"Oceans expert foresees dire straits"

by Joe Amarante, New Haven Register

Enjoy sardines and anchovies? How about jellyfish? Because that's all that may remain soon in our oceans and waterways, a renowned oceanographer said in a li ely speech and "Q&A" Wednesday evening in

Jeremy Jackson, 64 and ponytailed, of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California, rode into town for an International Festival of Arts & Ideas forum like a modern-day Paul Revere, with what he called "a really depressing talk, with a little bit of hope at the end."

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His message, delivered at the Thomas E. Golden Center to a receptive crowd of about 80: The oceans are dying, and little is being done to save them.

Overfishing of large fish, nutrient runoff, mercury, PCBs, global warming and acidification are creating a real-life horror movie that is bringing about dead zones, coral bleaching and "the rise of slime."

"What we're doing, in terms of our human impact ... is we're taking all the good stuff out and putting all our crap back in. That's what we're doing to the oceans."

After showing one toxic algae cloud that hit one shore area in Florida, Jackson said, "They closed schools; they closed stores. It's unbelievable and it's real. It's happening."

Nature's filters (oyster shells in the Chesapeake Bay, for example) have been removed and not replaced. Only the jellyfish are thriving in many waters, he said.

Jackson's talk was hosted by Michael Donoghue, director of the Peabody Museum of Natural History, who said diminished biodiversity around the globe (caused by man and climate change) is depressing overall but there is less awareness of the "crisis in the ocean."

Jackson provided examples of that, from the drop in the number of sea turtles over the past century from 90 million to some 300,000, to photos showing how trawling has left most of the continental shelf looking like a plowed field. Just "minnows and mud," he said.

Jackson urged holding political candidates' feet to the fire to reduce carbon emissions, more aquaculture to stop overfishing and that we "green the green revolution" (since the miracle of new food production was accomplished with overuse of fertilizers that end up in the water).

"It's up to you," he said. "You can decide if there's going to be an ocean you want to take your grandkids to in the next 20 years."

The "little bit of hope" he promised? Jackson showed evidence that in some islands north of Hawaii, sporting coral reefs did recover somewhat from the heat-caused bleaching. The islands that did the best were the ones without people around them.

Jackson said of carbon emissions, "We have to fix that on a massive scale. ... It's about politics and citizenship ... and having the will to make social change of profound importance."