The way to protect krill - research paper

The way to protect krill

Juhye Choi
EAP2 - A, Writer’s Workshop
Thomas Leverett
June 19, 2008

Abstract
The topic of this paper is the crisis of krill living in Antarctica. It argues that we should protect them because krill is a very useful species to maintain the food chain and ecosystem in Antarctica. There are three ways we can protect krill. The first way is that individuals pay attention to the ecosystem in Antarctica and reduce the pollutants from our lives. The second way is that the government reduces the total amount of pollutants and imposes legal controls on the amount of krill fishing for protecting krill. The third way is that environmentalists and environmental associations investigate and watch the ice shelves and species in Antarctica periodically, let people know about the crisis of krill and Antarctic Ocean and convince the governments and fisheries to reduce the amount of krill fishing.

Outline

The way to protect krill
1. Introduction
A. Ward (2008), “Krill living in Antarctic Ocean is…”
B. What krill is and the important role of krill in Antarctica (Howard, 2008).
C. The amount of krill is decreasing recently. There are two reasons.
① Global warming (Jowit, 2008).
② Over-fishing of krill (Doyle, 2008).
D. How the decreasing of krill affects to Antarctica’s ecosystem.
2. Thesis: We have to prevent the decreasing of krill for protecting the food chain and ecosystem in Antarctica.
3. Main Arguments
A. The efforts of individuals
① Individuals have to pay attention to the ecosystem in Antarctica.
② Individuals have to reduce the pollutants from our lives. (Waller, 2007).
B. The efforts of government
① The government has to reduce the total amount of pollutants.
② The government has to impose legal controls on the amount of krill fishing. (Ocean life fading: What can be done?, 2007).
C. The efforts of environmental associations
① Environmentalists and environmental associations have to investigate and watch the ice shelves and species in Antarctica periodically.
② Environmentalists and environmental associations have to let people know about the crisis of krill and Antarctic Ocean.
③ Environmentalists and environmental associations have to convince the governments and fishery to reduce the amount of krill fishing.
D. Opponents against to protect krill
① Opponents of protecting krill claim that the amount of krill fishing is not too much.
② The reason we have to protect krill is not just for right now but future
4. Conclusion
A. Thesis Restatement
B. Three solutions.
C. Human have to protect not only krill but also all species and ecosystem.

“Krill living in Antarctic Ocean is like a tiny shrimp and it belongs to the animals that make up the zooplankton” (Ward, 2008, Para.1). Krill is smaller than any other species but they are the most plentiful species in the world. “Also krill often are referred to as ‘keystone’ species because they play such an important role for many marine systems” (Howard, 2008, Para.2). Krill living in Antarctica are at the bottom of the food chain and many predators depend on them. “Krill are also believed to be important in removing the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide by eating carbon-rich food near the surface and excreting it when they sink to lower, colder water to escape predators” (Jowit, 2008, Pare.2). But nowadays the amount of krill is decreasing because of some man-made reasons. One is global warming. Global warming makes ice shelves in Antarctica melt and increases the temperature of the Antarctic Ocean. “The ice that is home to the algae and plankton they feed on is melting” (Jowit, 2008, Para.2). So, krill will not be able to survive or they have to move to another place. Another reason is over-fishing. People started to fish krill for many things in human life. “Krill – small, prawn-like crustaceans used in fish feed, human dietary supplements, soya sauce flavoring, pharmaceuticals and even in cleaning Old Masters – are increasingly in demand” (Doyle, 2008, Para.2). And the amount of fishing krill is also increased year by year. So the over-fishing threatens not only krill but also the ecosystem in Antarctica.

The ecosystem can control its constituents by itself. However humans force and confuse the ecosystem. We made global warming and we are even over-fishing krill. Krill are under the double torture of global warming and over-fishing. “It threatens not just krill, but the entire ecosystem that depends on them” (Jowit, 2008, Para.2). We have to stop destroying Antarctica because it is playing a very important role on the earth where we live. There are three ways that we can do better for krill.

All the individuals have to pay attention to the ecosystem in Antarctica and make an effort to help the species in Antarctica, especially krill. Some people do not know what krill is, despite the fact that they use krill products. Krill is not only good for people’s health but also plays a big role for environment. First of all we have to ‘Know’ about krill and how important it is. As we have said above, krill can reduce greenhouse gases on the sea surface and feed up the species that depend on it. As a result, they reduce the bad effects of global warming and maintain the tons of species. It means that krill solve the problems that we made. People are polluting the environment, but krill are purifying the pollution. Second, we have to reduce the pollutants from our lives. The most important thing is ‘reusing, reducing and recycling’. We are overusing resources and dumping a lot of wastes everyday. It causes global warming in the end. So we have to stop dumping and to save resources. There are many ways to save resources. “Turn your lights off, turn your T.V. off, walk to the shop, and buy a greener car” (Waller, 2007, Para.2). Using renewable resources can be another way to save resources and to reduce pollution. We have to reduce the global warming for our environment.

