Marine Life & Conservation
We Reap What We Sow…
We Reap What We Sow… It’s an old saying, but one that has not lost its legitimacy over the years.
This morning I watched a BBC interview with Ross Edgely who aims to be the first person to swim the 2,000 miles around the UK coastline to help raise the awareness of our dying seas due to overfishing, plastic waste and pollution. It’s an amazing thing to do and at the same time such a tragedy that someone has to go to these lengths to try and raise such awareness. I was dismayed and not surprised, yet again, by the reporter’s lack of understanding or even care about marine issues. There was more interest in stories of stinging jellyfish than the facts of marine devastation.
When Ross was asked what he had seen on his epic journey, he replied that it was not so much what he had seen but what he had NOT seen that was so upsetting. Only a few fish, a few dolphins and sea birds but little else, except that is for jellyfish.
We clamber to the seaside and coast each summer for our holidays and complain about dangerous jellyfish ruining the sea. Well, really it’s mostly down to us that they are there in such great numbers. Jellyfish have no ‘mean streak’ and are not there solely to spoil our summer break. They are simple marine life forms that fill an ecological void when it is created. As we remove fish, crustaceans, cetaceans and sea birds from our oceans, the jellyfish are able to thrive.
We have decimated their main predators such as tuna, sharks, swordfish, turtles and salmon. One species of jellyfish may well eat another but this is not enough to control numbers. We have now tipped the balance in favour of these simple, gelatinous animals. We are rapidly returning our seas to their primordial state.
Do we care? Possibly. Enough to do something about it? Possibly not.
We can certainly talk the talk, but that’s as far as it goes. There are a few protected areas in the world. There is some legislation for over fishing. Is it enough? No. Year after year our seas decline in health and species.
Yet we still love to go the sea, to swim, to surf, and to dive. We are thrilled to see dolphins or a turtle, sharks and fish. But if we don’t see them, are we heartbroken? No. For divers, a shark or whale encounter is wonderful, but so is a rust-ridden wreck of a long forgotten ship.
We complain about plastic waste. Who is to blame for it all? The manufactures, the supermarkets, the disposal companies? Or us, you and me. Most of the plastic we use is simply for convenience and, just as conveniently, we throw it away. Everywhere I go -be it in the car, boat, walking, swimming – I see plastic thrown away by some lazy person who has no care at all for the world in which we all live.
Every beach, hedgerow, roadside, mountain, field and town has its share of discarded waste from people who are too ignorant to take it home or take a few moments to dispose of it sensibly.
Healthy oceans give us the air we breathe, our atmosphere and our climates. They also give us a sense of wonder, they excite our imaginations and are the foundation of all life on this planet. They are where we came from. We can’t afford to lose them.
There are still people on this earth who depend on sea life for survival but they are also in great trouble as fish disappear. While these people struggle to feed themselves much of the rest of humanity live in a world of excess. Roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year — approximately 1.3 billion tonnes — gets lost or wasted – www.fao.org/save-food/resources/keyfindings/en/
Where is the sense or reasoning behind that?
Some people do care… but most don’t. Are our lives too busy to worry about the sea? There are mortgages to pay, children to school and bring up. But what kind of world are we bringing these kids up to live in? When your children and grandchildren ask you one day where all the marine life went you can tell them, with shameful pride, that we, human beings, killed it all. First, by systematically hunting it for food and then for money, ultimately polluting and destroying the marine food chain causing mass starvation.
What a tragic legacy. Is it too late to do anything about this? Possibly. Is it worth trying? Yes.
So what am I doing personally. Well for a start I will continue to not eat any produce from the sea until perhaps one day it truly becomes sustainable. As a family we will continue to recycle and minimize our use of plastic. We will continue to support marine conservation groups. I would love to know what you are doing or what you would like to do.
Write to me at jeff@scubaverse.com
After a two-year tour of UK art galleries, community spaces and aquariums, the Shark Trust’s acclaimed Oceanic31 exhibition takes its final bow at the Royal Geographical Society later this month. And the unique collection of artwork, depicting 31 species of oceanic sharks and rays, donated by 31 artists, is now open for bids from art lovers and shark enthusiasts. The online auction, launched today, will close on the 7th December at 8pm (BST). The money raised will support the Shark Trust Oceanics Programme.
