Mariculture, commonly known as marine farming, is a specialised subset of aquaculture, that is practiced in seawater habitats and lagoons as opposed to in freshwater aquaculture. Fish like sea bream, cod, halibut, and sea bass are examples of products cultivated through mariculture. It accounts for about 40% of the world’s aquaculture production.
From the shallow seagrass beds of the Indian Ocean, and vivid reefs of coral triangle to sandy coasts of the Eastern Pacific, seven different species of sea turtles swim through our ocean waters. Today Sea turtles are being completely erased from some parts of the planet and pushed to the verge of extinction. Nearly all seven existing species of sea turtles are now classified as endangered, with three of them being critically endangered.
In recent times, the planet’s temperatures have been rising at an alarming rate, which imposes a threat to mankind.
Glaucus Atlanticus, commonly known as the blue dragon/blue glaucus are a species of nudibranches (sea slugs). However, unlike terrestrial sea slugs, these sea slugs are very brightly coloured. These colours have inspired a series of nicknames, such as blue dragon, sea swallow, and blue angel.
Dynamite fishing, more commonly known as ‘blast fishing’, is a fishing technique where dynamite or other explosives are used to stun/kill fish.
This past Christmas, The Pearl Protectors constructed a 12 feet tall Christmas tree at Wellawatta Beach with the support of their enthusiastic volunteers and in partnership with Zerotrash LK. For the fourth consecutive year, this PET Bottle Christmas tree was constructed by using 1500+ discarded plastic bottles collected from the shorelines of Sri Lanka.
One third of chondrichthyan species such as sharks, rays, and chimeras are facing extinction, mainly due to unsustainable fishing. This phenomenon is exacerbated with high demand for dried shark fins worldwide.
Freya was a 600 kg female walrus who gained fame wandering Northern European waters. Her journey started in the Arctic and ended tragically in the Oslo Fjord. Freya arrived in the Oslo Fjord in mid-July meeting and was then euthanized in mid-August as she was recognised as a threat to public welfare.
Over the last several decades, noise pollution in the ocean has dramatically increased. This situation is extensively damaging the marine environment since many marine species are highly dependent on sound for their survival. This has caused disturbances to their regular routines, and certain incidents have been reported to be lethal as well.
More than a year since the catastrophic incident, compensation payments have been made, initially covering a total of Rs.683 million. In addition, another Rs. 911 million was issued as compensation on 27th August 2022.
