Geog 5 Week 3 Lecture 5 01 31 2012 Chapter 11 Oceans and Fisheries continued Current as it passes equator water the warmest bounded by continents takes 1 000 to make the trip Human Impacts on Oceans We tend to think of the ocean unrealistically o We use it as a large trash can o Because ocean is vast and water is the universal solvent o Only recently noticed it is a limited resource o Hard to get to sea floor 2008 less than 4 not occupied by human interaction o 41 of ocean severely damaged Technology Fishing aquaculture long lines with hooks drift net trawl bag sonar etc o Nets go on for miles o Pick up anything that is there o Overfishing becomes easier to do Sea Otters Specifically in CA believed that they were depleting resources so fishermen got the federal government to pay for their removal is the area o Huge decline in where we placed them They are a keystone species their removal affects the whole environment o Otters eat sea urchins to eat kelp o Fish now have no place to breed small fish population Affects higher in the food chain killer whales seals and sea lions Aquaculture Farming fish Started because fish population in wild was decreasing Easier and economical Not depleting natural fish stocks but the pens are polluting the ocean o Escaping problem China and Chile types of fish don t naturally belong where they are cultivated Great Pacific Garbage Patch Plastic doesn t break down o 3 5 million tons twice the size of Texas Doesn t quite float or sink sand made of plastic o Turns to dust fear when it turns into the molecular level might get into the food web Coral Reefs 25 of coral at high risk Located near developing nations Bleaching zooxaniaithe Deep Sea Mining Drilling accidents Cruise ship that tipped over in Italy There is always oil leaking into the ocean Over 2 million gallons leaked 1 oil spill Happens all the time and nobody notices Ships All have water waste etc Dumping water and the organisms from where they originated to a different location can destroy ecosystems Whales and large animals tend to run into them Air pollution Waste from cruise ships dumped into the ocean Grey water vs black water 01 31 2012 01 31 2012