How marine resources play a crucial role in economies.

 Another interesting report from "The Wave"

The future of ocean life in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) Seascape will determine that of myriad communities in Ecuador, Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia.

This remarkable area of ocean is crucial to the economy and culture of these four countries. With more than five million people living just a few miles from the shores of the ETP Seascape, essentially every member of these coastal communities is connected to the marine resources on their doorstep. Small-scale and artisanal fishing in the region employs an estimated 1.3 million fishers and fish farmers; many more people work in shipping or the thriving tourism industry. The hum of economic activity touches most of the population in one way or another. Needless to say, this ocean region is a vital source of livelihoods, opportunities, and recreation.

Today, the vibrant marine life of the ETP Seascape is under threat from industrial fishing and gaps in marine protection along important animal migration routes. Symbolic and critical marine species risk becoming extinct, causing coastal communities who rely on the ocean for their income and sustenance to suffer the worst outcomes.

Yet, the ETP Seascape is also an unparalleled opportunity for multinational guardianship of the ocean. If Ecuador, Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia can come together to create the world’s first multinational network of marine protected areas in their waters, it will help secure the health of the global ocean, supporting economies and sustainable progress locally and nationally along the way.

In May 2021, the Tide community is partnering with MigraMar to support their round-trip research expedition to the ETP Seascape.

Specifically, the MigraMar team is conducting a multi-stop scientific voyage through the Cocos-Galápagos Swimway—the critical “marine superhighway” that connects the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Cocos Island and the Galápagos Islands—with the goal of obtaining additional scientific information to inform marine policy proposals for the region. This will, in turn, help establish protections for endangered migratory species like hammerhead sharks, whale sharks, and leatherback sea turtles.

Learn about The Tide’s support for MigraMar’s critical scientific efforts to help protect endangered marine species we all know and love, for people and the planet.

 

May 2021

How The Tide is safeguarding endangered marine species in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Seascape

Randall Arauz, a co-founder of MigraMar, has long been an advocate for his Costa Rican ocean, from protecting endangered sea turtles to regulating the practice of shark finning to phasing out shrimp trawling.

As a scientist, activist, and environmental policy plaintiff, Randall has seen how doing diligent research in the field is a pathway to enacting change in the courtroom. With his attention now focused on the ETP Seascape in its entirety, he’s looking to once again use data-driven science to preserve this jeopardized ecosystem and the small-scale fishers who depend on it.

For thousands of artisanal fishers that live along the coast of Ecuador, heading out to sea before the sun rises is not a choice, it’s a way of life.

For these fishers, the ocean isn’t just a workplace, it’s a source of life, of memories, of culture—an old friend that has always provided without asking for anything in return. But that same friend they’ve depended on for generations is now being attacked on all fronts: by pollution, the climate crisis, and especially excessive and illegal fishing that is altering the ocean beyond their control.

This is why we should all try to buy local produce and avoid the large conglomerates, they are the ones who are destroying everything and we are not helping by buying their products.  We need to hit them where it hurts and the only place (I am afraid to say) is in their wallets.

The blog song for today is: " Yellow Submarine" by the Beatles

TTFN