Listen to the ocean......

Echoes of a million sea shells

by Dhaneshi Yatawara

The Ocean, the continuous body of saline water encircling the world, has given rise to voyages, discoveries, fossil fuels, food and even to tsunamis and storms creating devastation. It fascinated generations of poets, artists, musicians and writers. This great water mass covers almost 75% of the earth and is an immense wealth of resources.

Yet did you know that in every square kilometre of the ocean surface approximately 13,000 plastic pieces are floating? And the total input of marine litter put in to oceans worldwide is estimated approximately 1800 tons every day.

As we are all aware the ocean is not merely a large mass of salt water. It is another living world. It is the world that emerged before us the land animals. Life within the ocean evolved three billion years prior to life on land.

Oceans regulate our climate by redistributing heat around the world. This determines the climate and wind patterns of the environment where we live. The ocean has a significant effect on the biosphere. Oceanic evaporation, as a phase of the water cycle, is the source of most rainfall.

Ocean resources are vital considering the country’s development goals. Thus it is essential to protect this unique environment while getting its support towards sustainable development for the country, said Environment Minister Anura Priyadrashana Yapa addressing the Sri Lankan ‘world ocean day’ program held last week.

He emphasized the need for implementing existing legal protection network by the authorities more strongly than ever before.

Yet it seems that people still believe that the ocean had an infinite capacity to absorb and remove waste and by products. Over the past few decades the range of waste and hazardous material dumped into the sea increased along with its quantity posing a serious threat to the ocean eco system.

Plastic trash, oil spills, radioactive and nuclear waste, sewage effluence toxic industrial waste, pesticide residues etc are major pollutants. Thus tens and thousands of marine fauna and flora are crippled or killed each year.

According to marine biologists, as many as 30,000 fur seals are estimated to become entangled in lost or discarded plastic fishing nets or choked to death in plastic cargo straps. The resulting damage to marine life due to pollution is difficult to access. Yet the non accessed damage to the ocean done in the past is bringing tragedy to us today.

Feeling the pain, mankind today is dedicating each marked day of the year for an issue related to mitigate global warming, climate change or desertification. We just passed World Ocean Day on June 08. The theme was ‘our oceans greening our future’.

In order to achieve the target of the Mahinda Chinthanato make Sri Lanka the wonder of Asia the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA), under the instructions of Environment Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa aims at establishing green harbours.

This is to make the fishing community more environment friendly. As mentioned above larger the fishing community get heavier the waste gets that dumped in to the sea. Thus it is essential to make a new strategy to correct the errors of this highly economical trade.

Sri Lanka possesses territorial waters in an area of 21,700 square kilometres up to 12 nautical miles. Beyond, up to 200 nautical miles, is our Exclusive Economic Zone with an area of 465,800 square kilometres. (This is seven times the size of country’s land area.) To make Sri Lanka the Centre of the Asian Silk route once again taking the advantage of its unique geographic location is the future vision of the Mahinda Chinthana.

As highlighted by Professor Ranjith Senarathne in the Marine Environment Protection Authority supplement marking the 2010 World Ocean day, according to the last comprehensive survey conducted in 1979 - 80 an annual harvest able yield of 250,000 tons is possible from the coastal fishing and another 90,000 - 150,000 tons from the rest of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Under the UN Law of the Sea, Sri Lanka is entitled to claim for an extended area of the sea bed where the thickness of the sediment layer exceeds one kilometer.

If the submissions are accepted Sri Lankan EEZ will expand which then will be 23 times the land area. Apart from the rich fauna and flora of the zone, the area is concentrated with minerals and hydrocarbons.

Minerals include the expensive ones that are in high demand such as titanium, zirconium, thorium, cobalt, nickel, copper and manganese. Hydrocarbons are oil and natural gas.

Ocean wealth can be categorised in to four. i.e. - ocean resources, ocean advantage, ocean environment and islands,said Director General of the Sri LLanka Coast Guards Rear Admiral Daya Dharmapriya giving the theme speech at the World Ocean Day Sri Lankan celebration.

Considering the ocean resources it is estimated that the world’s food harvest from the sea is about 80 million tons per year, Rear Admiral Dharmapriya said. Trade, shipping, port facilities, maritime industries and the renewable energy from wind, tides, currents and waves can be categorised as ocean advantages.

