Asian plastics groups step up battle against ocean litter

By Steve Toloken | PLASTICS NEWS STAFF

Posted August 30, 2011

BANGKOK, THAILAND (Aug. 30, 2:30 p.m. ET) -- Asia’s plastic industry groups say they want to step up involvement to combat ocean litter and marine debris from plastics, as part of a global effort by launched earlier this year by the industry in North America and Europe.
While the Asian groups did not detail any specific new initiatives, industry officials at an annual gathering of business associations in Bangkok on Aug. 30 said they would develop regional strategies and form an Asian cluster, with groups from India, Japan, Malaysia and possibly Australia taking the lead.
The Asian industry is under increasing pressure on litter, including bans on plastic bags like one enacted earlier this year in India, and its needs more information about what has worked elsewhere and could be adapted in Asia, said Callum Chen, secretary-general of the Asia Plastics Forum, which organized the Bangkok meeting.
“Governments and NGOs single out plastic as a punching bag,” Chen told the forum. “If we do not do something drastic and very quickly, it will lead on to other things. If I think plastic bags are not my problem, I am wrong. It will go up the value chain.”
The global effort launched in March with a declaration signed by 47 industry associations, including PlasticsEurope, the Canadian Plastics Industry Association and two chief groups in the United States, the American Chemistry Council and the Society of the Plastics Industry Inc.
Wilfried Haensel, executive director of Brussels-based PlasticsEurope, addressed the Asian groups in a private session August 29.
In an interview on the sidelines of the APF meeting Aug. 30, Haensel said it was too early to discuss specific plans in Asia but he said, as an example, that the Operation Clean Sweep program to control pellet litter and waste at factories in the United States could be brought to Asia.
The Asian groups said they would work on the priorities identified by the global effort, including:
• Developing public-private partnerships aimed at preventing marine debris,
•  Working with the scientific community to better understand the problem and possible solutions,
•  Enforcing existing litter laws, and strengthening recycling and energy recovery programs.
Haensel said the plastics groups plans to meet next in mid-November in Dubai to discuss further steps.
Chen, who also is CEO of Malaysian molder Lee Huat Plastics Industries Sdn. Bhd., said the declaration has been signed by industry groups in India, Japan, Malaysia and the Philippines, and he said Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia are also likely to join.
He said he hoped the remaining countries in the 12 member APF would participate.

Summer dead zones off Oregon coast here to stay, OSU researchers say

After another recent trip to Oregon and doing some 'crabbing' too in an undisclosed location (of course). I always watch to see any changes in the local watersheds and ocean. Here's the latest from Scott at the Oregonian. Thanks Scott for allowing me to use your article!

By Scott Learn, The Oregonian

October 08, 2009, 5:44PM

View full sizeElizabeth GatesDungeness crabs washed ashore at Cape Perpetua as the ocean off Oregon experienced "dead zone" conditions in the summer of 2004. Researchers said today such dead zones will likely occur every summer.



























The waters off Oregon's coast experienced low-oxygen conditions for the eighth consecutive year in 2009, Oregon State University researchers said Thursday, an indication that late summer "hypoxic" conditions that can kill crabs and other sea creatures near the ocean floor are here to stay.

"We've been looking hard at this problem for eight years now, and each year we've seen hypoxia," said Jack Barth, an OSU oceanography professor. "I really think we're in a new pattern offshore here. I would expect hypoxia to show up to some degree every year now."

The increase in persistent, strong winds and in ocean surface temperatures that are helping drive the phenomenon are consistent with changes predicted by climate change models, Barth said, meaning the problem could worsen if global warming projections pan out.

This summer, the winds that fuel annual upwelling died down in August and September, when oxygen levels are usually lowest. That allowed Oregon to avoid the severe hypoxia and significant biological "dead zones" that appeared in force in 2006, OSU researchers said.

But it was a close call in some spots: In early August, the oxygen level got as low as 0.5 milliliters per liter off Newport and Cape Perpetua, which is at the cusp of being classified as "severe," before the winds eased and oxygen levels rose. Crabs, anemones, sea stars, sea cucumbers and other creatures can die off when oxygen levels get too low.

The hypoxia area near the ocean floor, stretching from Oregon into Washington, was about average in size and duration in comparison with recent years, the researchers said.

It was less severe than 2006, when strong and steady winds led to zero-oxygen, or "anoxic" conditions, and caused alarming die-offs of crabs and other creatures, Barth said.

The low-oxygen areas are typically labeled "dead zones." But Barth and Francis Chan, a senior research professor in OSU's Department of Zoology, said that's an oversimplification. Ocean monitoring has increased dramatically with the help of crabbers and fishermen, but not enough to determine changes in ocean life beyond limited areas.

Creatures closer to the surface and those adapted to lower oxygen levels aren't as vulnerable. Some can escape to higher oxygen areas; crabbing in more oxygenated bays was "phenomenal" in 2006, Chan said, as many crabs appeared to take refuge there. Some densely populated reefs also appear to fare better than others.

But the steady rise of low-oxygen waters in the summer does appear to have decimated sea cucumber populations on the most severely affected reefs, the researchers said. It's also a significant change in how nature operates near the coast.

"We can't prove that it's a disaster right now, but we're affecting a lot of pieces of the marine food web," Barth said. "It comes down to how big (the change is), how severe and how long-lasting."

Unlike hypoxic areas in the Gulf of Mexico and along the East Coast, which are caused by agricultural runoff and pollution, the low-oxygen waters off Oregon are triggered by summertime upwelling -- the wind-driven mixing of cold, nutrient-rich deep water with surface waters.

The upwelling generates large phytoplankton blooms. As the plankton dies, it sinks to the bottom and decomposes, lowering the oxygen level of the water just off the seafloor.

