The
oceans are the last frontier on earth and we should treat
them with the awe and respect they deserve.”
“All
of us who live in New Zealand arrived here over the water
– most of us very recently or a few generations ago; the
tangata whenua a few more generations ago – so the sea can
never be far from our thoughts.
“New Zealand writers
can use the oceans to express our fear of the unknown; our
existential fear, as Allen Curnow did, wonderfully, in
Landfall In Unknown Seas ‘Always to islanders, danger is
what comes over the sea’.
“We can also use the sea
to talk about distance, longing, and to provide a powerful
backdrop to the frail human promises we make to one another,
in the same way that American writers use their great
highways and deserts. I've tried to do all these things in
various songs over the years – and I still feel that I'm
only just rippling the surface.
After the panel
discussion, Don McGlashan will perform live in the Grand
Foyer in the Auckland Museum including several songs which
take their inspiration from the sea including Anchor Me,
Queen Of The Night and a new song called The Waves Will Roll
On.
Simple saves for our ocean
There are some major changes that need to take place at a policy level but in our own lives we can make some relatively simple changes to help protect the health of our oceans and marine life:
Tangaroa
– Our Oceans Thursday 1 August Doors open 6PM. Panel
discussion 7PM. Auckland Museum Great
Music with singer/songwriter Don McGlashan performing live
in the Grand
Foyer
•
Think before you buy – choose more sustainable fish www.bestfishguide.org.nz
•
Think before you fish – follow quotas for recreational
fishing and opt for fish with healthy (or healthier)
stocks
• Cutback on single-use plastics –
where possible avoid individually wrapped snacks and
groceries, gladwrap, bottled water
• Wash
your car on the grass not on the concrete to stop run-off
going down the drain.
LATE at the Museum
Smart Talk with
Wallace Chapman and guests Sustainable Coastlines founder
Sam Judd, marine scientists Dr Rochelle Constantine and Dr
Tom Trnski and singer/songwriter Don McGlashan.
ends