To protect krill and Antarctica, government have to play a big role. First, each government has to reduce the total amount of pollutants per year discharged from its country. It can be possible when the government controls the individuals, factories, farms, cars etc. The government has to make the environmental protection law and to control the amount of resources that they use. The less they use resources, the less pollution is discharged from their country. Second thing that the government has to do is to impose legal controls on the amount of krill fishing. “A holistic, ecosystem-based on approach, where demands on marine resources are managed within the limits of what the ecosystem can provide, is needed to protect marine biodiversity” (Ocean life fading: What can be done?, 2007, Para.17). Even today, krill trawling is not under the application of the law. And fishers are making a new method that is more efficient than the existing method. If we leave the things like this, the amount of krill will keep decreasing. The government is the best system to control the krill fishing. So the government has to pass the bill that can control and manage the krill fishing. Also the government has to keep an eye on the krill fishing and to punish the fishers when they exceed the limited amount of krill fishing. It will be an efficient way to protect krill.

Third, environmentalists and environmental associations have to investigate and watch the ice shelves and species in Antarctica periodically. They have to show the evidence to prove that krill and the Antarctic Ocean are suffering from the global warming and over-fishing. If they can show people the evidences through the investigation, it will be easy to convince people to believe the crisis of krill. And environmentalists and environmental associations have to let people know about the crisis of krill and the Antarctic Ocean. The first step of protecting krill is making the people concerned about the crisis of krill and the Antarctic ecosystem. That is because, in these modern days, public opinion is very powerful, so it can change things. If people come to be concerned about krill and the Antarctic Ocean and they want to protect krill, the government keeping an ear to the ground will obey the dictates of public opinion. Also environmentalists and environmental associations have to convince the governments and fisheries to reduce the amount of krill fishing. The fisheries will not reduce the amount of krill without convincing. Far from reducing it, they will increase the amount of krill, because their priority is the profit. So environmentalists and environmental associations have to convince them. And arousing public opinion and forcing to the government based on the public opinion are also their missions. Eventually, environmentalists and environmental associations can do begging to protect krill and the Antarctic Ocean.

Opponents of protecting krill claim that the amount of krill fishing is not too much to maintain the food chain of Antarctic Ocean. “Scientists say they are monitoring the fishing, but so far the total catch is a small proportion of the population” (Jowit, 2008, Para.4). But the fact that we are concerned about is not ‘now’ but the ‘future’. Even though the amount of krill is enough now, it is decreasing now; in the end, it will cause a bigger problem such as the extermination of Antarctic species, because krill is a necessary species to maintain the food chain. So we have to be concerned about krill and Antarctic Ocean from now on. Also, fisheries claim to be concerned about krill supplies. “Helge Midttun, chief executive of Norwegian-based processor Aker BioMarine, said they were careful not to damage krill stocks, including developing a net around their suction system to stop other species being harvested.” (Jowit, 2008, Para.9). But their instruments such as their nets are developed and improved. We can find it through the annual amount of krill fishing. The amount of krill fishing keeps increasing year by year. It shows that the fisheries are fishing krill in an unsustainable way. If we let them fish krill as they do now, the extermination of krill is ineluctable consequences.

In conclusion, krill is a very useful species living in the Antarctic Ocean. Krill is useful to maintain the food chain in Antarctica and krill can remove CO2 on the surface of the Antarctic Ocean. So, krill is necessary in the Antarctic Ocean. But the amount of krill is decreasing because of the global warming and over-fishing. Therefore we have to make efforts to protect krill. Individuals have to pay attention to the ecosystem in Antarctica and to reduce the pollutants from our lives. The government can reduce the total amount of pollutants and impose legal controls on the amount of krill fishing for protecting krill. Also, environmentalists and environmental associations have to investigate and watch the ice shelves and species in Antarctica periodically, to let people know about the crisis of krill and the Antarctic Ocean and to convince the governments and fisheries to reduce the amount of krill fishing. Moreover we have to protect not just krill but all species and their ecosystem in the whole world.

Reference
Doyle, A. (2008, January 31). Crucial resource at risk. Nationwide News. Retrieved March 29, 2008, from LexisNexis data base
Howard, D. (2005, July 11). Krill in Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary. The Ocean Explorer. Retrieved June 10, 2008, from http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov
Jowit, J. (2008, March 23). Krill fishing threatens the Antarctic. The Observer. Retrieved June 10, 2008, from http://www.guardian.co.kr
Ocean life fading: what can be done? (2007, October 23). ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 10, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com
Waller, L. (2007, July 11). How to prevent global warming. Ezine articles. Retrieved June 10, 2008, from http://ezinearticles.com
Ward, P. (2008, May 5). Antarctic krill – Euphasia superba. Cool Antarctica. Retrieved on June 2, 2008 from http://www.coolantarctica.com