Summertime upwelling is normal off the coast. But Chan said ocean oxygen records dating to the 1950s indicate the low oxygen levels off Oregon's coast since 2002 are "unprecedented."

In the past, winds would blow at the coast for a week or so, then settle down, Barth said, easing the upwelling and allowing low-oxygen waters to be washed away. Now strong winds may last 20 to 30 days.

Climate change is likely playing a role already, Barth said. Warmer ocean surface temperatures in the North Pacific are decreasing the amount of oxygen descending to the same deep ocean waters that well up in the summer. That pattern seems clearly tied to climate change, he said.

It's less clear if the stronger, more persistent winds in recent years are tied to climate change, Barth said. But global warming models predict more winds off Oregon's coast if temperatures rise. Warming would increase the temperature differential between land and ocean, he said, a key driver of wind.

That would mean more windy and cold summer days at the beach, Barth said, as the strong winds blow across summertime's cooler coastal waters.

"You'll notice it," he said. "You won't be able to wear your shorts."

-- Scott Learn

Symposium to Address Sea Level Rise in Southwest Florida

Pretty interesting stuff, more-so in just how its going to effect our watershed in the now and future... the full conference agenda is available at www.mote.org/lsi and it can also be viewed online at www.scgov.net . Quick overview and if you want in depth details go to the Mote Marine site....

If Floridians are going to withstand the rise in sea level that is expected to accompany climate change, planning needs to start now, according to a new policy assessment by the Marine Policy Institute at Mote Marine Laboratory.

According to the report "Policy Tools for Local Adaptation to Sea Level Rise" by Barbara Lausche, Deputy Director of the Marine Policy Institute, scientists project that sea level may rise as much as 14 inches by 2080, and possibly by two feet or more by the end of this century because of greenhouse gas emissions and melting glaciers. While policies are being implemented that are designed to reduce future greenhouse gas emissions, Floridians aren't yet making plans to deal with the changes expected to occur and already under way because of past emissions. (Download the full report or a synopsis of the report at www.mote.org/lsi.)

To jumpstart community discussion about climate change and how the expected sea level rise will affect Florida, the Marine Policy Institute is convening a two-day symposium for lawmakers, community planners and residents on Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 12-13. The symposium will be streamed live online on Sarasota County's website at www.scgov.net by Access Sarasota, Sarasota County's public access station. Streaming will begin at 8:30 a.m. and run throughout the presentations each day.

The symposium, "Land-Sea Interactions in Southwest Florida," will present an overview of the land-use issues that Southwest Florida is expected to face due to sea-level rise, and economic growth, along with a discussion of the policy tools that local governments can use to address these issues. Most of these policy tools are already in place and do not require major legislative changes before local governments can begin taking action.

"Sea level rise is expected to have significant impacts on places like Southwest Florida, but as a region, we're not yet planning for the impacts," said Dr. Frank Alcock, Director of the Marine Policy Institute at Mote and Associate Professor of Political Science at New College of Florida. "In order for Southwest Florida to be resilient in the face of sea level rise, we really do need to begin addressing the challenges associated with figuring out where to put utilities, houses and businesses. These are all decisions that are made on the local level, so it's very important for us to begin thinking and talking about these things now."

The symposium is sponsored by the Marine Policy Institute at Mote Marine Laboratory, New College of Florida, the Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice, Sarasota County, Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, USF-Sarasota/Manatee Institute for Public Policy and Leadership, Collins Center for Public Policy, the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County and the City of Sarasota

FWC asks anglers to help gather reef fish data

Go to MyFWC.com and click on “Newsroom.”

FWC asks anglers to help gather reef fish data

Biologists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s
Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) request angler assistance with
a research project focusing on red snapper and other reef fish on Florida’s
Gulf Coast. This project will provide fisheries researchers and managers
with much of the catch-and-release survival information they need for
assessing reef fish stocks.

Reef fish include a variety of snapper and grouper species commonly
targeted by recreational anglers. Anglers can contribute to reef fish
research by participating in angler surveys. They also can help by
reporting tagged fish to the Angler Tag Return Hotline at 800-367-4461.

As part of the research, FWRI biologists will approach anglers at public
areas such as boat ramps, fishing piers and marinas to request
participation. These biologists will distribute survey cards designed to
collect detailed information on fishing trips in the Gulf of Mexico. This
information includes where red snapper are caught and released, the type
of equipment used and the condition of the fish when released.

Anglers can also e-mail their name and address to FishStats@MyFWC.com to
obtain a postage-paid survey card in the mail. Downloadable data sheets
are also available on the FWRI Web site at
http://research.MyFWC.com/features/view_article.asp?id=32671.

Additionally, each month FWRI will mail surveys to a random sample of
licensed saltwater anglers. These surveys focus on the habits of anglers
who target reef fish. Survey questions include when and how often anglers
fish, as well as the type and number of fish they harvest or release.
Biologists request that anglers respond to the survey, even if they are
not fishing for reef fish.

FWRI biologists are tagging and releasing reef fish back into the wild to
evaluate the survival of released fish. For this project, biologists are
placing an orange tag near the dorsal fin of the fish. Each tag has a
unique number printed on the side. When anglers catch a fish with one of
these tags, they should call the Angler Tag Return Hotline. Biologists
would like to know the species of fish, tag number, date and time of
capture, where the fish was caught, fish length, type of bait used and
whether the fish was kept or released. If the fish is released, anglers
should leave the tag in the fish so biologists can continue to collect
data. Receiving this information is important for the success of this
project.

Anglers will receive a token of appreciation for participating in this
study. For more information on reef fish research, visit
http://research.MyFWC.com

To view this press release online visit
http://research.myfwc.com/news/view_article.asp?id=32790.