Who Will Speak For The Oceans?

by Vikki Spruill

Originally published in The Buffalo News, 6/13/97.

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French explorer and "aquanaut" Jacques Cousteau was the most visible and trusted ambassador for the oceans of our time. Now, we must ask, who will be the voice of the oceans? It is not a trivial question.

Space exploration routinely captures headlines but ocean exploration popularized by Cousteau may be more immediately valuable to us: Many scientists believe there are far greater benefits to humankind in the depths below than the heavens above.

A little derring-do at sea can be rewarded with breakthroughs in medicine, explanations of global weather patterns or discoveries of fascinating new life forms. Researchers with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, based in California, say they bring back a new species or subspecies of sea life -- never before seen by human eyes -- with virtually every expedition of their hunter submarines, both manned and remote controlled.

Nature's dynamism under the ocean can help us. The sea squirt, for instance, comes equipped with a chemical defense system that may prove valuable to the pharmaceutical industry. Even the prosaic seaweed has a chemical substance that keeps away predators. From extractions of these compounds, scientists already are developing cancer treatments, analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs.

From the days of Eric the Red to the era of Jacques Cousteau, the human pulse has raced at every report back from the frontiers of the unknown. Through his charisma and marvelous television specials -- which he rightly referred to as "adventure films" and not documentaries -- Cousteau was more responsible than any other person of his time for our fascination with the sea.

Yes, he was controversial. But in a recent poll conducted by the Mellman Group for SeaWeb, a conservation group, 63 percent of Americans named Cousteau as the most trusted messenger for the oceans. No other person was even close. He opened a generation's eyes to the wonders of the sea, and there is still so much more we must learn.

What will it mean to the natural pecking order if bountymen kill off sharks or other top predators to the point of extinction? What will happen if factory fishing trawlers continue to deplete entire fish populations, or if chemical wastes continue to disrupt the reproductive ability of various links on the food chain? Clearly, ocean ecosystems cannot survive unlimited abuse. For example, the discharge and runoff of industrial, agricultural and urban pollutants into the coastal ocean has contributed to the degradation of coral reefs, to outbreaks of bigger, longer-lasting harmful algal blooms and to mass die-offs of ocean plants and animals.

This is the thorny, unpleasant side of exploring and understanding the oceans. How much simpler in this regard to contemplate the vastness of space. But back on earth our livelihoods into the next century may depend on figuring out how not to hurt the sea as it helps us.

Americans need no convincing. In that same poll, respondents said that ocean exploration was a higher priority than space exploration by a whopping 71 to 19 percent margin. Moreover, 87 percent said they considered threats to the oceans a threat to our quality of life. The oceans have lost a great ambassador at a critical time. We all must fill the void.

Vikki Spruill is the President of Seaweb, a non-profit organization that uses social marketing techniques to advance ocean conservation.