How to Protect Our Oceans: A Guide from Newfoundland’s Coast

Earth Day is a time to reflect on the health of our planet, especially our oceans. Along the coast of Newfoundland, we see firsthand how important ocean conservation is to marine life, including the whales that visit Trinity and Bonavista Bay each year. For visitors coming to Newfoundland for whale watching, understanding ocean health adds a deeper layer to the experience. In this guide, we’ll explore some of the biggest threats to the health of our ocean and share simple ways you can help protect it.

What Is Ocean Acidification?

You may not have heard of ocean acidification before, but you’ve likely heard of global warming. Global warming is caused by an increased amount of heat trapping gases being released through natural processes and through human activities. The most significant greenhouse gas produced by humans is carbon dioxide, accounting for an estimated 80% of all human caused warming. Carbon dioxide is primarily produced during the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas). Activities like driving your car, heating your home, generating electricity and manufacturing generate carbon dioxide.

The ocean acts as a sink for carbon dioxide. This means that the ocean can trap or store large amounts of carbon dioxide. This in turn removes it from the atmosphere which is great news right? While it is true that the ocean is storing plenty of carbon dioxide, there is a limit to how much it can hold. As carbon dioxide dissolves into sea water it forms carbonic acid. The formation of carbonic acid ties up carbonate ions that are needed for shell building in animals like corals, shell fish and shrimp. As more carbonic acid is formed, the oceans become more acidic and actually begin to dissolve the shells of these animals too! Ocean acidification has been called global warming’s evil twin.

How Chemical Pollution Affects Marine Life

Chemical pollution is a risk to all life in the oceans, including whales and other marine species found off the coast of Newfoundland. Chemical pollutants have been transported throughout the world’s oceans by currents and in the bodies of plants and animals. Chemical pollutants enter waterways through run off from the land including roadways, agriculture, lawns in residential areas, sewage, and industrial waste. This run off may enter a waterway thousands of kilometres from the oceans but eventually all of these will end up in the sea. Chemical pollutants can become toxic to life in the oceans, sometimes immediately and sometimes becoming magnified as they move through the food chain until they become toxic to the animals at the top of the food chain like whales, sharks and fish. Some pollutants like nitrogen and phosphorous can cause irregular growth of algae which can use up all of the oxygen causing dead zones in the ocean where nothing can survive.

The Impact of Plastic in Our Oceans

We are fighting a battle with single use plastic. Several countries, states, and cities have banned plastic bags, and many others have decided to completely ban single-use plastic. Many claims have been made that the amount of plastic in the oceans will exceed the number of fish in the not-too-distant future. The news now regularly features marine animals being negatively affected by plastic. We see stories of marine animals washing up on shore with bellies full of it. Microplastics are a newer concern. They
come from broken-down larger pieces of plastic waste, synthetic fibers, and industrial pellets. These pollutants are ingested by small marine organisms, are carried through the food chain and will not break down for centuries.

How You Can Help Protect the Ocean

Everywhere you look, you will find some kind of pollution. However, minor changes, can make positive contributions; not only in the amount of waste that we personally generate but also by influencing what will be manufactured and sold. Money talks, after all!

What can be done to help reduce impacts on our oceans?

To help with the problem of ocean acidification, you can begin to reduce your carbon footprint. This may be as simple as carpooling or taking public transit to work, putting on a sweater instead of turning up the thermostat when it gets chilly or turning out the lights when you leave a room. In the long term, you can look to invest in more energy efficient appliances, purchase a hybrid or electric car, and make your home more energy efficient through improving insulation or updating heating sources.

Chemical pollution can be minimized by switching the products that go down your drain to something with fewer chemicals. This is not only better for the environment but better for your own personal health too.

The Environmental Working Group is a great resource for helping to make better choices in personal
care products, and cleaning products as well as food. Evaluating what kinds of fertilizers and chemicals you use on your lawn and garden and determining their safety and where possible adopting more environmentally friendly practices could really help.

Buy organic whenever possible. Keep your vehicles in good working order and address any leaks and repairs as soon as they occur minimizes chemical run off into waterways. Purchase products from manufacturers who use environmentally sound practices like reducing water use during productions and sustainably sourced materials. Instead of buying new clothing or furniture thrifting is a great way to reduce the impact of manufacturing and divert waste from landfills.

Whenever possible choose another material over plastic; a glass bottle when the alternative exists; clothing made of a natural or recycled fibre over one that is synthetic; reuseable bags over plastic at the store. Purchasing clothing from companies that are bucking the fast fashion trend, using sustainable fabrics and giving back to the environment can make a big difference. Ten Tree is a Canadian Company that works hard to do all of these things AND plants 10 trees for every garment that you purchase from them. Choosing a re-useable and refillable coffee mug, water bottle or cutlery can significantly reduce the amount of plastic waste that you generate. If less plastic is being used, less will be manufactured. Choosing plastic-free options for personal care products like shampoo and conditioner bars (check out these locally made ones at East Coast Glow), purchasing deodorant in paper or glass containers, and bars of soap or plastic bottles of body wash are all great alternatives.

Sometimes environmental problems seem so big but with some small changes in everyone’s homes, there can be big results world wide.

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

~ Dr. Seuss, The Lorax

Healthy oceans are essential for the whales we see each summer in Trinity Bay. At Sea of Whales, we witness firsthand how changes in ocean conditions can impact marine life. When you visit Newfoundland and join us on the water, you’re not just experiencing whale watching; you’re connecting with an ecosystem that depends on all of us to protect it.