RE: [compost_tea] Warm water 'sea grasses'

From: Tom Jaszewski <tom_at_livesoil.com>
Date: Sun, 7 Nov 2004 05:45:05 -0800

(Sargassum) The South Atlantic Council in December 1998 approved a two-year
phase out of sargassum collection off the North Carolina coast. Activists
from the Center for Marine Conservation, the Environmental Defense Fund and
ReefKeeper International spoke in favor of banning the harvest of the
seaweed, which is used as habitat by 100 species of fish, more than 200
species of invertebrates, by juvenile sea turtles and migratory sea birds.
Sargassum circulates from the Sargasso Sea throughout the western Atlantic
hundreds of miles offshore. A North Carolina company collects the seaweed t=
o
produce agricultural products, including fertilizer and animal dietary
supplements. The benefits of these supplements are unclear, said Michelle
Duval of EDF. The only company known to take sargassum, it has harvested 10
tons/ year since 1976. The council capped the harvest at 25 tons/ year unti=
l
1/1/01, when it will be banned outright (99U2).

(Seagrass) Worldwide loss of seagrass because of pollution could result in
"underwater prairies turning into marine deserts". Among species most
affected: prawns and lobsters. Especially hard-hit are the 20,000 square
miles of Australian seagrass beds that contain "half the world's estimated
70 species" of sea grasses (Reuters 3/27/00). Sargasso Sea , part of the N
Atlantic Ocean, lying roughly between the West Indies and the Azores and
from about lat. 20°N to lat. 35°N, in the horse latitudes
<http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/weather/A0824229.html> . The relatively stil=
l
sea is the center of a great swirl of ocean currents and is a rich field fo=
r
the marine biologist. It is noted for the abundance of gulfweed (see seawee=
d
<http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/sci/A0844237.html> ) on its surface. The
Bermuda islands are in the northwestern part of the sea.

(Seagrass) Underwater grasses a key habitat component and indicator of
ecological health, reversed recent declines and increased by 7% in
Chesapeake Bay. The growth, however, was limited to the mid bay, up 22%, as
"acreage declined in the upper and lower bay, down 9%. Total underwater
grass acreage increased to 68,125 acres still well below the 600,000 acres
that protected shoreline and provided food and shelter for many species
around 1900. Much of the grasses were destroyed in the 1960s and 70s when
silt from development choked it, while pollution produced algae blooms
blocked sunlight vital to the grasses (AP 6/15/00, GREENLines, 6/27/00,
Issue #1158, The Endangered Species Coalition).

(Seagrass) In the US, more than 50% of the historical seagrass cover has
been lost from Tampa Bay, 76% from the Mississippi sound, and 90% from
Galveston Bay due to population growth and water-quality changes (99N2).

(Seagrass) Over-fishing of wrasses and triggerfish off the coast of Haiti,
the US Virgin Islands and Hainan China caused an explosion in sea urchins
which over-grazed the areas' seagrass beds to the point of obliteration
(Mercedes Lee, (mlee_at_audubon.org) 4/14/98 post to (aoc-fishlink_at_igc.org)).

[2] Management of Sargassum
The SAFMC has responsibility under the federal Magnuson-Stevens Act for
managing fisheries and fish habitats in the South Atlantic Exclusive
Economic Zone, from 3 miles out to 200 miles (98D3).

[3] Human Uses of Sargassum
In US East Coast waters, one firm (Aqua 10 Laboratories, Carteret County NC=
)
has conducted low-level, variable harvest of sargassum for 20 years. Over
that period, a total of 450,000 pounds (wet weight) has been collected. The
company makes a variety of products, including agricultural fertilizer
additives and swine and poultry feed amendments, and is currently touting
the material for treating swine waste (98D3).

Sargassum in the South Atlantic Bight on the US East coast is derived from
the Sargasso Sea, located in international waters in the quiet zone between
major oceanic current systems, hundreds of miles offshore. Currents entrain
sargassum masses, which may then travel inshore, depending on the vagaries
of the Gulf Stream and associated warm core rings, ultimately being
deposited on US beaches or drifting into the North Atlantic or beyond.
Sargassum reproduces principally through fragmentation. Its productivity
offshore is limited by low nutrient availability (98D3).

[4] Role of Sargassum in Marine Ecosystems
The floating seaweeds in the genus Sargassum form a critically important
habitat for a wide array of marine organisms in the Western Atlantic Ocean.
Sargassum forms the "weedlines" so sought after by offshore fishermen. A
spectacular array of biota are closely associated with sargassum at some
stage of their life history: over 100 species of fish (including billfishes=
,
dolphin, jacks, triggerfish, snappers, and many others) and over 200 specie=
s
of invertebrates. Juvenile sea turtles (4 species) live in sargassum mats;
migratory seabirds depend upon them for forage sites. In the nutrient poor
open ocean, sargassum is a unique source of organic matter and of structure=
,
and the linchpin of a complex oceanic ecosystem. Many species are obligator=
y
sargassum residents, in at least some life history stages (98D3).

In late 1998, the SAFMC voted to phase out the allowable 'harvest' of
sargassum, allowing the collection of 50,000 pounds "landed weight" until
1/1/01 when all collection will be prohibited (pending NMFS approval of the
SAFMC action). The quota was set at a level significantly higher than recen=
t
collection levels (98D3).

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: David Hall [mailto:dchall8_at_texas.net]
Sent: Saturday, November 06, 2004 8:06 AM
To: compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com
Subject: [compost_tea] Warm water 'sea grasses'

 


What's wrong with the Sargasso grasses from the warm Caribbean?








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Received on Sun Nov 07 2004 - 10:21:14 EST

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