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Should all of this material go into the Economics Section?
Benefits to Humans of A Healthy Oceanic Ecosystem:
Oceans are a quintessential part of our livelihood, because healthy oceans are reservoirs of fish and minerals, with the capacity for waste conversion and controlling the climate. It is also noted that "properly designed reserves can be effective tools for protecting and restoring ocean ecosystems," because marine reserves focus on assisting the change in marine environments (and the state they are in now) to more natural marine environments (Kearny 2000). In a time where there is increasing evidence that "ocean ecosystems are being altered beyond their range of natural variation by a combination of human activities, including fishing, pollution, and coastal development" marine reserves stand at the forefront of returning the oceans to their most humanely beneficial states (New Zealand Biodiversity 2004).
Specific examples of these benefits can be seen with marine microbes and coral reefs. According to Blue Frontier: Saving America's Living Seas, marine microbes hold great promise for drugs and agricultural processes including anti-inflammation chemicals from sea feathers, virus killing proteins from sea grass molds, and cancer cell killing compounds from soft corals (Helvarg 2001). When considering coral reefs, it is important to remember that coral reefs and mangroves are natural barriers against storms and floods. When the corals are destroyed, not only are these defenses wiped out, but key species are displaced, and the overall health of the marine ecosystem decreases (IUCN 2007). To prevent this, marine reserves protect the young corals that are needed to replace older corals that have been destroyed. They do this by protecting the parrot fish that eat the surrounding seaweed and keep it from taking over the area occupied by the corals (Biology News Net 2007). The corals grow thanks to the marine reserve and the marine reserve demonstrates its effectiveness in restoring the ocean ecosystem.
When considering the advantages of a healthy marine ecosystem and how marine reserves facilitate the improvement of this ecosystem, it is also important to remember the disadvantages that stem from inaction. This is when the waters are openly polluted by storm water runoff, dry weather runoff and agricultural runoff. All these factors contaminate the beaches to the point where people who swim at these beaches are noted by the MSNBC news for being at risk "for a host of health problems, including gastroenteritis, respiratory infections — illnesses common in the Third World countries — as well as pink eye, ear infections and skin rashes" (Duswn 2007). The dirty waters also poison the marine flora and fauna that fishing industries are so quick to seize and serve. An unfortunate example of fish contamination is the mercury poisoning case in Minamata Japan during the 1950's, where many Japanese citizens were harmed by the fish they ate. These fish were captured from the Minamata Bay where the Chisso Corporation factory dumped its chemicals, and the high concentration of mercury the fish contained caused serious, permanent damage to the people who ate them (Pollack 1997). It is because of these horrible cases that it has become clear that the health of the oceans relates directly to the health of the people. It is for this reason that ocean restoration and marine reserves are a necessity in preserving our health and well-being as well as the health and well-being of future generations.
Ecological Protection and Recovery:
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As part of increasing evidence of spillover in general, it is strongly predicted that protected areas will allow the spillover for certain important species. For example, several studies in New Zealand suggest that a small number of spiny lobsters in a population will migrate large distances (R. J. Davidson et al., 2002). Based on this evidence, it is likely that marine protected areas can protect a signification percentage of the population of spiny lobsters and also provide spillover from the reserve (R. J. Davidson et al., 2002). Another study in the Western Mediterranean using catch and effort data about lobster, as well as data from tagged lobsters released in the reserve, suggests that the declining density gradient of lobster is caused by lobsters migrating away from the reserve (Goñi et al. 2006). While it is possible that other factors could have caused the density gradient, because of lobsters' general inability to move long distances compared to the size of the reserve and its overfished status, the establishment of the protected area there probably caused increased export and spillover (Goñi et al. 2006).
Ecosystem Services:
When healthy,oceans can supply many products and services essential to human society, from fish and minerals to transportation and recreation. Healthy oceans possess an enormous capacity for waste conversion. And in recent years, it has been shown that the oceans play a key role in global climate change. All such benefits of the environment to humans are collectively termed ecosystem services (Ecological Society of America 2000).
It has been noted that "properly designed reserves can be effective tools for protecting and restoring ocean ecosystems," because the protection offered by marine reserves allows altered marine environments to return more natural states (Kearny 2000). In a time where there is increasing evidence that "ocean ecosystems are being altered beyond their range of natural variation by a combination of human activities, including fishing, pollution, and coastal development" marine reserves stand at the forefront of returning the oceans to their most beneficial states (New Zealand Biodiversity 2004).
Specific examples of these benefits can be seen with marine microbes in coral reef systems. According to Blue Frontier: Saving America's Living Seas, such microbes hold great promise for pharmaceuticals and agricultural products, including anti-inflammation chemicals from sea feathers, virus killing proteins from sea grass molds, and cancer cell killing compounds from soft corals (Helvarg 2001). Coral reefs are also natural barriers against storms and floods. When the corals are harmed, these defenses are weakened, key species are displaced, and the overall health of the marine ecosystem suffers (IUCN 2007). Marine reserves can prevent such events by protecting the overall balance of the ecosystem. For instance, marine reserves can protect large herbivorous grazers, such as parrotfish, from overfishing. Then, grazing pressure on seaweeds can prevent them from outcompeting the young corals that are needed to rebuild the reefs (Biology News Net 2007). Such examples demonstrate the effectiveness of marine reserves at protecting many aspects of the ocean ecosystem.
When considering the advantages of a healthy marine ecosystem and how marine reserves facilitate the improvement of this ecosystem, it is also important to remember the disadvantages that stem from inaction. For example, when estuarine waters are polluted by runoff, the presence of a healthy ecosystem with a strong filter-feeding community (a single adult oyster can filter over 60 gallons of water per day!) can go a long way towards mitigating the negative effects (Ulanowicz and Tuttle 1992). When these benthic filter feeders are absent due to overfishing or dredging, the resulting algal blooms can contaminate the water to the point where people at beaches are at risk "for a host of health problems, including gastroenteritis, respiratory infections — illnesses common in the Third World countries — as well as pink eye, ear infections and skin rashes" (Duswn 2007). These waters also poison the marine flora and fauna upon which the fishing industries rely so heavily. It is clear that the health of the oceans correlates strongly to the health of the people. As such, marine reserves are a necessity for the protection and restoration of marine ecosystems, which in turn will help preserve human health and well-being.
Economics:
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Despite common assertions to the contrary, Marine Reserves can have significant economic benefits to society, in particular, the assurance of long-term, sustainable fisheries. On of the unfortunate short-term effects of marine reserves is the displacement of fishermen due to the reduction of fishable waters, the higher levels of congestion, and potential competition. However, in the long run, the establishment of a network of protected areas will inevitably create "optimal harvesting area\[s\]" with "higher resource rents" (Grafton, Komas, & Pham 2006) under controlled fishing rates. Our particular proposal is designed to mitigate the short term costs, while attempting to ensure that enough of the ocean is protected so that the future potential can be realized. |
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