WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.000 This one is not filed. So we're going to have 00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:05.240 to see how we're feeling. And I always say that 00:00:05.240 --> 00:00:07.019 at the beginning of the mini and by the time 00:00:07.019 --> 00:00:09.339 the mini is done at like four minutes or five 00:00:09.339 --> 00:00:11.619 minutes, we forget to file it. So let's see if 00:00:11.619 --> 00:00:13.919 we remember by the end of it. It is Wednesday. 00:00:14.179 --> 00:00:19.160 Anyway, this one is by I don't know. It's a symbol 00:00:19.160 --> 00:00:25.359 news abc .net .au Australia from the 8th of June. 00:00:25.539 --> 00:00:30.359 And this one is Video of Antarctic seafloor damage 00:00:30.359 --> 00:00:34.619 by anchors a warning to tourism sector. Interesting. 00:00:35.259 --> 00:00:38.100 Right? That's why I said that I had to choose 00:00:38.100 --> 00:00:42.320 this one. Matthew Mulrennan was trying to find 00:00:42.320 --> 00:00:45.820 and film the elusive colossal squid in Antarctica 00:00:45.820 --> 00:00:48.520 when his underwater footage revealed something 00:00:48.520 --> 00:00:51.520 worrying in the deep. The footage revealed a 00:00:51.520 --> 00:00:55.119 seafloor scoured of life with deep grooves that 00:00:55.119 --> 00:00:58.000 suggested damage by by anchor chains, quote, 00:00:58.259 --> 00:01:01.299 you could clearly see this delineation between 00:01:01.299 --> 00:01:03.960 where there was abundant marine life and where 00:01:03.960 --> 00:01:06.780 the chain and anchor had disrupted seafloor, 00:01:06.840 --> 00:01:10.159 end quote, Mr. Mulrennan said. It is the first 00:01:10.159 --> 00:01:13.560 video evidence of environmental damage in the 00:01:13.560 --> 00:01:17.099 sensitive polar region. Mr. Mulrennan and colleagues 00:01:17.099 --> 00:01:20.739 reported on Monday in the frontiers in conservation 00:01:20.739 --> 00:01:24.900 science, an estimated 4 ,000 species live on 00:01:24.900 --> 00:01:27.609 the Antarctic coast. seafloor with around 90 00:01:27.609 --> 00:01:30.409 percent unique to the southern continent's waters. 00:01:30.870 --> 00:01:34.010 Mr. Mulrennan said most visitors might go there 00:01:34.010 --> 00:01:37.030 for the penguin seals and whales, but the region's 00:01:37.030 --> 00:01:39.890 biodiversity was more like an iceberg. Quote, 00:01:39.909 --> 00:01:42.969 almost all of its underwater, he said. It's part 00:01:42.969 --> 00:01:45.989 of the environment that isn't totally Arctic, 00:01:45.989 --> 00:01:48.290 I guess, is a way to say it. Like it's not the 00:01:48.290 --> 00:01:50.969 wind blowing at you. Like water keeps a good 00:01:50.969 --> 00:01:53.069 temperature. Yeah. And like when you think of 00:01:53.069 --> 00:01:55.870 the north, that water is full of life like there's 00:01:55.870 --> 00:01:57.969 seals, there's narwhals, there's galuga whales. 00:01:58.150 --> 00:02:00.829 I'm guessing the south is just like that. It 00:02:00.829 --> 00:02:03.230 would have to be and it's not something that 00:02:03.230 --> 00:02:07.030 people necessarily think about either. No. In 00:02:07.030 --> 00:02:10.030 any part of the ocean it makes you think about 00:02:10.030 --> 00:02:12.949 what else is going on in other parts of the ocean 00:02:12.949 --> 00:02:15.370 so I'm gonna go on and then let's talk about 00:02:15.370 --> 00:02:17.870 it after. The animals that are there are very 00:02:17.870 --> 00:02:20.909 vulnerable. Some grow to extreme years of age 00:02:20.909 --> 00:02:23.830 including giant volcano sponges which we found 00:02:23.830 --> 00:02:26.159 right next to the anchor damage I'm actually 00:02:26.159 --> 00:02:29.080 gonna send you in general you can look at the 00:02:29.080 --> 00:02:32.699 photos not everyone listening obviously it makes 00:02:32.699 --> 00:02:34.699 sense too because I've heard that those seas 00:02:34.699 --> 00:02:37.280 can be rough so you do actually like have to 00:02:37.280 --> 00:02:40.500 anchor I don't know that you ever wouldn't anchor 00:02:40.500 --> 00:02:43.240 especially when you have tourists and you're 00:02:43.240 --> 00:02:45.400 tendering and stuff you would have to tender 00:02:45.400 --> 00:02:48.419 in Antarctica get off the ship to a smaller one 00:02:48.419 --> 00:02:51.319 and you take zodiacs and stuff like that mister 00:02:51.319 --> 00:02:53.780 so there's some pictures in the video video for 00:02:53.780 --> 00:02:56.979 you. Mr. Mulrennan, a marine scientist and founder 00:02:56.979 --> 