AMOC about to Collapse & more– 1st Aug 2023

Ahoy from Tibidabo! This is Rorshok’s Ocean Update from the 1st of August twenty twenty-three A summary of what's going down in the 70% surface of the Earth covered in salt water

A huge ocean current in the Atlantic Ocean called Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (or AMOC) is about to collapse. The warm current forms in the tropics and goes up to the US East Coast, then flows to Europe where it releases the heat and then sinks. The AMOC will most likely collapse in twenty fifty-seven, if greenhouse gas emissions aren’t reduced as soon as possible. The immediate cause for the AMOC’s collapse is the melting of Greenland and the loss of Arctic sea ice. But what will be the consequences? Nicholas Foukal, postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Physical Oceanography, declared: “It's going to affect agriculture. It's going to affect disease, especially in the equatorial regions - patterns of disease. It's going to affect mass migration.”

A new discovery is revealing secrets about ancient Ocean Water.

Scientists from the Indian Institute of Science and Niigata University in Japan have found drops of ancient water in the Himalayas that belong to paleo oceans. The 600 million years old water was preserved in the form of minerals and it's now telling a story of many ages ago. In that period, our planet passed through an intense glaciation, followed by a rise in oxygen level that created complex life as we understand it today. The connection between the glaciation and the surge of oxygen wasn't clear because of the lack of fossils, but this is changing now thanks to the new discovery. The marine rocks have already proven a scarcity of calcium that caused the raising of photosynthetic bacteria, the microorganisms that increase oxygen. Scientists are optimistic that this new discovery will provide much more crucial information about the state of prehistoric ocean conditions.

Moving on to fisheries.

On Wednesday, the 19th of July, Peru entered into the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies. The Agreement establishes multilateral rules such as avoiding harmful subsidies, forbidding illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, and supporting developing countries.

From now on, Peru will be among the marine fishing producers supporting ocean sustainability. Minister Ana Cecilia Gervasi stated, “we are the third most relevant marine fisheries power in the world due to our privileged geographical location and the presence of the Humboldt Current, which provides a wide diversity and large populations of resources.”

A follow-up from a story of a previous episode.

The cooperation between the European Union and Morocco for the renewal of the fisheries agreement is encountering difficulties. The previous protocol expired on Monday, the 17th of July, and since then the EU and Morocco are working on another agreement that would satisfy both parties. Spain has a strong interest in the agreement and is pushing for its renewal. The problem is that the European Court of Justice declared the EU-Morocco fisheries protocol “null and void off the coast of Western Sahara,” but Morocco considers Western Sahara as part of the country. Morocco and the EU are now trying to reach an agreement but the Western Sahara conflict remains unresolved. The new protocol will probably be established in the upcoming months.

Still on fisheries.

On Thursday, the 20th, and Friday, the 21st of July, the second meeting of the Fish Trade and Enterprise Development Working Group was held in Botswana. The meeting, part of the African Fisheries Reform Mechanism (or AFRM), aimed at improving and solving potential issues fisheries and aquaculture projects all over the continent might face. The main focus of the meeting was to determine how to do research and how to share the knowledge acquired.

Fisheries experts join forces to re-establish endangered fish.

It is happening in Australia. Governments, university researchers and recreational fishers from the country and abroad will collaborate together to save the endangered native Macquarie Perch. On Wednesday, the 26th of July, Murray Watt, Federal Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry announced that $3.7 million will be invested in this project, which will study the fish’s nutrition, hormones, among others. The project will last three years.

Macquarie Perch used to be one of the most common fish in south-eastern Australia, but they almost went extinct because of the loss of habitat and limits to the fish migration.

Australia is not the only corner of the world where marine life is in danger.

The extreme heat is damaging corals in South Florida.

The temperatures on land are increasing, so the temperatures of the sea rise as well. This hike is hurting corals and marine life because they are sensitive to water temperatures. The highest temperatures off Florida were recorded on Sunday, the 23th of July, off the coast of Manatee Bay, reaching thirty-eight Celsius degrees (or 101 Fahrenheit degrees).

Temperatures are rising also in the Mediterranean Sea.

On Monday, the 24th of July, the highest sea surface temperature in the Mediterranean Sea hit a record high of almost twenty-nine Celsius degrees (or eighty-four Fahrenheit degrees). Delphine Thibault, associate professor in oceanography at Aix-Marseille University, declared that 85% of red gorgonian corals died in twenty twenty-two because of the heat and that the whole marine ecosystem might change as hotter temperatures will attract marine animals that live in hotter waters, like red lionfish or rabbitfish.

Talking about marine life.

More than fifty whales died in Western Australia on Wednesday, the 26th of July, after they

“huddled together for nearly a full day in the shallow waters off a remote beach.”

Ninety-five whales beached and, unfortunately, fifty died. Volunteers spent two days trying to save the rest to no avail. So. sadly, they had to be euthanized.

Peter Hartley, manager of the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation, and Attractions who supervised the whole operation, stated that euthanizing the whales was “probably one of the hardest decisions of my thirty-four years of wildlife management”.

Moving on to the Suez Canal.

On Sunday, the 23rd of July, Oka Hiroshi, Japanese ambassador to Egypt, declared that there are many Japanese institutions and companies willing to make investments in the Suez Canal Economic Zone. The ambassador also underlined that the relationship between Egypt and Japan is becoming closer and the Nipponic financial community is thrilled to make business, especially in the automotive and supporting industries. He also stated that the demand for clean energy sources is really attractive for investments. Walid Youssef, Deputy Chairman of the Economic Zone for the Southern Region, and Ibrahim Mustafa, Deputy Chairman of the Authority for Investment and Promotion, hosted a Japanese delegation with the aim of strengthening cooperation in the sectors of transportation, tourism, and infrastructure development.

New record for the Oceans Seven challenge.

The Scottish marathon swimmer Andy Donaldson has completed the Oceans Seven challenge, seven of the most dangerous channel swims in the world, breaking new records.

On Thursday, the 27th of July, Donaldson finished the last swim in Japan’s Tsugaru Strait and became the first person to finish the entire challenge in just one year. Donaldson started the Oceans Seven with the English Channel in August twenty twenty-two, breaking the British record for swimming for thirty-three kilometers (or twenty miles) in exactly eight hours. He also broke the British record in the North Channel, the Strait of Gibraltar, and Catalina Channel, and the world record in the Cook Strait in New Zealand swimming for twenty-two kilometers (or fourteen miles) in four hours and thirty-three minutes. This last swim was the hardest and cost him a recovery in the hospital, as he was very exhausted. Only twenty-three swimmers have ever completed the challenge before him.

Closing with fisheries awards.

The Maryland Sport Fisheries Advisory Commission and Maryland Department of Natural Resources decided to award Captain Monty Hawkins with the twenty twenty-three Maryland Sport Fisheries Achievement Award. The award, established in twenty nineteen, honors people who stood out for their effort and commitment to protecting and conserving the habitat of the area and for creating educational material, and doing research that supports recreational fishing in Maryland. Captain Hawkins established the Ocean City Reef Foundation in nine teen ninety seven and volunteered at the Coastal Conservation Association and the Maryland Artificial Reef Initiative.

Aaaaand that’s it for this week! Thanks for joining us!

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