Overfishing, one-use plastics and farming run-off threatening our oceans: LATE at the Museum

What do two marine scientists, the Young New Zealander of the Year and one of this country's most iconic singers have in common? Major fears for the health of our oceans.

Ahead of their discussion "Tangaroa - Our Oceans", the panel guests for tonight's LATE at the Museum (Thursday 1 August) including Sustainable Coastlines founder Sam Judd, marine scientists Dr Rochelle Constantine and Dr Tom Trnski and singer/songwriter Don McGlashan have shared what they see as the most significant threats to our waterways.

The LATE debate at Auckland Museum also coincides with this week's Ministry for the Environment report showing grim news on the suitability for swimming of over half the country's monitored waterways http://www.mfe.govt.nz/environmental-reporting/fresh-water/suitability-for-swimming-indicator/suitability-swimming-indicator.html and with moves toward tighter limits on snapper quota for recreational fishing.

Judd, who was named Young New Zealander of the Year earlier this year, says the major threats to our waterways right now are plastic and other human caused pollutants, contamination of the food chain which will lead to a food shortage and unsustainable fishing methods.

"Nutrification (waterways receiving excess nutrients from a variety of sources, including farming run-off, which then sets off a cascade of environmental changes) is also a huge threat to a country that relies on farming. We should be finding smarter ways to manage to the land if we want it to continue to sustain us."

McGlashan says while he's not the expert on the scientific aspects of the discussion "you only have to be mildly awake to conservation issues to know that we're overfishing our seas, dumping too much plastic and radioactive waste into them, and not paying enough attention to global warming."

If we don't take action on global warming, McGlashan says we can expect disastrous effects.

Head of natural sciences at Auckland Museum Dr Tom Trnski says it’s easy to ignore what’s happening in our oceans given our relatively limited contact with it even in an ‘island nature’ but the consequences of ignoring it will be dramatic.

“Most people see only a speck of the ocean, either the narrow coastal strip, or the surface looking from a boat or the lucky few that dive a bit deeper below the surface. But the effect of people is visible all through the ocean: floating rafts of waste generated by people, the huge reduction in the biomass of most large marine species that has affected ecological function, smothering of coastal areas by high sediment loads, and even local blooms of algae – the basic energy source for marine animals and the supplier of half of our oxygen – caused by nutrient overload.”

“These effects have mostly occurred in the last 50 years.”

Despite the grim predictions there is a way forward according to the panellists but it requires action now.

“Given the opportunity, the ecological function of the ocean’s many species can recover, but it will require determined stewardship by this and future generations not to treat the ocean as an inexhaustible resource with unlimited capacity to absorb human-generated waste,” says Trnski.

McGlashan suggests people think about what they are about to buy.

“I think it's good for people to shop with their minds engaged. We should all check the list of overfished species before planning a menu; and when we're buying canned seafood, we should go for companies with a good conservation record.”

A fan of recreational fishing, McGlashan says it’s about a balanced approach.

“I love recreational fishing, so I'm not going to say we shouldn't do it. I mainly do it for the peace and quiet – I don't mind if I don't catch anything – but I'm aware that there are lots of better organised fisher-folk than me out there, who have a more aggressive approach. We should just stick to the quotas, throw back the little ones, and leave our favourite spots alone for a while when they get a bit tired.”

Judd recommends moving to spear fishing instead of trawling and commercial fishing, where you can select the fish you are killing and ensure it is one that is not already being depleted, and upper limits on fish size “as it is the big ones that breed and we need to leave them in the oceans”.

“Some really simple changes we can all make are simply reducing our use of single-use plastics and washing our cars on the grass and not concrete so the run off doesn’t go down the drain,” says Judd.

“In the end it is about looking after the spaces we live in. Do we want to be swimming and spending time on a clean beach or a polluted one?”

For McGlashan taking action to stem the threats to our ocean is also about protecting a vast source of inspiration.

“We crawled out of the oceans millions of years ago; and there are still many mysteries about how the seas interact with the climate and the food chain. The oceans are the last frontier on earth and we should treat them with the awe and respect they deserve.”

“All of us who live in New Zealand arrived here over the water – most of us very recently or a few generations ago; the tangata whenua a few more generations ago – so the sea can never be far from our thoughts.

“New Zealand writers can use the oceans to express our fear of the unknown; our existential fear, as Allen Curnow did, wonderfully, in Landfall In Unknown Seas ‘Always to islanders, danger is what comes over the sea’.

“We can also use the sea to talk about distance, longing, and to provide a powerful backdrop to the frail human promises we make to one another, in the same way that American writers use their great highways and deserts. I've tried to do all these things in various songs over the years – and I still feel that I'm only just rippling the surface.

After the panel discussion, Don McGlashan will perform live in the Grand Foyer in the Auckland Museum including several songs which take their inspiration from the sea including Anchor Me, Queen Of The Night and a new song called The Waves Will Roll On.

Simple saves for our ocean

There are some major changes that need to take place at a policy level but in our own lives we can make some relatively simple changes to help protect the health of our oceans and marine life:

• Think before you buy – choose more sustainable fish www.bestfishguide.org.nz

• Think before you fish – follow quotas for recreational fishing and opt for fish with healthy (or healthier) stocks

• Cutback on single-use plastics – where possible avoid individually wrapped snacks and groceries, gladwrap, bottled water

• Wash your car on the grass not on the concrete to stop run-off going down the drain.

LATE at the Museum

Tangaroa – Our Oceans

Thursday 1 August

Doors open 6PM. Panel discussion 7PM.

Auckland Museum

Smart Talk with Wallace Chapman and guests Sustainable Coastlines founder Sam Judd, marine scientists Dr Rochelle Constantine and Dr Tom Trnski and singer/songwriter Don McGlashan.

Great Music with singer/songwriter Don McGlashan performing live in the Grand Foyer
ends

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