The Octopus and its Environment

The World Below the Brine

The world below the brine,
Forests at the bottom of the sea, the branches and leaves,
Sea-lettuce, vast lichens, strange flowers and seeds, the thick
tangle openings, and pink turf,Different colors, pale gray and green, purple, white, and gold the
play of light through the water,
Dumb swimmers there among the rocks, coral, gluten, grass, rushes,
and the aliment of the swimmers,
Sluggish existences grazing there suspended, or slowly crawling
close to the bottom,
The sperm-whale at the surface blowing air and spray, or disporting
with his flukes,The leaden-eyed shark, the walrus, the turtle, the hairy
sea-leopard, and the sting-ray,
Passions there, wars, pursuits, tribes, sight in those ocean-depths,
breathing that thick-breathing air, as so many do,
The change thence to the sight here, and to the subtle air breathed
by beings like us who walk this sphere,
The change onward from ours to that of beings who walk other spheres.

Walt Whitman




















Over three quarters of our planet is covered by the oceans. Their biodiversity is unmatched and they contain over 80 percent of all life on earth, mostly unexplored. Millions of people worldwide depend on the oceans for their daily livelihoods. However, overexploitation of this limited resource is leading to problems. Among the dangers are overfishing, with its destructive practice of bottom trawling, a method which damages the habitat as it harvests its catch. Bycatch is a problem in many fisheries, the unwanted species are often thrown back, but rarely survive. Octopus is a frequent victim of bycatch as are other more cuddly animals such as dolphins and seabirds.















It is not too extreme to describe overfishing as a global disaster.
















The octopus's habitat stretches from tidal pools on the edge of the sea, to the depths of the ocean, and it is sensitive to changes in that habitat. The marine environment is thought to be changing rapidly now, partly due to human activity. Pollution is a growing problem that everyone is becoming more aware of after the huge oil spill off the coast of the south western USA.













For decades dirty industries have treated the oceans as dustbins for dangerous pollution. Thoughtless dumping of chemicals, heavy metals, pesticides and other toxins continue to pollute our seas - a direct result of a range of human activities. Once released many of these pollutants accumulate in the marine food chain, posing a major threat to marine ecosystems. The greatest threat to the octopus is from the destruction of its environment and the depletion of its prey animals. It is not listed as threatened, but as very little is known about its numbers and range this doesn't mean a lot. With the increasing popularity of seafood and sushi, the octopus catch is increaing, and this can only be bad news for the species. As the octopus only breeds once in its life, it means that any of these animals which are caught have no chance to reproduce.

Governments are now waking up to the problems of the world's oceans, but they move slowly and have a tendency to ignore what they don't want to hear. Voluntary and charitable organisations are committed campaigners for the seas and the marine environment.


http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/ Greenpeace is one of the most active and committed campaigners.
http://www.mcsuk.org/ The marine conservation society has been a voice for the uk's seas for 25 years.
http://www.wdcs.org/ Whale and dolphin conservation society

In January 2010, the seas around Lundy island of the coast of Devon became the UK's first marine conservation zone, as part of the government's efforts to create a network of protected areas in our seas. Various national organisations have campaigned for, and worked to conserve our coasts and seas. These include The National Trust http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ and the wildlife trusts. http://wildlifetrusts.org/











Tomorrow...Farewell to the Octopus