BOAT: International Ocean Talks in London

Naomi Rossdeutscher, was sponsored by Atomic Sky to attend BOAT International’s OCEAN TALKS in London, at the prestigious Royal Geographical Society.

“Something I heard frequently throughout the day was, The Oceans are vast and still quite unknown.” Naomi said.

Supported by the Ocean Family Foundation and held in partnership with Nekton, North Sails and Cookson Adventures, the event targeting connection, innovation and conservation with talks by some of the world’s leading marine experts, conservationists and scientists.

THE STATE OF THE OCEAN TODAY

A conservative update on the state of the world’s oceans by Dr Mark Spalding, senior marine scientist for The Nature Conservancy, talking about RESISTING THE APOCALYPSE

Dr Mark Spalding, senior marine scientist for The Nature Conservancy

“The Great Barrier Reef is in a frightening place, but not dead.” DR Mark Spalding said.

He went on to talk about pollution;

• SUPER TOXINS, that don’t break down.

• Toxins - from plastics that leak, affecting human sperm counts.

• Pollutants draining from agriculture causing dead zones.

• The sub-cast of pollution - plastic found in our water, remote islands and the bottom of the ocean.

Over fishing;

• One third of fish stocks being over-fished.

• In the year 2024 we won’t be catching as much, not because we aren’t good at it, but because the fish won’t be there.

Climate change

• Sea ice melts - algae, rising water levels, storm patterns, drowning Pola Bears.

Solutions aren’t easy - “Sometimes the solution to one problem spirals into causing other problems.”

“When we throw something away, we are just putting it somewhere else. The 450 year bottle exists.”

We need to think internationally. “We have an armoury of solutions and underpinning the solutions is science.”