{"id":100141,"date":"2020-10-28T21:00:06","date_gmt":"2020-10-28T18:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/leaving-more-big-fish-in-the-sea-reduces-co2-emissions\/"},"modified":"2020-10-28T21:00:06","modified_gmt":"2020-10-28T18:00:06","slug":"leaving-more-big-fish-in-the-sea-reduces-co2-emissions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/leaving-more-big-fish-in-the-sea-reduces-co2-emissions\/","title":{"rendered":"#Leaving more big fish in the sea reduces CO2 emissions"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Leaving more big fish in the sea reduces CO2 emissions<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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\"Leaving
\n Leaving more big fish in the sea–especially where fishing is not economically profitable in the Central Pacific, South Atlantic, and North Indian Oceans –reduces the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) released into the Earth’s atmosphere. Credit: Enric Sala.
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An international team of scientists has found leaving more big fish in the sea reduces the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2<\/sub>) released into the Earth’s atmosphere.<\/p>\n


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When a fish dies in the ocean it sinks to the depths, sequestrating all the carbon it contains with it. This is a form of ‘blue carbon’\u2014carbon captured and stored by the world’s ocean and coastal ecosystems.<\/p>\n

“But when a fish is caught, the carbon it contains is partly emitted into the atmosphere as CO2<\/sub> a few days or weeks after,” said Ga\u00ebl Mariani, a Ph.D. student at the University of Montpellier in France.<\/p>\n

Mr Mariani led a world-first study showing how ocean fisheries have released at least 730 million metric tons of CO2<\/sub> into the atmosphere since 1950. An estimated 20.4 metric tons of CO2<\/sub> was emitted in 2014\u2014equivalent to the annual emissions of 4.5 million cars.<\/p>\n

Co-author Professor David Mouillot from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University (CoralCoE at JCU) and the University of Montpellier said the carbon footprint of fisheries is 25 percent higher than previous industry estimates.<\/p>\n

“Fishing boats produce greenhouse gases by consuming fuel,” Prof Mouillot said. “And now we know that extracting fish releases additional CO2<\/sub> that would otherwise remain captive in the ocean.”<\/p>\n

Large fish such as tuna, sharks, mackerel and swordfish are about 10 to 15 percent carbon.<\/p>\n

“When these fish die, they sink rapidly,” Prof Mouillot said. “As a result, most of the carbon they contain is sequestered at the bottom of the sea for thousands or even millions of years. They are therefore carbon sinks\u2014the size of which has never been estimated before.”<\/p>\n

He says this natural phenomenon\u2014a blue carbon pump\u2014has been increasingly and greatly disrupted by industrial fishing.<\/p>\n

The authors also say the phenomenon has not only been overlooked until now, but it happ<\/a>ens in areas where fishing is not economically profitable: in the Central Pacific, South Atlantic, and North Indian Oceans.<\/p>\n

“Fishing boats sometimes go to very remote areas\u2014with enormous fuel consumption\u2014even though the fish caught in these areas are not profitable and fishing is only viable thanks to subsidies,” Mr Mariani said.<\/p>\n

For the authors of the study, the new data strongly supports more reasoned fishing.<\/p>\n

“The annihilation of the blue carbon pump represented by large fish suggests new protection and management measures must be put in place, so that more large fish can remain a carbon sink and no longer become an additional CO2<\/sub> source,” Mr Mariani said. “And in doing so we further reduce CO2<\/sub> emissions by burning less fuel.”<\/p>\n

“We need to fish better,” Prof Mouillot said.<\/p>\n

The study is published in Science<\/a> Advances<\/i>.<\/p>\n\n

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Carbon dioxide emissions from global fisheries larger than previously thought\n <\/p><\/div>\n

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\n More information:<\/strong>
\n “Let more big fish sink: Fisheries prevent blue carbon sequestration\u2014half in unprofitable areas” Science Advances<\/i>, advances.sciencemag.org\/lookup \u2026 .1126\/sciadv.abb4848<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Provided by
\n ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies<\/p>\n

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Citation<\/strong>:
\n Leaving more big fish in the sea reduces CO2 emissions (2020, October 28)
\n retrieved 29 October 2020
\n from https:\/\/phys.org\/news<\/a>\/2020-10-big-fish-sea-co2-emissions.html<\/p>\n

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