Eco Report – March 8, 2024

It has become increasingly known that Corals play a crucial role in marine ecosystems. Not only do they buffer coastline communities against storms, but they reduce coastline erosion. The Center for Biological Diversity points out that “they create habitat for fish, sponges, crabs, sea stars and other wildlife.” Some of the most extensive, best preserved coral reefs in the entire Caribbean are along the coast of Cuba. Jardines (har-dean-es) de la Reina National Park, is one such place that maintains an incredibly rich underwater ecosystem. In Sept 2023 a team of experts completed an expedition to gage the health of Cuba’s reefs. A Cuban marine biologist initiated the study for a better understanding of coral’s resilience in this era of extreme climate change.

The Environmental Defense Fund in partnership with Cuban scientists are hopeful that such research will provide leads as to management & conservation techniques that prevent degradation of coral reefs. Cuba and the US have the potential to make great advancements to mitigate climate change and preserve biodiversity. The lack of formal diplomatic relations, exacerbated by U.S unilateral listing of Cuba as a State sponsor of terrorism, hamper joint ventures for all but a couple of NGO’s [NON-governmental organizations]. Nature is oblivious to such political maneuverings. Cuba has strategic plans for dealing with climate change that are hampered from coming to fruition as a result of the US embargo on Cuba.

“The ecological stakes are too high for Cuba and the United States to rely on anything short of a government-to-government accord to formalize, catalyze, and facilitate cooperation on environmental problems of mutual concern,” states Brian Boorm in Sciencediplomacy.org. Nevertheless, Scientific communities of Cuba and the United States have found several ways to come together and agree on what is essential to advance joint research in the best interests of both countries, peoples, and societies.

Such joint scientific research provides opportunities for progress and capacity building in both Cuba and the U.S. The endangered species act recently celebrated its 50th anniversary of protected habitat for numerous species! Cuba and the United States share forty-nine animal species and eight plant species that are recognized as ‘Globally Threatened.’ “There exists a strong imperative for the two countries to cooperate on monitoring and protecting the threatened species for which they are joint stewards, including the West Indian walnut, the American crocodile, and the West Indian whistling duck” wrote Brian Boorm in sciencediplomacy.org. Extensive coverage can be found at globalconservation.org.

WFHB is doing a series on ocean issues, with an emphasis on the seafood available in Indiana grocery stores. The first story was about early fishing in the North Atlantic. It is a story of abundance. One of the prime targets was codfish, numbering in the billions and catchable using just a line wrapped around the wrist and one hook. Another popular fish was the herring, caught in the North and Baltic Seas. The Hanseatic League cities were funded in large part by the herring catch. Herring were popular because they were cheap and could be preserved by hanging them in a fireplace for smoking. Fresh herring rapidly decompose, so the English developed some powerful mustards to make the herring more palitable. Coleman’s mustard is popular even today.

The fish markets were full of large cod, salmon, and other species as illustrated in a painting by Frans Snyder, The Fish Market. The status of the oceans as of 1900 is that they were in excellent shape. Plastics were not a source of pollution. While a few areas were overfished, such as halibut along the U.S. east coast, or herring in the Baltic Sea, there were some areas virtually untouched. The untouched areas were that way because any catch would rot before the ship could reach its home port. All this was about to change. Clarence Birdseye was born in 1886, the sixth of nine children of Clarence Frank Birdseye, a lawyer in an insurance firm, and Ada Jane Underwood. His first years were spent in New York, New York, where his family owned a townhouse in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn.

From childhood, Birdseye was obsessed with natural science and with taxidermy, which he taught himself by correspondence. He entered Amherst College, where his father and elder brother had earned degrees. There he excelled at science, although an average student in other subjects. His obsession with collecting insects led his college classmates to nickname him “Bugs”. He had to drop out of college to support his family, working for the Department of Agriculture. He had several assignments before going to Labrador , where he furthered his interested in food preservation by freezing, especially fast freezing. He was taught by the Inuit how to ice fish under very thick ice. In -40 °C weather. The Inuit also demonstrated that freshly caught fish could be then instantly frozen when exposed to air, and when thawed, still tasted fresh.

This trip to Canada, where he witnessed the traditional methods of the indigenous Inuit people, directly inspired Birdseye’s food preserving method. Flash freezing changed ocean fishing forever. A boat could go anywhere to fish, then immediately freeze the fish. Fishing boats got bigger, eventually leading to a fleet of vessels catching the fish, then transferring it to a “factory” ship, which froze the catch and placed it in storage. The catching vessels could remain at a hot spot until virtually every fish was taken. The second development that totally changed ocean fishing was the development of vessels with steam engines, which rather quickly converted to gasoline or diesel fuel. This allowed the use of enormous nets and catches in tons.

Fish Creek in northeastern Indiana is one of the most biologically diverse streams in the Midwest. Mussels are a keystone species in the stream’s aquatic community. Mussels are filter feeders, so they are very sensitive to low water quality. In areas with good water quality, there are diverse mussel communities and large numbers of mussels. In areas where the water quality is poor, there are fewer species. Protecting mussel species was the impetus for The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to work in Fish Creek more than 30 years ago. When TNC started working in the area, mussel populations were in decline. The story today is much more positive. Mussel surveys from last fall show a diversity of mussels – in variety, quantity and age range.

In order to protect the creek and the imperiled mussel species, TNC had to do more than just buy land and create nature preserves. “We had to find ways to work with the community,” says Larry Clemens, state director for TNC in Indiana, “so that people and nature could thrive together. Improvements to Fish Creek wouldn’t have happened without the community’s direct involvement.” TNC worked with farmers to control soil erosion on their lands, using a variety of conservation practices. Farmers implemented those conservation techniques widely.