A recent report points to a worrying fact that industrial fishing is generating more CO2 emissions than air travel.
According to research published in Nature, fishing operations emit about 1 billion tons of CO2 emissions per year – higher than those emitted by aviation (before the COVID pandemic – 19 ).
Industrial fishing, in particular the method of pulling nets along the seabed, not only contributes to climate change becoming more serious, but also greatly damages biodiversity. positive.
“This activity is the equivalent of plowing an old forest, repeating until there is nothing left,” report author Enric Sala, a marine biologist, points out.
Industrial fishing is also one of the least expensive fishing methods. Researcher Sala also said that most of the hunting grounds have been repeatedly caught, leaving little value left to catch.
Mr. Eric Sala is looking at possible dynamics that could cause the fishing industry and governments to abandon netting methods and hope the findings on the carbon footprint could be just a wake-up call.
The study of Mr. Sala et al. Breaks down the entire ocean into 50 square km units, measuring the extent to which each unit contributes to global marine biodiversity, fish stocks and climate protection, based on a complex analysis of the location, water temperature, salinity and distribution of species, among other factors.
At the same time, this study also monitors the amount of CO2 emissions each unit is capable of absorbing.
By mapping baselines for each previously divided unit, research can calculate the effects of an increase or decrease in fishing and other human activities.
The overall goal is to develop a map of ocean locations that, if protected, would be of maximum benefit to humans in increasing fish stocks, biodiversity and carbon sequestration while minimizing losses. income harm to the fishing industry.
Dismissing the long-held view that protecting oceans harm fisheries, research shows that marine protected areas designed to prevent overfishing will actually boost marine life. by acting as fish nurseries.
According to the study results, ocean protection could increase global fisheries production by more than 8 million tons per year, despite the challenges of overfishing and climate change.
“However, the fishing will have to stop,” said Mr Sala. While mangroves, kelp forests and sea grasslands have good carbon sequestration capacity, below the ocean floor is a large carbon sink.
Once fishermen’s nets are released into the ocean, the carbon gas is released back into the water. Excess carbon in the water turns it into acid, which is harmful to marine organisms.
Worse yet, this situation also affects the ocean’s ability to absorb carbon in the atmosphere: if seawater is saturated, it will not be able to absorb man-made emissions, limiting one of the The best “weapon” of man in the fight against climate change.
By combining publicly available data on the operations of fishing vessels globally with unit estimates of the amount of carbon stored in ocean sediment layers, researcher Sala and his team had The amount of emissions generated by this method can be calculated at the national level.
For example, the European Union emits 274,718,086 tons of carbon into the oceans each year, while Chinese fleets emit 769,294,185 tons and the US emits 19,373,438 tons.
Technological innovations such as green energy production and battery storage are critical to reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. But there is a need to reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, and so far the technology has not been able to do it at a reasonable cost and scale.
Mr. Sala said the oceans have been absorbing carbon for thousands of years. “Most people still see oceans as victims of climate change. What people don’t realize is that nature is part of the solution to the climate crisis. ”
Sapphire
According to Time
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