Nikki Cheshire Depth Deception One of the last places youd expect would affect the ocean is at a location

thats a couple hundred miles inland, in the middle of a state that doesnt border any seas coast. However, the truth is that everyone has an effect on the oceans, regardless of whether they live on the coastline of Hawaii or in the middle of Montana. Our lifestyles, which cycle around wasteful consumption, have a larger impact on the worlds oceans than many are led to believe. Everything from litter and pollution to energy and water waste negatively affects the ocean. And in turn, these negative effects come back to haunt us in the form of changed weather patterns, loss of many endangered species, and even several different types of poisons and toxins ending up in the food we consume. You might think that being so far inland, you either dont have a direct effect on the ocean, or that what other people do to the ocean dont impact you in any way. You might think that everything thats happening is fine, and that the ocean is a large enough resource that we cant possibly harm it. You might even think youre too far away from the ocean itself to even begin to help fix the problem. However, these are all common misconceptions. Despite the fact that youre presently on a Penn State campus, hundreds of miles from any ocean, there are problems that can and must be addressed by everyone in order to make it better. The oceans are extremely important, are currently very sick and most of all need your help. Pennsylvania, especially including State College, lies on a crucial part of our oceans ecosystem: the Susquehanna River. As a part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, the Susquehanna has a direct route to the Bay and, inevitably, the ocean. This means that

any pollutants that end up in the river through litter, run-off and illegal dumping eventually travels out to sea. According to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Susquehanna and the Bay itself for that matter are hardly healthy. Problems include dams that obstruct spawning grounds for migratory fish and alter stream flow, habitat, and chemistry, poorly treated sewage [that] flows into the streams from the pipes of wastewater treatment plants, the fact that farm field creeks accept a heavy load of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution from overwhelming amounts of animal manure, and that human development leads to the acceleration of sediment rushing into the water.1 The rivers condition has deteriorated so much in recent years that 7,100 square miles of the Susquehanna are no longer able to sustain aquatic life, and are deemed unsafe for human use.1 Due to the fact that the Chesapeake Bay receives half of its fresh water from the Susquehanna river basin, about 40 percent of the nitrogen pollution, 20 percent of the phosphorus pollution, and a heavy load of the sediment pollution are to blame from this area alone.1 However, the good news is that these problems have all been identified and are solvable; they just need the support and effort put in from the communities around the Susquehanna. And most of the time, even the smallest changes to a routine can make the biggest differences in the end. One of the simplest ways to assist the recovery of the oceans is to reduce your carbon footprint. There are several methods that can cut down waste, including things such as shorter showers, not using your room light during the day, and recycling. According to Penn States Recycling and Waste Management center, University Park had 15,034 tons of waste in 2010, which amounts to about 460 pounds of waste per person.2 However, 59% of that waste was recycled, due to many students individual efforts.

Unfortunately, despite the fact that more than half of Penn States waste was recycled, we have the capacity to recycle upwards of 88% of our waste. This means that close to 30% of our recyclable waste is being dumped into the environment. Thats over 4,500 tons inevitably being wasted. And thats just from the Penn State community. So where does all this plastic waste go? Well, some goes to landfills, some of it ends up on the street as litter, but thanks to run-off most of it ends up in our oceans specifically one major spot. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is located in the middle of the pacific in the northern hemisphere. Due to the way ocean currents move in large, circular gyres, [t]he area in the center of a gyre tends to be very calm and stable and the vortex created by [t]he circular motion of the gyre draws in debris, which eventually makes its way into the center where it becomes trapped and builds up.3 According to National Geographic, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch spans an incredible 7 million square miles of ocean. Most of this debris is plastic, which is often mistaken by sea life to be prey such as plankton or jellyfish.3 As a result, endangered species are consuming our plastic waste and dying because of it plastic waste that didnt have to go into the ocean in the first place. Additionally, the consumption of plastic tends to slowly build up toxins like mercury in the fish we eventually eat. However, one of the most tragic things about the Garbage Patch other than the fact that theres also a similar one in the Atlantic Ocean is that no country will take responsibility for it. Though waste comes from several countries and continents, the fact that its so far from any countrys coastline means that a nation has yet to support funding to clean it up.3 However, garbage isnt the oceans only concern when it comes to sustaining the health of marine life: its a different kind of waste. Overfishing and consumption of the

