Question: What Is Marine Conservation?
As human impacts on the marine environment increase, marine conservation is a growing field.
Answer:
Marine conservation is the protection of marine species and ecosystems in oceans and seas worldwide. It involves protection and restoration of species, populations and habitats and mitigating human activities such as overfishing, habitat destruction, pollution, whaling and other issues that effect marine life and habitats.
Marine Conservation Techniques
Marine conservation work can be done by enforcing and creating laws, such as the Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act. It can also be done by establishing marine protected areas, studying populations through conducting stock assessments and mitigating human activities with the goal of restoring populations.
Marine Conservation Issues
Current and emerging issues in marine conservation include:
- Ocean acidification
- Reducing bycatch in marine fisheries and entanglements in fishing gear
- Establishing marine protected areas
- Regulating whaling
- Protecting coral reefs through studying the problem of coral bleaching
- Addressing the worldwide problem of invasive species
- Dealing with the problem of shark finning
