On the Olympic Peninsula, our lives entwine with the ocean. Fishing on Freshwater
Bay, gathering mussels in a special cove, beach walking or sunny day sailing. Taking a ferry daytrip for adventure and relaxation,
food and fun also offers breathtaking beauty and tastes of the ocean’s power.
Now, the ocean is sending
distress signals: Beaches close; shellfish gathering is limited. Salmon runs are drastically diminished and tons of plastic
trash wash up on our shores.
Researchers who examine the ocean’s vital signs warn of peril: Global
seawater temperatures are rising. Dissolving carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, seawater is growing more acidic. Warmth increase
that chemical reaction and also disrupts global ocean circulation patterns.
Changes in seawater chemistry
harm marine life from tiny plankton and krill to oysters, orcas and whales.
Scientists correlate increased
ocean temperatures with a decrease in phytoplankton.
Starved whales bear witness to the diminished life at
the base of the ocean’s complex food chain.
Researchers monitor the ocean, 80 percent of Earth’s
surface, with satellites and specially instrumented ships, subs, planes and buoys.
The news is not good. "Every single spot of the ocean along the West Coast is affected
by 10 to 15 different human activities annually," said Ben Halpern, a marine ecologist with the National Center for Ecological
Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) at the University of California at Santa Barbara. NCEAS examined human-derived ecological stressors,
including climate change, commercial and recreational fishing, land and ocean-based activities.
 |
|
Major threats to the health of the Pacific include:
* Pollution: Organic pollutants from sewage, nutrients from fertilizer runoff, plastic garbage, toxic dumping, oil spills,
and urban runoff.
* Habitat destruction: Destructive fishing practices, poor agricultural land use, inappropriate
coastal development, and industrial wastewater discharges.
* Overfishing: Unsustainable harvesting reduces fish stocks throughout the Pacific, causing ecological changes that further reduce biodiversity
and productivity.
Port Angeles, the
Peninsula’s largest city, is being required to reduce the urban runoff reaching the Strait.
The new
stormwater regulations “are all about the fish,” said Terry Partch, Port Angeles wastewater treatment specialist.
The challenge is insuring that only clean water reaches the ocean. Five creeks meander through Port Angeles,
some nearly obliterated by growth.
Some stormwater
drains reach the water treatment plant while others go directly to the harbor. Washington state efforts to save our harbors
and bays, our creeks and rivers, our fish and recreational beaches lie at the heart of new regulations taking effect this
summer.
Clallam and Jefferson counties also face new water regulations.
So, what can we
do, individually and collectively, to better care for our special bit of the ocean?
|
|
Mindfulness is key; although these actions may seems small,
together they add up.
Consider: Using natural products instead of chemicals on your lawn to help reduce toxic
runoff.
Washing your car on your yard lets Earth filter the soap and road gunk from the water
before it hits the harbor. Commercial carwashes are plumbed to handle wastewater properly.
Oil spills on
streets, sidewalks, parking lots and driveways can ooze into the ocean.
Bring your own shopping bag
or your own drinking cup and you reduce plastic garbage.
Walking or biking reduces your carbon footprint.
Shopping at Farmers’ Markets and eating locally slash the carbon-spewing miles that food travels to reach
your table.
You can make positive changes in your workplace, school, church, club or other organization that
will help restore the health of the vast ocean huggin our shores.
Learn more from the Puget Sound Partnership, or Seakeepers.
Small changes begin to answer to the ocean’s cries for help.
|