00:03:00.099 of a not -for -profit conservation group, Colossal, 00:03:00.139 --> 00:03:02.840 was on a tourist ship visiting Antarctica in 00:03:02.840 --> 00:03:05.400 2023 when he took the footage. Concerned about 00:03:05.400 --> 00:03:08.379 what he saw, he contacted marine geophysicist 00:03:08.379 --> 00:03:11.259 and anchor chain damage researcher Sally Watson 00:03:11.259 --> 00:03:14.419 from the New Zealand National Institute of Water 00:03:14.419 --> 00:03:16.840 and Atmospheric Research. Interesting. There's 00:03:16.840 --> 00:03:19.960 an actual person researching that. He kind of 00:03:19.960 --> 00:03:22.099 led us to believe that there's no one looking 00:03:22.099 --> 00:03:27.080 at it. Dr. Watson confirmed the linear grooves 00:03:27.080 --> 00:03:30.419 and harsh gouges recorded in the popular destination 00:03:30.419 --> 00:03:33.319 Yankee Harbour next to the Antarctic island were 00:03:33.319 --> 00:03:35.919 consistent with damage caused by anchors in their 00:03:35.919 --> 00:03:39.199 chains. Mr. Mulrennan and Dr. Watson said the 00:03:39.199 --> 00:03:42.159 findings raised concerns about anchoring by research 00:03:42.159 --> 00:03:45.000 and fishing vessels as well as growing tourism 00:03:45.000 --> 00:03:47.960 industry in Antarctica. They said more regulation 00:03:47.960 --> 00:03:50.699 and collecting of anchoring data was needed ahead 00:03:50.699 --> 00:03:54.629 of a projected quadrupling of tourists from 452 00:03:54.629 --> 00:03:58.430 ,000 people a year visiting Antarctica by 2033 00:03:58.430 --> 00:04:01.189 -2034. That's a lot of people. Geez, that's a 00:04:01.189 --> 00:04:04.250 city. Yeah. So let's talk about... I always thought 00:04:04.250 --> 00:04:06.870 it was a lot smaller. Well, it is compared to 00:04:06.870 --> 00:04:08.750 all the other places that cruise ships are taking. 00:04:08.750 --> 00:04:10.590 Chelsea, I watched the video in the link you 00:04:10.590 --> 00:04:13.729 sent me and giant volcano sponges are massive. 00:04:14.069 --> 00:04:16.230 I did not expect them to look like that. And 00:04:16.230 --> 00:04:19.850 apparently they can reach an age of 15 ,000 years. 00:04:20.250 --> 00:04:23.370 which is just bizarre yeah they're considered 00:04:23.370 --> 00:04:26.610 the oldest animals on the planet i had no idea 00:04:26.610 --> 00:04:28.850 there you just got something for a dinner party 00:04:28.850 --> 00:04:30.810 i know you guys are always looking for something 00:04:30.810 --> 00:04:32.990 like that how many dinner parties do you guys 00:04:32.990 --> 00:04:37.639 need so many we talk to only the classiest people 00:04:37.639 --> 00:04:40.399 is what I gotta believe and I'm complimenting 00:04:40.399 --> 00:04:42.740 them right now. Let's talk about how exactly 00:04:42.740 --> 00:04:45.259 the anchors damage the oceans because that's 00:04:45.259 --> 00:04:46.920 something that got me a little bit interested 00:04:46.920 --> 00:04:50.620 in this as well. Anchors can be meters wide and 00:04:50.620 --> 00:04:53.579 crush the living things they land on but it's 00:04:53.579 --> 00:04:56.160 the chain connecting the anchor to the ship that 00:04:56.160 --> 00:04:59.480 often does the most damage as it drags laterally 00:04:59.480 --> 00:05:02.939 across the seabed. Many Antarctic seabed animals 00:05:02.939 --> 00:05:06.300 grow slowly in the same place over centuries 00:05:06.300 --> 00:05:09.000 making them vulnerable to chains. You got to 00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:12.100 think when the water is as cold as it is too, 00:05:12.399 --> 00:05:15.779 you would think everything grows very very slow 00:05:15.779 --> 00:05:18.899 there as well. Dr. Watson said anchor chains 00:05:18.899 --> 00:05:21.540 probably had the second biggest impact to the 00:05:21.540 --> 00:05:25.120 seafloor after trawling by commercial fishers. 00:05:25.279 --> 00:05:28.500 Research into anchor impacts is growing in places 00:05:28.500 --> 00:05:31.639 such as the Great Barrier Reef and other tropical 00:05:31.639 --> 00:05:34.100 reef environments but Dr. Watson said that there 00:05:34.100 --> 00:05:38.199 was a big gaping hole in Antarctica. Mr. Mulrennan 00:05:38.199 --> 00:05:41.540 surveyed 36 sites around the Antarctic Peninsula 00:05:41.540 --> 00:05:44.819 and anchoring damage was only found at the Yankee 00:05:44.819 --> 00:05:48.139 harbor site. That's super strange. I would assume 00:05:48.139 --> 00:05:50.800 that means that nothing was looked at that well 00:05:50.800 --> 00:05:53.480 then, or nobody goes to any other part of Antarctica. 