Why 2022 is Already Looking Like a Good Year For the Ocean

Let’s get 2022 off to a good start by looking at all the latest stories and initiatives which bring positive news to the realms of ocean conservation and plastic pollution and thankfully, there’s lots to choose from.

Positive change started happening right from day one this year when France’s ban on plastic packaging for a large number of fruits and vegetables came into force. The law is part of the country’s goal to phase out all single use plastics by 2040 and president Macron has called this next step a ‘real revolution’. French supermarkets and retailers will no longer be allowed to sell 30 different fresh products if they are wrapped in plastic, such as bananas, cucumbers, lemons and aubergines which is hoping to eliminate over one billion pieces of single use plastic in the coming year. For the time being, softer easily damaged fruits such as tomatoes and berries are exempt, as are packs weighing over 1.5kg and chopped fruit. Some argue that this new ban could have gone further and that allowing another six years before all fruit cannot be wrapped in plastic is too slow but this still represents a great start to a massive problem. With 85% of the French public supporting the ban, greater change could still be seen a lot sooner than we think.

Along the same lines, a new innovative company called Apeel Science are also making waves in the packaging industry. Apeel is a plant-based protective layer for fruits and vegetables aiming to replace plastic. The powder is made from pulp, seeds and peel and when mixed with water, can be brushed onto produce to form an invisible, edible, tasteless and odourless protective layer which seals in moisture and keeps out oxygen. Not only does this negate the need for plastic but it helps fruit and vegetables last longer too, reducing food waste. Whilst we wait to see if this ingenious design will catch on, the UK has new legislation coming into force in April which will place a tax on any plastic packaging manufactured or imported into the UK which is not made from at least 30% recycled plastic in a bid to reduce its environmental footprint. This is yet another measure which is tackling the surge of plastic which comes from the retail sector and will finally allow consumers to have ability to be environmentally friendly when they shop. 

On the other side of the globe, Indonesia has a new initiative which is also hoping to persuade consumers to purge on plastic. Siklus is an up and coming business which sends small refill bikes out onto the streets for a door to door shopping service. Families can request that the bike stop at their house and they simply take their reusable containers onto the doorstep where they can easily fill up with essentials such as shampoo, soap, cleaning products, cooking oil and even pet food. These products are also actually cheaper to buy from the kerbside than in supermarkets! Do you think this has the potential to become a widespread new shopping habit?

Work is also taking place at the other end of plastics life as new inventions are constantly being tested in the hope of cleaning up waste which has already entered our environment. The Great Bubble Barrier is one of these creations which aims to clear plastic from rivers using bubbles. To work, a pipe with small holes is laid on the bottom of the waterway and air is pumped through the pipe, creating a bubble curtain in the water above. This screen of bubbles creates an upward current which drags plastic pieces to the surface where the natural flow of the water will direct the waste to the side where a catchment system is set up to retain plastic ready for collection. The design is tailorable to all different kinds of waterways, runs on renewable energy where possible and still allows for the migration of fish and the passage of boats. Now all we need is a greater uptake and a little more time until we can really see the results.

One other incredibly simple yet effective design hopes to reduce cetacean bycatch which is a major issue in our oceans due to modern day fishing practices. Researchers have found that by placing beads on fishing nets, they become more visible to species such as porpoises, dolphins and whales. These species use echolocation to navigate their way around the ocean and find food, however their acoustic signals cannot pick up our incredibly thin fishing lines used to make nets which often ends in them becoming entangled. Adding transparent acrylic glass beads onto gillnets has been found to reduce the level of bycatch whilst also not weighing down fishing nets. When a sonar wave emitted from say a porpoise hits the bead, an extraordinarily loud echo bounces back to the animal, warning them that there is an obstacle ahead which needs avoiding. Initial studies in Denmark proved this method to be mostly successful although a small number of porpoises did still become entangled. Experts believe this is because they still swim whilst they are sleep but don’t very often use their biosonar whilst snoozing. With this knowledge, researchers then tried an acoustic alerting device which emits fake porpoise warning signals and in the trial, this reduced bycatch by a staggering 80%! It seems that combining simple beads and alerting devices could be the answer to saving hundreds of cetacean lives each year.

In another win for marine species, South Africa has recently halted oil giant Shell’s seismic testing in a 250km stretch of their Eastern coastline which is renowned for natural beauty and biodiversity. For once, nature has won in a battle of energy versus environment after conservationists raised concerns that the blasting used in the process would harm species such as whales, dolphins and seals. This has also been a win for local people who are glad that the judge has recognised the importance of the ocean for their livelihoods, rather than focussing on the short term profit of Shell’s endeavours. This is a huge victory for the ocean and for the local community but it is not over yet as proceedings are set to continue and the world watches on.

Elsewhere, marine sightings are at record highs, particularly in the UK with 2021 being a bumper year for cetacean visitors. Once a rare site in Britain, humpback whales have been frequently spotted around the coastline, taking the total to 75 sightings since 2019. Orcas have also journeyed as far south as Cornwall for the first time in 50 years whilst white-beaked dolphins ventured far from their home in subarctic waters to Essex. Even a walrus, famously known as Wally, visited the UK and made the Isles of Scilly his home for over a month, much to the delight of locals and tourists.

Some coral reefs also seem to be bouncing back to health with biodiversity booming once more. One such reef in Indonesia was destroyed by blast fishing, a practice which uses explosives to stun or kill everything in the area. Over the last few years, restoration work has been taking place with scientists now trying to measure the project’s success. Researchers struggled to see exactly how many species had made their way back to the reef as many are well camouflaged whilst others only appear at night. To solve this problem, scientists turned to noise instead. By using underwater equipment, the whoops, grunts, purrs, foghorns and even laughs of fish have now been heard like never before, with new noises we don’t yet recognise coming from our reefs. Many fish use sound as a homing beacon to find their way back to the reef where they were raised so hearing this reef put up such a ruckus is a great indicator of the reef’s health and biodiversity. Whilst some noises have already been linked to certain species, other sounds, such as the laugh, are remaining elusive to experts. This just shows that we still have so much to discover about the ocean and that, when given space, our underwater environments can return to their former beauty.

It seems that 2022 has already got off to a great start for the ocean and let’s hope it continues that way over the next twelve months. We’re eager to see the progress made by innovative designers, passionate ocean conservationists and nations around the world striving for a more sustainable future.

By Neve McCracken-Heywood