Marine Life Decline

Marine life is being threatened by a variety of human activities that result in habitat loss, unsustainable fishing and water pollution. The good news is that there are steps we can take every day to help marine life recover and thrive.

• Don’t flush kitty litter. Cats can host a deadly pathogen, called Toxoplasmosis gondii, which appears to contribute to nearly 40 percent of the mortality in California sea otters observed in the past several years. Dispose of kitty litter in trash receptacles instead of flushing it down the toilet.
• Make smart seafood choices. Buy seafood that you know is being harvested sustainably and doesn’t contain heavy metals, such as mercury, that pose a risk to human health. Consult the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s seafood guide that identifies the best choices to make to help preserve these fish stocks for future generations.
• Take shorter showers and install low-flow shower fittings like EPA’s Water Sense products.
• Don’t purchase items that exploit marine resources unnecessarily such as coral jewelry and supplements such as coral calcium and shark cartilage. The nutrients these supplements allegedly provide are easily obtained from other food sources such as green leafy vegetables.
• Join a marine mammal rescue center and volunteer your time.
• Take the pledge. Return the favor by taking our pledge to protect the ocean.
• Click here for more ways you can take action against marine life decline.

Fisheries
Scientists report that 90% of large fish, such as tuna and swordfish, have been removed from the ocean through fishing . Experts estimate that 25 to 30% of the world’s major fish stocks are overexploited . Despite the U.S. having strong fishery laws, of the 267 major fish stocks, roughly 17% are not being fished sustainably . Inadequate information for another 30% of the major fish stocks and virtually all of the minor fish stocks makes it difficult to manage these fisheries sustainably.

Worldwide, for every four pounds of fish caught, more than a pound of other animals are also caught unintentionally. Many animals such as sea turtles and sharks are inadvertently caught in fishing gear. Often the unintended catch, or “by catch”, is killed in the nets or simply thrown overboard to die. For some types of gear, like shrimp trawls, the ratio is even worse: For every pound of shrimp, four or more pounds of unwanted animals are caught and discarded.

You can help protect fish populations and marine habitat by choosing only sustainably caught seafood. The Monterey Bay Aquarium has developed a guide to help consumers choose sustainable seafood alternatives. Consult their Web site for an interactive guide to choosing sustainable seafood or download their wallet-size guide. In 2008, the aquarium also published a guide to choosing sustainable sushi.

Another resource to help you choose sustainable seafood is the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Fish Watch website.

Salmon and Steelhead in California
Salmon and steelhead trout are anadromous fish, meaning that they live in fresh and ocean water at various stages of life. Salmon and steelhead hatch in small freshwater streams and then migrate downstream to estuaries to mature. They then spend two to six years in the open ocean where they mature, eventually returning to the same streams where they were hatched to spawn and ultimately die.

Two of the six salmonid species that previously lived in many rivers throughout the state, pink and chum, are rarely found in California today. In the fall of 2007, only 70,000 Chinook or “king” salmon returned to the Sacramento and San Joaquin River systems. As a result, the recreational and commercial salmon fisheries off the coast of California and southern Oregon were closed, resulting in an estimated $255 million loss to California.

Dams, water diversions, habitat loss, water pollution, and changing ocean conditions all contribute to the declining of California salmonid species. Salmon populations may improve if more water is available in our streams and rivers. Do your part by reducing the amount of water the you use.

Marine Mammals and Sea Birds
The five National Marine Sanctuaries off the West Coast are home to 36 species of marine mammals, including whales, dolphins, seals, sea lions and sea otters. For more information on the critters that live off California’s coast, please visit the West Coast Field Guide of the National Marine Sanctuaries.

Some of these species of marine mammals and seabirds are listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA), including the Short-tailed Albatross, Marbled Murrelet, California Clapper Rail, southern sea otter, Steller sea lion and several species of whale.

The southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) was decimated in the 1700’s and 1800’s by hunters seeking their pelts. The California population has grown from a group of about 50 survivors off Big Sur in 1938 to just over 2,700 today. Sea otters still face serious risks. Recent studies show Toxoplasma gondii, a water-borne pathogen that is hosted by cats and spread through their feces, appears to contribute to nearly 40 percent of southern sea otter mortality in California by causing brain damage and seizures. You can help by properly disposing of kitty litter in trash receptacles instead of flushing it down the toilet.

Marine Protected Areas

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are tools increasingly used to address some reasons for the decline in marine life populations and the health of ocean ecosystems. MPAs are areas where some human activities are prohibited, such as oil drilling or fishing, in order to protect the ecosystems and marine life around that area. Marine reserves, sometimes known as “no-take” areas, are one type of MPA in which the extraction of marine resources is prohibited.

In 1999, the State of California passed the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA). The MLPA requires California to redesign its marine reserves to better protect California’s marine life, habitats and ecosystems. For more information, please visit the Department of Fish and Game’s MLPA Web site.

Currently, the largest network of marine protected areas off the continental United States surrounds the Channel Islands, off the coast of Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties. The MPA network consists of 11 marine reserves where all take and harvest is prohibited, and two marine conservation areas that allow limited take of lobster and pelagic fish. The MPAs are jointly managed by a state and federal partnership. For more information, please visit the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Web site and the California Department of Fish and Game’s Web site.

MPAs will not protect against all types of human impacts affecting the ocean. They are a tool that should be used to complement other marine management policies, such as fishing limits, gear restrictions and regulations on pollutant discharges into the ocean.