00:05:56.579 --> 00:06:00.680 Dr. Watson wasn't able to access voluntary anchoring 00:06:00.680 --> 00:06:03.420 data kept by the International Association of 00:06:03.420 --> 00:06:06.959 Antarctica Tour Operators, so she used ship -tracking 00:06:06.959 --> 00:06:09.860 data to estimate anchoring activity instead. 00:06:10.100 --> 00:06:13.639 Eight vessels likely used their anchi... anchors 00:06:13.639 --> 00:06:16.899 in Yankee harbour during the month Mr. Maul Renan 00:06:16.899 --> 00:06:20.379 surveyed the area. Dr. Watson estimated a minimum 00:06:20.379 --> 00:06:23.600 of 1 ,600 meters of seabed would be affected 00:06:23.600 --> 00:06:27.139 if each vessel anchored in water 30 to 40 meters 00:06:27.139 --> 00:06:29.600 deep. This figure does not consider the damage 00:06:29.600 --> 00:06:32.180 from the train dragging side to side if the ships 00:06:32.180 --> 00:06:35.089 moved. Quote, we don't know the footprint of 00:06:35.089 --> 00:06:37.689 anchoring within the Antarctic Peninsula, so 00:06:37.689 --> 00:06:40.569 it could be a pretty extensive issue for the 00:06:40.569 --> 00:06:42.970 seafloor bed, Dr. Watson said. So I think that's 00:06:42.970 --> 00:06:44.790 exactly right. They're just not looking at other 00:06:44.790 --> 00:06:48.350 ones. Social scientist Elizabeth Lean of the 00:06:48.350 --> 00:06:51.170 University of Tanzania, who is not involved with 00:06:51.170 --> 00:06:53.209 the study, said there were sites more popular 00:06:53.209 --> 00:06:55.529 than the Yankee Harbor that hadn't been surveyed. 00:06:55.610 --> 00:06:58.910 Professor Lian, whose work focuses on Antarctica 00:06:58.910 --> 00:07:02.829 tourism, noted Hooverville Island and Nico Harbor 00:07:02.829 --> 00:07:05.750 received more visits than Yankee Harbor. It does 00:07:05.750 --> 00:07:08.269 go on for a little bit. So I'm going to end it 00:07:08.269 --> 00:07:11.670 there. It talks about tourism operations to examine 00:07:11.670 --> 00:07:14.009 the research that they're doing and what can 00:07:14.009 --> 00:07:17.310 be done. But we can put this link into the show 00:07:17.310 --> 00:07:20.129 notes so that you can read more. It's very interesting 00:07:20.129 --> 00:07:22.410 what they're talking about. I wanted to put it 00:07:22.410 --> 00:07:25.149 in because it's another byproduct of the cruise 00:07:25.149 --> 00:07:27.990 industry and tourism that I think a lot of people 00:07:27.990 --> 00:07:30.990 wouldn't even think twice about where we did 00:07:30.990 --> 00:07:33.329 another episode on cruise ships and all the damage 00:07:33.329 --> 00:07:35.750 that they do to the environment. And this one 00:07:35.750 --> 00:07:39.110 didn't even make it onto the list. No, something 00:07:39.110 --> 00:07:41.709 you don't even really think about. And to be 00:07:41.709 --> 00:07:44.089 fair, most cruise ships don't have to anchor 00:07:44.089 --> 00:07:46.449 because they're going into ports. That's true. 00:07:46.689 --> 00:07:49.589 This is a unique situation for the cruise industry 00:07:49.589 --> 00:07:53.079 in this one. That's true. There are. ports though 00:07:53.079 --> 00:07:57.439 while not exactly common there are still tender 00:07:57.439 --> 00:08:01.139 ports that you're gonna see on I would say you 00:08:01.139 --> 00:08:03.720 having a tender port at least one on a cruise 00:08:03.720 --> 00:08:07.879 itinerary is normal at least one at least one 00:08:07.879 --> 00:08:11.079 um sometimes you'll have a couple but something 00:08:11.079 --> 00:08:13.399 to think about with the impact that the cruise 00:08:13.399 --> 00:08:16.300 industry has on the environment as well when 00:08:16.439 --> 00:08:19.040 you know they're having to tender because they're 00:08:19.040 --> 00:08:21.620 too large of a cruise ship that can't fit into 00:08:21.620 --> 00:08:24.699 port or something like that so add it to the 00:08:24.699 --> 00:08:28.040 list wow i didn't know that part either so i'm 00:08:28.040 --> 00:08:30.360 glad we learned that in an episode we did like 00:08:30.360 --> 00:08:34.139 three years ago now it's true yeah good episode 00:08:34.139 --> 00:08:38.220 well disturbing episode yeah and you guys got 00:08:38.220 --> 00:08:40.559 48 hours you go Take a look for it. See if you 00:08:40.559 --> 00:08:42.659 can find it. Give it a listen. I think it probably 00:08:42.659 --> 00:08:44.080 holds up. I don't know. I haven't listened to 00:08:44.080 --> 00:08:48.159 it in a long time. Anyhow, go find it. Bye. Bye.