Making New Changes to Aquatic Life

Are humans actually creating positive changes?

“It was summer of 2023 when hundreds of sick marine mammals were washed ashore and became stranded. All of a sudden, many animals experienced seizures, fell sick, had foaming around their mouths and even died.”

We all know that our communities could use a little tweaking here and there regarding marine wildlife. In general, many sea creatures are constantly stripped from their ecosystems due to human manufacturing, and the oceans contain numerous deadly chemicals released from cars, factories, and other buildings.

Indonesia, on the other hand, is currently developing a satellite network for their marine monitoring. These satellites would improve monitoring over marine life with radio frequency, AIS tracking ships, and imaging equipment. 

Although protecting marine wildlife is very important for every community, it plays a bigger role in Indonesia with their high population of marine culture. About 5.8 million square km of Indonesia is marine area. They have the highest coral reef diversity in the whole world, making it even more significant to have high quality monitoring. 

The satellites were planned to be installed in July 2024. Aulia Riza Farhan, the ministry’s data director, told Mongabay on the sidelines of an event in Jakarta that “[The aim] is to have a region where conservation used to be passive [now] becomes actively managed.”

While Indonesia is blazing an inspiring trail, how does everyone else take part to protect our marine wildlife? Let's dive further under the sea and discover more marine heroes. How does everyone around the world make efforts to protect our marine wildlife?

Not long ago, a few stranding reporters were caught gently helping a young killer whale on Carmel Beach. This whale was stranded on this island but was thankfully rescued by a group of thoughtful reporters on September 12, 2024. 

The reporters used all the resources that they had to carefully lift the whale onto their vehicle, exhausting all efforts  to save the life of a marine creature with very limited time. “The situation was urgent because the animal was under a lot of stress and we’re thankful so many of our partners were ready to help,”said Justin Viezbicke. He was part of the group that tried to save the whale.

Although this animal received the best chance it had to survive with the help of a supportive community, it unfortunately died during its trip to the Marine Mammal Center in the transportation vehicle. 

Many rescue groups are now saving tons of marine lives or at least attempting to. Everytime they fail, they take a deeper look into mistakes to learn more about the species as a whole. 

Another incredible example takes place in the waters of Los Angeles. Last year, an algae bloom devastated millions of sea mammals. 

It was summer of 2023 when hundreds of sick marine mammals were washed ashore and became stranded. All of a sudden, many animals experienced seizures, fell sick, had foaming around their mouths and even died. 

This, all because of a toxic algae bloom that was released into the seas. Nowadays, algae blooms are very common. They are caused by climate change and produce a fatal acid called the neurotoxin domoic acid. 

Nearby locals have a lot to say on this unfortunate fall. This year, the LA community wants to improve their rescue efforts. 

“It was a really tragic thing to see,” said Councilmember Traci Park, who introduced the motion and represents District 11, which includes neighborhoods adjacent to the ocean. “I want to make sure that we have the essential resources that we are going to need when this happens again.” She added, “This motion gets at all of those questions so that when the next incident happens, we all have a clear understanding of what’s available to us. We’re going to continue to need additional resources and protocols and funding to help us protect the wildlife that depend on our ocean.”

Sadly, not many organizations are approved by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) yet. We need more helping hands to create a healthy, balanced and happy marine culture. 

Many networks are working to improve their marine security and rescue systems while other residents in various communities make efforts to save the earth’s slowly-dying marine life.You can help too! Doing the classic things to reduce climate change and plastic waste will make a huge difference. Let’s fight for our aquatic life all together!