People can now bid on 27 of the artworks by visiting this website:
https://superstars-auctions.com/sharktrustauction
It is a chance to own a beautiful piece of original art and to support the Shark Trust. The timing of the auction also means that these would make a very special Christmas gift for any shark-lover.
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- Bigeye Thresher Shark by Janina Rossiter
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- Carcharodon carcharias by Jimmy Higgs
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- Croc VR 2030 by Tom Mead
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- Oceanic Whitetip by ATM
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- Silky Street by ScapaJoe
The diversity of pieces mirrors that of the sharks and rays they represent. You can bid on paintings, digital creations, sculptures, mixed media and more. You can pick your favourite artist or species of shark. Or you can select the perfect artwork to make a statement in your home or office. Whichever you choose, you will be supporting the work to protect these amazing animals.
One of the pieces of art has been selected to be auctioned live by Steve Backshall at the For the Love of Sharks event at the Royal Geographical Society in London on the 29th November. In addition to this, two further pieces will be raffled at this event, giving people a chance to win an incredible piece of shark art. For the Love of Sharks is the Shark Trust’s flagship evening. A night to celebrate sharks. Steve Backshall is the headline speaker at this event that will see other prominent shark advocates join him on stage.
Tickets for the event can be snapped up here:
https://thesharktrust.org.uk/Event/flos24
Those that would like to see the Oceanic 31 exhibition have one final chance. It is being displayed at the Pavilion at the Royal Geographic Society from 26th November until the 7th December. Entry is free.
Find out more here:
https://www.rgs.org/events/upcoming-events/oceanic-31
Paul Cox, Shark Trust CEO, Said “This exhibition has given us the opportunity to reach out to a new audience. And inspire more people with the wonderful sharks and rays on which our Big Shark Pledge campaign is based. We are immensely grateful to the 31 artists who have worked so hard to create these works.”
Bid for your favourite Oceanic 31 artwork here:
https://superstars-auctions.com/sharktrustauction
Banner Image: Smooth Hammerhead by Alicia Hayden
Until 28 November, prizes worth a massive £10,000 – including experiences, products and tuition – feature in a line-up of items that can be won for £5 in an online prize draw to celebrate Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation’s 20th anniversary and help generate crucial funds for the future.
Top of the list of prizes is the chance to spend time with adventurer and wildlife expert Steve Backshall, a workout session with Nat Geo star Aldo Kane, a kayaking trip alongside white-water expert and diver Sal Montgomery and a Zoom call with ‘shark whisperer’ Cristina Zenato.
On top of that, some of the most admired companies in the diving and scuba industry have been quick to support the charity with fabulous prizes that make the £5 ticket price worth more than just a flutter.
Master Liveaboards, BSAC, Midlands Diving Chamber, Go Freediving and Blue Shark Snorkel have all generously donated experience prizes, while celebrated photographer Alex Mustard has donated a print and artists Scott Gleed and Olivier Leger have donated a sculpture and illustration to help boost the fundraising pot.
Fourth Element has donated Ocean Positive gear and LA watch company Nodus has gifted the charity a stunning dive watch. For land lovers, the charity has included a five star London hotel stay at Bankside Hotel plus a family visit to Longleat Safari Park in the roster of prizes.
Campaign director for Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We’ve been overwhelmed with support from companies and individuals that we truly admire and who have supported us on our 20 year journey and we’re truly grateful to them all. While we feel incredibly proud of our achievements over the past two decades – and we are super excited about the next chapter – this prize draw isn’t a vanity project. It represents a real lifeline to our work and important advancements in the global protection of sharks. So we hope divers, dive clubs and even bargain hunters grab some tickets to make this a massive success.”
The charity hopes that the prize draw will generate crucial funds to launch a brand new, ground-breaking, campaign to enrol the public and increase support for the protection of sharks around the world.
To enter the competition visit www.bite-back.com/prizedraw. The prize winners will be announced on 1 December 2024.
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