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oceanmike

oceanmike

Ecosystems & climate change

Marine Zoologist educated at Bangor and Cork Universities. Studied endangered species for over 25 years. I'm a specialist in remote atoll research and have a life-long interest in Traditional Knowledge and Indigenous ways-of-life. Now climate change is the major impact and, quite literally, I'm watching our very remote ecosystem collapse before our eyes. Coral bleaching, forest loss, flowers not pollinating; an ocean full of plastic entering our subsistence food supply. The nightmare gft from the Far-Away world!!! Right now busy reforesting collapsed habitats (successfully) and deep decarbonisation ~ including solar-powered outboard motors and E-scooters; sun ovens work well on many days too. Easy aye!

hararanga.org

Tongareva Atoll, Cook Islands

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  • oceanmike
    oceanmike
    · Edited Editing
    My atoll of Tongareva is similar. We have 200 people here and do regular beach cleans. About 95% is plastic, heaps of FADs and fishing gear too. We are west of Henderson.
    Henderson Island: the Pacific paradise groaning under 18 tonnes of plastic waste
    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jul/30/henderson-island-the-pacific-paradise-groaning-under-18-tonnes-of-plastic-waste
    Rubbish has been washing up on its isolated beaches in the Pitcairn chain at a rate of several thousand bits of plastic a day
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  • oceanmike
    oceanmike
    Editing
    Hello friends. Last week the Commonwealth Institute asked if I could contribute to their Sea of Voices programme concerning the Blue Charter. They put this slightly trimmed version up. Enjoy!

     https://twitter.com/commonwealthsec/status/1153682697707016193
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  •   oceanmike commented on this post about 6 years
    oceanmike
    oceanmike
    · Edited Editing
    Worse. As part of my oceanic plastics clean-up project at Tongareva Atoll ~ funded by Australian High Commission in Wellington ~ thank you ~ I'm making a poster on various health impacts (including ecosystem & biosphere levels). Only yesterday I read a study about persistent organic pollutants (POPs) accumulating in fish tissue ~ the real impacts are already going to be horrendous. My feeling is it's too late (Eriksen et al 2014 estimated 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic in the ocean); (Jambeck et al 2015 report about 8 million tonnes added to the ocean each year). Homo plasticus !!! #plastic
    People eat at least 50,000 plastic particles a year, study finds
    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jun/05/people-eat-at-least-50000-plastic-particles-a-year-study-finds
    Health effects of ingestion of microplastics via food, water and breathing still unknown
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    • oceanmike
      oceanmike
      My concern here is we are a subsistence way-of-life (not a cash economy) gathering fish and shellfish from the ever-present plastic pollution in ourMy concern here is we are a subsistence way-of-life (not a cash economy) gathering fish and shellfish from the ever-present plastic pollution in our lagoon; none of that came from our atoll by the way. All the mothers breast-feed, so toxicants are passed on to the suckling infants.  More ...
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      6 years
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  •   oceanmike commented on this post about 6 years
    oceanmike
    oceanmike
    · Edited Editing
    Bad bad bad : what Paris Agreement? #climatechange
    Latest data shows steep rises in CO2 for seventh year
    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jun/04/latest-data-shows-steep-rises-in-co2-for-seventh-year
    Readings from Hawaii observatory bring threshold of 450ppm closer sooner than had been anticipated
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  • oceanmike
    oceanmike
    Editing
    #hararanga
    #indigenous
    #seaturtles

    I expect some of you have struggled with there being no scientific resources in local languages. This is one we made a few years ago to ease understanding. Simple and clear, Mike
    Te orahanga o te honu_Tongareva
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  •   oceanmike commented on this post about 6 years
    oceanmike
    oceanmike
    Editing
    #hararanga
    #oceanplastics
    #subsistenceliving
    #documentary


    This includes SDG14: Life below water; a GEF SGP funded project; and a grant from the Australian High Commission, Wellington, Aotearoa (New Zealand). Oceanic plastics are an overwhelming problem.
    kino waste movie
    Hakono Hararanga documentary on how oceanic plastics impact our subsistence way of life at Tongareva Atoll in remote Polynesia. Huge thanks to the Global Env...
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    • oceanmike
      oceanmike
      We are not a cash economy, but live on fish, shellfish and coconuts. Climate change is now affecting them all. So the continual presence of plasticWe are not a cash economy, but live on fish, shellfish and coconuts. Climate change is now affecting them all. So the continual presence of plastic in our food supply is a health concern. As plastics slowly break down the constituent chemicals enter the food web and bioaccumuate too. Toxicants are passed from mother to infant during breast-feeding ~ which is the norm here.  More ...
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  •   oceanmike commented on this post about 6 years
    oceanmike
    oceanmike
    Editing
    #hararanga
    #corals
    #climatechange
    coral bleaching movie
    Hakono Hararanga documentary about a coral bleaching event currently underway at Tongareva Atoll in remote Polynesia, This time it looks to be caused by incr...
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    • oceanmike
      oceanmike
      This bleaching event appears to be caused by increased solar irradiance (u/v) as sea temperatures are normal. It is happening very quickly and now inThis bleaching event appears to be caused by increased solar irradiance (u/v) as sea temperatures are normal. It is happening very quickly and now in May 2019 large areas of boulder corals are disappearing. An eco-tragedy. We are expecting an El Nino,which will make everything much worse.

      The stratospheric ozone layer is degraded by greenhouse gases, expecially bromines and chlorines.        More ...
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  • oceanmike
    oceanmike
    Editing
    #hararanga
    #seabirds
    #climatechange
    #indigenous

    2018 was a remarkable year for nesting seabirds. About 70 years ago red-tailed tropicbirds Phaeton rubricauda were only nesting on a single islet: the Landowner put 'Rahui' in place ~ so no birds could be taken. Now they are nesting on every uninhabited islet. Excellent news!
    te manu movie
    Hakono Hararanga documentary on some of the seabirds at Tongareva Atoll in remote Polynesia. These isolated places act like an oasis in the desert: species t...
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  • oceanmike
    oceanmike
    Editing
    #hararanga
    #forests
    #restoration
    #climatechange

    This documentary shows the habitat failures we suffered, mostly from climate change impacts : & our restoration efforts, which were mostly successful.
    reforesting movie
    Hakono Hararanga documentary on our GEF reforesting project at Tongareva Atoll in remote Polynesia. Climate change has caused many trees to die and fall down...
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  • oceanmike
    oceanmike
    Editing
    #hararanga
    #seaturtles
    #climatechange
    te honu movie
    Hakono Hararanga documentary on sea turtles at Tongareva Atoll in remote Polynesia. It considers climate change impacts, particularly forest loss. Temperatur...
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