WDC Blog - From the Front Line

World Oceans Day, 8 June 2010. Eulogy for the Gulf of México. Let us now remember and celebrate the life of what was one of the most species diverse and productive corners of the world ocean: the now beleaguered Gulf of México, its brilliance long to be stained by the reality and the legacy of one of the world’s largest ever oil spills.

Supposedly now being contained on the north side of the Gulf, the spill was last compared to the size of Luxembourg but that doesn’t account for the three-dimensional penetration of the mile-plus water column.

The human addiction to oil — and corporate greed shouting out in its willingness to take extraordinary risks for profit —has much to answer for.

Of course, the Gulf itself is not dead. But sadly the world will now think of oily destruction whenever they hear “Gulf of Mexico”. How long it will take the Gulf to get back to “normal”?

For now, the bodies pile up: seabirds, turtles, fish, dolphins. The fishing boats lie rusting in the marinas. The beaches are near empty. And all over the world, the people who trusted the can’t-miss blue chip BP with their pensions and investments, will suffer, too. Even the oil workers on other rigs in the Gulf have been choking on the fumes, and many have been evacuated. Spare a thought for those species that have nowhere to go but to try to live, and sooner or later die, in the mess.

Let us now remember this sea of gold. Please remember the gold was never the oil; it was the fish, shrimp, dolphins, whales, the sea itself. This golden sea will long be tarnished.

Let this at least be a warning to those who may become similarly blinded by the promise of false gold beneath the sea, eager and willing to risk our future, and our children’s future. We can’t let it happen again.

Every now and again emergent sciences will challenge preconceived ideas. Many environmentalists are rushing to support rapid development of offshore windfarms, but maybe without fully thinking about all the negative impacts on the marine environment. I am not against wind power, but I do believe it should be pursued responsibly and be subject to all relevant and appropriate assessments.

Now it seems that science brings GM and ocean conservation into a similar debate.

New Scientist Magazine reports this week that ...'a genetically modified soybean that produces oil containing omega-3 fatty acids - recommended for heart and brain health - could supplement fish as a source of these nutrients.

New Scientist goes onto say that Daniel Pauly, a fisheries specialist at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, has welcomed the move. "Our stressed marine ecosystem would benefit from an alternative to fish oil as a source of omega-3s," he says.'

So at a time when the world's oceans are being subjected to massive over exploitation is the time right to accept GM modified soya that would mean a potential future for the world's fish, and in turn for many species of whale and dolphin? Your thoughts and views would be welcome on this complex subject.