oceans natural resources as well as questionable fishing practices endanger the wellbeing of the ocean. Even just the removal of one species, whether it be sharks or a lesserknown reef fish, can throw the entire ecosystem off-balance. According to National Geographic, many fisheries that blossomed in the 1980s quickly exhausted their catch to the point where nowadays, its estimated that industrial fishing had reduced the number of large ocean fish to just 10 percent of their pre-industrial population.4 However, because the demand for certain fishes still exists, fisheries use techniques that are less careful about reducing bycatch. Bycatch, according to the World Wildlife Foundation, is anything caught while fishing that is not the intended target. The majority of bycatch is needlessly killed and discarded, and includes species such as dolphins, sharks, coral, turtles and several species of seabird.5 The numbers are even more staggering: more than 300,000 small porpoises, whales and dolphins are killed annually; 26 species of seabird are close to extinction; 89% of hammerhead sharks and 80% of thresher and white sharks have disappeared from the Northeast Atlantic Ocean; and billions of coral, starfish, sponges and other invertebrates are killed and wasted as bycatch year after year.5 The end result is millions of metric tonnes of marine life wasted over 25% of the total catch in an endless cycle. And while other practices such as farming may take the initial focus off of catching wild fish for human consumption, it doesnt solve the problem. Farmed fish are often the predatory fish that the food market demands, and predatory fish require other, smaller fish in their diet; this means that aquaculture farms must catch wild prey fish to supplement the farmed fishes diets, which further damages the fragile ecosystem of the ocean.6 Additionally, farmed fish are kept in crowded tanks, resulting in fish infected with numerous parasites and diseases. The antibiotics used to keep these

infections under control contaminate the oceans in run-off and dumping, adding to harmful pollution. While overfishing may not seem to be something that could directly affect a consumer, the reality is much different. After all, the oceans fish source is quickly depleting; as of 2004, 52% were fully exploited, 17% were over-exploited, and 7% were completely depleted.6 Of those sources, 20% were moderately exploited for now, 3% were under-exploited, and only 1% was recovering.6 Due to the fact that supply is much lower, the market is struggling to keep up with demand. As a result, unregulated international trade of fish stocks leads to the purposeful mislabeling of fish for market. A nationwide study of American seafood reported that 33% of seafood is mislabeled.7 Sushi places were the worst culprits, with a fraud rate of 74%. And the worst part is what theyre substituting things with. This isnt a mistake like accidentally serving salmon instead of tuna. Most restaurants are serving a fish called Escolar in the place of tuna. Escolar, affectionately dubbed the ex-lax fish by scientists, can cause serious digestive issues for some people who eat more than a few ounces.7 Additionally, the FDA warns against eating this fish in large portions and serving the fish is banned in Italy and Japan.7 However, its practically impossible to avoid escolar with how the American seafood industry is handled currently. After all, more than 90% of Americas seafood is imported from foreign markets, which often have different standards of acceptability than the average consumer expects or wants to pay for.7 However, there is a way to reduce unsustainable fishing practices and your chances of ingesting harmful substitutes and thats by lowering demand. By raising awareness and making choices such as choosing to eat only fish that comes from a

sustainable source, the demand for overfished resources will decrease. After all, there are plenty of tasty alternatives, such as prawn, seabass, etc, so you dont have to give up eating sushi or seafood.8 If people push the agenda of ending questionable and harmful fishing practices into the public spotlight, government officials will take notice and work to enact policies, restrictions and bans. Additionally, Penn State offers dozens of courses about environmentalism, sustainability and conservationist efforts, and even have an option to minor in the topic.9 Outside of academics, there are countless student groups and organizations dedicated to the cause of sustainability, and are listed on Penn States Center for Sustainability website.10 By choosing to do things such as conserve energy, recycle and avoid littering, and make smart choices when it comes to buying fish for consumption, you can be a part of saving whats left of the ocean. After all, our oceans are a valuable resource and are imperative for our survival and contrary to popular belief are in no way endless. Every little action can make a huge effect in the long run, and its your choice whether you choose to make a positive effect or a negative one.

Sources Consulted:
1

"Waters at Risk: Pollution in the Susquehanna Watershed - Sources and Solutions." Chesapeake Bay Foundation, June 2006. Web.

"What We're Doing: Recycling and Waste Management." Green PSU. The Pennsylvania State University, n.d. Web.

"Great Pacific Garbage Patch." National Geographic Education. National Geographic, n.d. Web.

4 5 6

"Overfishing." The Ocean. National Geographic, n.d. Web. "Bycatch - What Is the Problem?" WWF Global. World Wildlife Foundation, n.d. Web. The Economist Staff. "Fish Stocks." The Economist [London] 7 Aug. 2003: n. pag. Print.

Kinsey, Angela. "Oceana Uncovers Rampant Seafood Fraud Across United States." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 21 Feb. 2013. Web.

Black, Jane. "The Fish Less Eaten." Hemispheres Inflight Magazine. The Washington Post, n.d. Web.

"Sustainability Courses." Penn State Center for Sustainability. The Pennsylvania State University, n.d. Web.

10

"Student Organizations." Penn State Center for Sustainability. The Pennsylvania State University, n.d. Web.