October 5, 2023 — Since Rhode Island calls itself the Ocean State, hypes its beaches, named calamari the official state appetizer, paid to place unappetizing stuffie installations made of Styrofoam in airports around the country, and relies heavily on coastal tourism for its economic survival, it stands to reason its elected officials, business owners, residents, and visitors are concerned about the health of the planet’s marine waters, especially those that lap the local coastline and play host to squid and quahogs.
They should be. The Northwest Atlantic Ocean — southern New England’s coast sits in the middle of it — is among the planet’s fastest-warming marine waters.
“Climate-driven changes in the oceans are projected to yield an average increase of 1° to 6°C in sea surface temperatures by 2100, which is likely to have profound effects on marine ecosystems and the communities, businesses, and fisheries that rely on them,” according to a study published in August.
The life- and economy-sustaining marine ecosystem is vulnerable to human influences. There is a limit to the abuse the oceans can take and still function as the planet’s lungs and circulatory system.
The incessant burning of fossil fuels, the dragging of industrial fishing gear along the seafloor, overfishing, and the dumping — directly and indirectly — of so much of our waste into the ocean is changing its composition. Biodiversity in the world’s marine waters is rapidly declining. Corals are bleaching. The oceans are warming, acidifying, and plastifying. The saltwater system is dying, or at least running a high fever. It is sick.
“New England’s ocean is facing a crisis on multiple fronts,” said Priscilla Brooks, vice president of ocean conservation at the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF). “Climate change, overfishing, pollution, and habitat destruction are combining to dangerously affect marine life which, if left unchecked, does not bode well for the future of our ocean.”
Simply put, we need to start treating the marine environment better. In fact, we need to provide some universal health care. Many people living in this region, in fact, are troubled by the oceans’ current condition.
A recent CLF poll found that New Englanders are increasingly worried about ocean health. They cited polluted runoff, plastic, climate change, overfishing, and habitat and species loss as significant concerns. Respondents strongly preferred establishing protected areas to mitigate these threats.
We could also stop killing the oceans’ top predators.