Ocean environment can be categorised in to three i.e. Coastal zone, Marine environment, Climatology.

The Coastal zone includes ecosystems such as mangroves, shallow coral reefs, lagoons and estuaries as well as socio- economic activities that includes tourism related businesses as well as taking sea water for personal usage.

The Sri Lankan sea is hyped with maritime activities including ports and harbours, maritime transportation, fisheries and maritime industries, exploration and exploitation of marine and sea bed resources, sports and recreation, hydrographic and oceanographic research activities, submarine cables and under water pipes, defence activities etc.

“On an average every day there are over 160 ships pass through the traffic separation zone located south of head lighthouse in Dondra point, Rear Admiral Dharmapriya added. “As the present Traffic Separation Zone is located at a sea area highly populated by whales, it will be advisable to take the zone further south in order to protect valuable species,” he said

As he further explained at any given time there are about 9,000 ships at sea, moving 3,500 million tons of cargo. According to statistics available 60% of region’s containerized cargo is transshipped through Colombo harbour. Port of Colombo have handled 4.1 million TEUs (Twenty-foot equivalent units) - a measure used for capacity in container transportation. 2009 recorded a 19.4 % growth and by end of 2011 it is expected to grow up to 4.4 million. Sri Lankan ports will have the capability in the future even to accommodate Malaccamax ships, he said explaining the evolution of Sri Lankan ports.

Malaccamax is a naval architecture term for the largest size of ship capable of fitting through the 25 metres (82 ft)-deep Strait of Malacca.

”Sri Lanka has more than 42,000 fishing vessels involved in fishing everyday. Approximately 3200 multi-day fishing vessels operate in EEZ and in high seas, he added. An estimated 12.5 million fishermEn operating from some three million vessels, lands around 90 million tons of fish per year.

The fishing industry provides a livelihood directly or indirectly, for about 200 million people.

Today in Sri Lanka the coastal line is heavily populated; even in the world. Apart from houses, industries, hotels, restaurants, road side eateries, business establishments, shops, schools, filling stations etc are concentrated within few kilometers from the sea.

Increase in the number of activities in the seas and oceans can increase the number of crimes at sea, Coast Guards chief said. Considering the environmental crimes 70% of pollution of the oceans has its source in human activities on land. These activities include agriculture, industry, urbanization and its resulting outputs.

Though reported in less numbers piracy and armed robberies do happen in the Indian ocean. Over exploitation of marine resources is another crime. Apart from those a long list of unethical and cruel activities identified as crimes at sea globally do happen in silent deep blue seas of our country.

The terrorist threats are no more at the sea. Thus the increase in the number of sailors, fishermen and tourists traveling via sea is inevitable. Understanding the negative repercussions to the country from crimes at sea the Sri Lanka Coast Guards was established in order to enforce law in the seas.

They were the police of the sea. The Sri Lanka Coast Guard was the brainchild of President Mahinda Rajapaksa who as the then Minister of Public Security, Law and Order saw the importance and the urgency of setting up such an agency to protect the seas around the country. Subsequently, he presented a Cabinet paper in January 2008 to appoint a Director General for the Sri Lanka Coast Guard.

Following this move, Rear Admiral L. Daya Dharmapriya was appointed as the first Director General of the Sri Lanka Coast Guard by the Cabinet of Ministers on March 27, 2008. President Rajapaksa as the Chief Guest, ceremonially inaugurated the Coast Guard agency on March 4, 2010.

Their service is required to prevent illicit activity in Sri Lankan waters like smuggling and poaching, as well as pollution prevention and search and rescue.

The coast guard has been a long-felt need especially given the increasing pollution of the sea around the island and illegal activity such as human smuggling.

nt task of the agency is to protect the territorial waters of the country as promulgated in Act No. 14 of 2009 of the Coast Guard.

The Sri Lanka Navy, at some point of time when Emergency Laws are lifted will not be empowered to carry on with such tasks. Coastguard officers who are designated as Peace Officers are empowered to enforce local and international laws.

The Coast Guards are given the authority under the constitution to enforce laws related to dumping of pollutants into the sea.

Thus the coordination and combined efforts of MEPA and Coast guards along with the Environment Ministry and every single government institute related to marine pollution prevention would give strength to the laws protecting our seas.

The sea is polluted enough and more and now it is high time to strengthen the ground work.