Earth’s oceans are being severely damaged by climate change, pollution, overfishing and other destructive, human-caused shock waves.
To restore the oceans, and prevent their health from deteriorating further, decision makers and knowledge creators around the world must act together, and quickly—hence the theme of this year’s UN World Oceans Day: “Revitalization: collective action for the oceans.”
We asked IOF researchers how their research contributes to collective action for ocean health, what they have found are the biggest roadblocks to collaboration between groups, and how we can overcome these obstacles.
Dr. Juan José Alava
Dr. Juan José Alava is research faculty member at the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries (IOF) and the principal investigator of the Ocean Pollution Research Unit.
Along with IOF master’s students Karly McMullen and Dana Price, he looks at microplastic pollution in Earth’s oceans, trying to understand how these small (less than 5 millimetres) plastic fragments accumulate and harm marine animals—specifically Galapagos penguins, Galapagos penguin prey, and B.C. sea otters. He also investigates other human-created pollutants, such as persistent organic pollutants and emerging contaminants of concern, affecting B.C.’s iconic orca whales, including endangered southern resident killer whales, and the presence of mercury in Galapagos sea lions and fur seals, and yellowfin tuna around Galapagos waters.
An ongoing project by Dr. Alava and Dr. Marcia Moreno-Báez of Tufts University, as part of the Nippon Foundation Ocean Litter project, aims to map the distribution of the microplastics footprint in every corner of Earth’s oceans, and predict microplastic exposure in coastal communities heavily reliant on seafood and marine resources.
“This map can be used as a tool by researchers around the world to understand the potential exposure risks to these pollutants,” Dr. Alava said.
It also highlights the areas most impacted by micro plastic pollution: the North Atlantic, Central Atlantic, North Pacific, Central Pacific, the Antarctic, and even the Antarctic Peninsula.
Saving the oceans from microplastics and other pollutants starts with individuals’ behaviour, their purchasing habits, and their willingness to divorce from plastics, but needs to be driven by smart leadership and policymaking, Dr. Alava said.
He thinks that the recent UN resolution to begin drafting a globally binding agreement to end plastic pollution is a great first step, but it needs “to be a concerted and proactive effort.”
“Developed nations, which produce most of the plastic, really need to consider actions to help developing nations that are facing plastic pollution that is not really produced in developing countries, but is coming from other parts of the world,” he said.
Any international effort to end plastic pollution must also contend with wealth disparities between nations, according to Dr. Alava. While it would be wise for developed nations to cultivate a “circular economy of plastics,” in which plastic materials get reused and recycled as much as possible to keep them in a “loop” that doesn’t leak into the natural environment, many developing nations do not yet have the infrastructure to create such a system.
“In some developing countries, the reality is that people survive on plastic garbage,” he said. “I am Ecuadorian. In my country, I have seen fathers, sons, daughters, grandpas, grandmas, going to the open dumps and landfills to collect items for recycling, or to be reused and sold in the market.
“New policies to end plastic pollution must prioritize local knowledge and the needs of people living in developing nations.”