Protecting Critical Coastal Ecosystems
Hey there!
Happy World Mangroves Day! We love our kelp forests at 12 Tides, but mangroves are also one of the world's most important coastal ecosystems. Learn more about all five of the critical coastal ecosystems below and how you can help protect them!
We love our sustainably-farmed kelp at 12 Tides, but wild kelp forests also play a critical role in maintaining healthy marine ecosystems. Kelp serves as the base of the marine food chain, sequester carbon, and protect coastlines.
Kelp forests in California have been decimated by an invasive species, the purple sea urchin, declining 93% in the past decade. Check out our friends at SeaTrees to learn about opportunities to #helpthekelp!
Did you know that mangroves are the most carbon-dense forests in the world? They store up to 5-10 times more carbon per acre than tropical forests. On top of that, mangroves are vital breeding grounds for marine life.
Indonesia, with the greatest area of mangroves in the world, has lost 40% of its mangroves due to shrimp farming, palm oil production, and pollution. To help out the mangroves, always ask where your shrimp comes from, avoid palm oil, and learn more about the mangrove restoration process and check out a few cool facts
Coral reefs are some of the world’s oldest living organisms (at up to 10,000 years old) and, despite only covering 0.1% of the ocean, are home to 25% of marine species.
Coral reefs are bleaching rapidly due to rising ocean temperatures and acidification. Outside of minimizing your carbon footprint, use reef-safe sunscreens and be go with eco-focused tourism providers when visiting reef areas.
Green sea turtles (one of our favorites to see while scuba diving) eat about 4.5 pounds of seagrass per day. Seagrass also serves as a nursery ground for many marine species.
Global seagrass is declining at ~7% per year due to agricultural run-off and human development activity. You can make sure any seafood you eat is caught with methods that don’t disrupt seagrass meadows and learn more about seagrass restoration here.
Salt marshes are coastal wetlands that flood and drain with the tides. They provide essential food, refuge, or nursery habitat for more than 75% of fisheries species, including shrimp, blue crab, and many finfish.
Vast areas of salt marshes have been disturbed by human development that impact the normal tidal water flows. Learn more about salt marshes here and support salt marsh protection!
Keep in Touch!
We love to talk about coastal ecosystems. If you’d like to chat more, shoot us a note at hello@12tides.com!
Supporting the health of our oceans through conservation and restoration is at the core of our values at 12 Tides. In future posts, we are going to go in-depth on each of these ecosystems with the people and organizations making a positive difference! Let us know which one you want us to dive into first! Keep Kelping the Earth!
Pat
Sources and credits:
https://blogs.worldbank.org/sustainablecities/why-mangroves-matter-resilience-coastal-communities
https://wwf.panda.org/our_work/oceans/coasts/coral_reefs/
http://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/plants-algae/seagrass-and-seagrass-beds
https://www.bhic.org/Blog/97591/Love-Your-Island-10-Facts-about-the-Salt-Marsh
- Tags: Ocean Ecosystems
