More Ocean Events in COP28 & more – 12th Dec 2023

Ahoy from BA! This is Rorshok’s Ocean Update from the 12th of December twenty twenty-three A summary of what's going down in the 70% surface of the Earth covered in saltwater.

The 28th UN Conference of the Parties (or COP28) took place this week in Dubai to address climate change issues. Ocean-related climate policy was one of the main focus of the Conference: the biggest initiatives addressed were the Ocean Breakthroughs, which aims to reduce emissions, and the Mangrove Alliance for Climate, which tackles the issue of underfunding mangrove ecosystems. In the Ocean Pavilion, experts discussed international investments - better said, the lack of it - in ocean observations and research. The Second Global Ocean Science Report stated that nations allocate less than 2% of their research budget to ocean-related studies, which is not enough to get crucial information needed to safeguard the ocean and create adequate policies. Besides, countries tend to allocate more funds to other scientific fields.

In other news, the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission held a meeting last week from Monday the 4th until Sunday the 10th. The commission gathered in the Cook Islands to discuss the management of regional stocks of the Pacific bluefin tuna. Japan's Fisheries Agency declared that the commission unanimously agreed to increase the quota for large bluefin weighing more than thirty kilograms or sixty-six pounds for next season and simultaneously reduced the quota for the fish weighing less than thirty kilos.

Still in the Pacific Ocean. The U.S. Coast Guard seized more than nine tons of cocaine worth 239 million US dollars over the last month off the coast of Mexico, South and Central America. Authorities found the largest haul of November in a semi-submersible, or narco-submarine. Captain Robert Mohr, commanding officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Waesche, declared that this was the first time a semi-submersible has been interdicted in the Eastern Pacific in more than three years. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection said that cocaine was the most seized drug in twenty twenty-three, with methamphetamine and marijuana taking second and third place.

From the Pacific to the Indian Ocean. On Saturday the 9th, the Lan Hai 201, China's largest fishery vessel, sailed from Shanghai to start its overseas survey operation. The ship weighs 3,289 tonnes, is 85 meters long (almost 280 feet), and is equipped with the most recent and advanced scientific instruments. The four-month survey will cover 100 sites, documenting fishes’ biological diversity and hydro-related meteorological factors that impact marine life. Fang Hui, the East China Sea Fisheries Research Institute Director, highlighted the importance of the high seas as a source of fish protein. With Lan Hai, China aims to assess fisheries resources and assert its maritime rights in the northwestern area of the Indian Ocean. The ship's captain, Tang Xiolin, said this journey could increase China’s power in fishery governance.

Speaking of China, on Thursday the 7th and Friday the 8th, the country hosted the 2nd China-Indian Ocean Region Forum in Kunming. The Forum focused on maritime cooperation and development, and launched a project on climate information. Representatives from over thirty countries gathered for the meeting, although Indian media criticized China for not inviting India’s delegates. The China International Development Cooperation Agency didn’t make public the list of countries’ representatives who attended the Forum. Even though China is not an Indian Ocean country, the nation justified its hosting of the Forum by saying it is part of the UN and of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation.

Moving on to fisheries. Belarus and Equatorial Guinea are exploring a possible cooperation in fishing together in the Atlantic Ocean. The plan is to fish marine animals in the Atlantic Ocean, process them, and facilitate export. After negotiations between the two countries, the nations finalized the bilateral cooperation documents.

Still in the Atlantic Ocean. According to a study published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science on Friday the 8th, the Subtropical North Atlantic Ocean became warmer and more acidic and saline during the last forty years. The researchers from the Arizona State University said that the surface temperatures increased by 0.24 degrees Celsius (or thirty-two Fahrenheit) and the waters lost oxygen by 6%. The scientists have been conducting the study eighty kilometers (or fifty miles) southeast of the Bermuda Island since nineteen eighty-eight. The remarkable environmental changes in the region are likely connected to the global warming experienced in the last four decades.

On Tuesday the 5th, The journal Nature Communications published a study in which scientists demonstrated that there is a technique to predict one year in advance when marine life like turtles or whales will get stuck in fishing gear. The scientist’s crew showed that global forecasts of sea-surface temperature could accurately tell when sea life will swim near the coast of California, where nets lie down on the seabed from November until June every year. The ropes of the fishing tools pose a threat to marine life. The value of the metric called Habitat Compression Index (or HCI) indicates when whales and other animals will likely get closer to the coast. Researchers used global temperature forecasts to calculate the monthly HCI and understand when whales’ habitat would be reduced close to the shores, managing to safeguard sea animals.

Moving on to the Arctic Ocean. During the 13th International Arctic Forum, which took place in Saint Petersburg on Thursday the 7th and Friday the 8th, Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, the Russian Navy chief, talked about Russia’s desire for a continental shelf in the Arctic Ocean, calling for an expansion of its area beyond the exclusive economic zone (which is 200 miles) because of the intensification of US and NATO’s military presence in the region. It’s not the first time Russia has asked for the expansion of its Arctic borders: since two thousand one, the country submitted its request multiple times to the United Nations. The shelf would encompass 70% of the Arctic Ocean, overlapping with neighboring countries and most likely causing geopolitical tensions in the area.

Now, an update from the Panama Canal, where the drought has been challenging ships’ travellings for months. The wait time for the vessels in queue keeps increasing, especially at the northbound convoy, where ships have been waiting for fifteen days on average.

In our last show, we talked about the reduction of the vessels crossing through the Canal, bringing some shipping companies to increase the surcharges and others to reroute completely, passing through the Suez Canal. Because of the drought, the situation will likely persist - if not worsen - in the first half of next year.

On that note about the Suez Canal… The Singapore-flagged container ship One Orpheus got stuck inside the Canal, close to the city of Ismailia, on Wednesday the 6th, after the captain lost control of its steering, partially obstructing the gateway connecting Asia and Europe. The Suez Canal Authorities declared that in the end the vessel started moving on the same day, not affecting the passage of the other ships. Only six vessels were behind the One Orpheus and all of them restarted sailing after the containership moved again.

Closing with watersports. The Ocean Globe Race is approaching Auckland, in New Zealand. The first finishers will more likely arrive on Tuesday the 12th, with Translated9 representing Italy heading the race. The skipper Vittorio Malingri and the owner Marco Trombetti kept the Swan 65 in the lead for most of the race. After the arrival, the participants will spend Christmas holidays in New Zealand before departing again on Sunday, the 14th of January.

Aaand that's it for this week! So here's to a bit of holiday spirit. We wanted to thank you for listening, learning, thinking, and for joining us on this new thing called Rorshok we're all doing together. Really. Thank you.

See you next week!