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| Our oceans just like the land are under threat from many harmful processes brought on by man. I will cover a few of these harmful processes on this page these will be destructive processes not to many people are aware of. Our oceans are being striped of their natural resources and polluted as We speak It seems our oceans have become a toxic dumping ground for private and commercial industries. The dumping of heavy metals such as mercury and also radio active material at sea as well as land still continues, when this element is dumped it will not break down we all hear from time to time about high mercury levels in shellfish. Shellfish act like small filters of the sea and are usually the first marine organism to show signs that something is not quite right. The shellfish being near the bottom of the food chain ingest mercury and other toxic material as they feed on microscopic organisms. The shell fish are then ingested by fish etc, they in turn are ingested by larger fish etc etc. This process is known as bioconcentration or bioaccumulation as you are reading this bear in mind that we sit on the top of the food chain we are the consumers not the producers. To give another example of bioconcentration is ciguatera fever a process that many of us are aware of,.Where you will find your highest levels of toxins would be the larger predatory fish that sit near or on top of the food web we in turn ingest them treating ourselves not only to a nice feed of fish but also high levels of ciguatera toxin also in some cases. Ocean incineration : This is a process that involves some of the most toxic wastes known to man. This waste is taken far out to sea and burnt on incineration vessels. We all know that where there is smoke there is not only fire but also incomplete combustion this has been no ted by various authorities in the past what is done about it I don’t know???? We can only guess the levels of toxic unburnt waste entering the environment another thing to take into consideration is what would happen if the vessel was to run aground???? Overfishing by means of long line operation, continual harvesting of specific species, pumping of raw and semi processed sewerage, whaling for scientific purposes of course ( yea right! ) introduction of foreign species into a local environment, destruction of native sea grass, dumping of various pollutants, eutrophication from our river systems, oil spills, etc etc. I have only mentioned a few damaging processes I could go on and on the sea as well as the land is not something that has been placed here to cater for the greed of mankind It is there as a natural resource that when managed properly can cater for everyone. It is the home of countless of millions of different species of marine organisims the oceans of this Planet are a very important part of our survival. If our oceans are not properly managed we are not only harming all that lives within it we are harming mankind itself. There is enough in our oceans for mans needs but there is not enough for mans greed, To upset the balance of nature is to upset mankind itself…………… Stu Clutten. |
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