Importance of Coral Reefs
The importance of healthy coral reefs to their surrounding communities cannot be understated, they not only provide them with food and revenue (through fisheries and tourism), but also stave off coastal erosion, thereby safeguarding land property from damage and reducing the risk of population displacement.
Coral reefs are important and unique ecosystems that are self-sustaining and provide vital support for marine life. They play a crucial role in the tropical marine environment through their contribution to the food chain, their reef building capacity and their important role in the carbon cycle. One way to counteract and save what is left of this invaluable ecosystem is to give awareness and education to coastal communities and future generation on rehabilitate coral reefs through coral propagation.
Importance of Mangroves
Degradation of the natural environment has resulted in the loss of resources in many countries worldwide. The marine environment, particularly the mangroves is included in this catastrophe. The mangrove is the heart and lungs of coastal resources and contributes to the carbon cycle.
The destruction happened due to burning mangroves for cooking and feeding livestock and by land occupation. Due to loss of mangroves, lack of sweet water, wildlife, fish, and the community is highly affected by this destruction.
Marine Conservation Pakistan started the restoration mangroves by giving awareness to coastal communities and ensure the water presence on mangrove areas.
The initiative is focused on restoring damaged mangrove areas, rehabilitating trough nurseries, and transplanting them back into damaged areas.
Sustainable Fishing
Sustainable fishing is the practice of harvesting fish and other marine life in a way that ensures the long-term health of the fish population and the marine ecosystem. It is important because it helps to protect fish stocks, prevent overfishing, and reduce the environmental impact of fishing.
There are many different ways to fish sustainably. Some common methods include:
- Using selective gear: Selective gear is designed to catch only the target species, while minimizing the catch of non-target species, or bycatch. For example, a gillnet is a type of net that is set vertically in the water, and it can catch a variety of fish species. A trawl net, on the other hand, is dragged along the bottom of the ocean, and it is more likely to catch non-target species, such as sea turtles and dolphins including damage to the coral reefs.
- Fishing at sustainable levels: Fish stocks are managed by governments and international organizations, and they set quotas for the number of fish that can be caught each year. These quotas are based on scientific research, and they are designed to ensure that fish stocks are not overfished.
- Protecting marine habitats: Marine habitats, such as coral reefs and seagrass beds, provide food and shelter for fish and other marine life. Sustainable fishing practices help to protect these habitats by avoiding them when fishing, and by reducing the amount of pollution that enters the ocean.
There are many benefits to sustainable fishing. It helps to protect fish stocks, prevent overfishing, and reduce the environmental impact of fishing. It also helps to ensure a sustainable supply of seafood for future generations.
There are many things that consumers can do to support sustainable fishing. Some of these things include:
- Buying seafood from sustainable sources: There are many seafood certification programs that help consumers to identify sustainable seafood products. Some of these programs include the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), and the Fair-Trade Certified seafood program.
- Asking questions about the seafood you buy: When you buy seafood, ask your retailer where the seafood came from and how it was caught. If you are not sure, it is better to err on the side of caution and choose a different product.
There are many organizations that are working to promote sustainable fishing. You can support these organizations by donating money, volunteering your time, or spreading the word about their work.
Sustainable fishing is important for the health of our oceans and the future of our seafood supply. By making choices that support sustainable fishing, we can help to ensure a healthy and abundant ocean for future generations.
Ghost Nets –
Threat To Marine Life
Ghost nets are fishing nets that have been abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded in the ocean. These nets, often nearly invisible in the dim light, can be left tangled on a rocky reef or drifting in the open sea. They can entangle fish, dolphins, sea turtles, sharks, dugongs, crocodiles, seabirds, crabs, and other creatures, including the occasional human diver. Acting as designed, the nets restrict movement, causing starvation, laceration and infection, and suffocation in those that need to return to the surface to breathe.
Ghost nets are a major threat to marine life. It is estimated that up to 640,000 tons of ghost nets are lost or discarded in the ocean each year. This equates to about 10% of all fishing gear used worldwide. Ghost nets can drift for years, catching and killing marine animals at an alarming rate.
In addition to the direct harm, they cause to marine life, ghost nets also contribute to the problem of ocean pollution. When they break down, they release plastic debris into the ocean. This debris can be ingested by marine animals, which can lead to health problems and death. Ghost nets can also entangle and damage coral reefs, which are important ecosystems that provide food and shelter for a wide variety of marine life.
There are a number of things that can be done to reduce the impact of ghost nets. One important step is to raise awareness of the problem. By educating people about ghost nets, we can help to prevent them from being discarded in the ocean in the first place. We can also support organizations that are working to remove ghost nets from the ocean and to develop more sustainable fishing practices.
Here are some things you can do to help raise awareness about ghost nets:
- Learn more about ghost nets and the impact they have on marine life.
- Talk to your friends and family about ghost nets and what they can do to help.
- Support organizations that are working to remove ghost nets from the ocean.
- Buy products that are made from recycled ghost nets.
- Make a donation to an organization that is working to protect marine life.
By taking these steps, we can help to make a difference in the fight against ghost nets.
Marine Bio Diversity
Marine biodiversity is the variety of life in the oceans and seas. It includes all the different species of plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms that live in the marine environment. Marine biodiversity is essential for the health of the oceans and for human well-being.
The oceans cover more than 70% of the Earth’s surface, and they are home to more than 230,000 known species of plants and animals. Marine biodiversity is much more diverse than terrestrial biodiversity, with an estimated 10 to 100 times more species per unit area.
Marine biodiversity plays a vital role in the health of the oceans. It helps to regulate the climate, filter the water, and provide food and habitat for many different species. Marine biodiversity also provides important economic benefits, such as tourism, fisheries, and aquaculture.
However, marine biodiversity is under threat from a variety of human activities, such as overfishing, pollution, and climate change. Overfishing is the most serious threat to marine biodiversity, and it is estimated that we are now catching more fish than the oceans can sustainably produce. Pollution from land-based sources, such as agricultural runoff and industrial waste, is also a major threat to marine biodiversity. Climate change is another major threat, as it is causing the oceans to warm and acidify, which is harming marine life.
It is important to raise awareness of the threats to marine biodiversity and to take action to protect it. We can all do our part to help by supporting sustainable fisheries, reducing our consumption of seafood, and reducing our pollution. We can also support organizations that are working to protect marine biodiversity.
Here are some ways to raise awareness of marine biodiversity:
- Talk to your friends and family about the importance of marine biodiversity.
- Share information about marine biodiversity on social media.
- Write to your elected officials and urge them to support policies that protect marine biodiversity.
- Donate to organizations that are working to protect marine biodiversity.
By raising awareness of marine biodiversity, we can help to protect this vital resource for future generations.
Scuba Diving With Purpose
Scuba Divers are often the first to witness human impact on the marine environment and are uniquely positioned to help report, remove and advocate to stop marine debris at its source. Through our education cleanup program, Dive with Purpose, we encourage divers to collect debris and train experts to remove ghost nets from the ocean and use in our pollutants to produce program, learn coral propagation and coral nursery building to help us create habitats for marine biodiversity.
Snorkeling For Awareness
Our snorkeling for awareness program is done at our educational coral nursery, our certified instructors provide knowledge and guidance in the ocean, including swimming lessons and kids’ coral guardian skills.
Recycling Plastic Waste
Community based programs with volunteers to collect plastic trash and produce different products such as waste bins, grow pots for plants, dog leash, jewelry and plastic brick for constructions.