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Emilee Ruiz

Dr. Guenzel

ENC 1102

26 April 2021

The Pandemic That Changed the Oceans

Introduction

Humans live on a planet that they can only inhabit 29 percent of. Our world is majority

ocean, yet we choose to ignore the many issues we create for our water. Over the past decades,

humans have destroyed and depleted this planet’s oceans. From the decaying Great Barrier reef

to the mass killings of whales, humans neglect the impact they have on our marine life and

environment. Considering that we know very little about our oceans, there is no way to tell the

future of our environment with the destruction we are creating. COVID-19 has forced humans to

unknowingly aid Earth’s oceans and body of water by forcing the world into lockdown. This

gave the rest of Earth a chance to breathe without the usual motion of humans. The beginning of

quarantine allowed dolphins to finally return to Italian rivers and the great barrier reef was able

to somewhat heal itself in little ways. Earth was able to heal itself slowly with the aid of COVID-

19 showing that the pandemic did impact almost every aspect of life on Earth but not all-in bad

ways. However, quarantine could only last for so long. This paper will show and discuss the

major changes of the ocean by looking into plastic pollution, illegal fisheries, greenhouse gas

emissions, and dropping in tourism and how even a disease effects primarily humans can have a

major impact of the health of our marine environments and ecosystems.

Greenhouse Gases

A major topic involving Earth’s condition has been climate change which involves the

increase in release of greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases are gases that trap the sun’s energy

which traps heat into Earth’s atmosphere. The over production of greenhouse gases has a huge

effect on our oceans and the life inside. According to the United States Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA), climate change causes rising ocean temperatures, rising sea levels, acidic waters,

and more. The ocean releases carbon dioxide as an attempt to balance out the greenhouse gases

in the air. The more greenhouse gases, the higher the production of carbon dioxide from the

ocean. This release of carbon dioxide causes ocean waters to become more acidic. “Increased

acidity makes it more difficult for certain organisms, such as corals and shellfish, to build their

protective skeletons or shells” (EPA). This ultimately leads to death or slow decay of these

creatures because the acid eats away at the shells and bones of things like oysters, and without

shells the animals become defenseless awaiting death. With the trapped heat from the sun, ocean

temperatures are going to increase. Increased temperatures lead to many things, but one well

known example would be the death of the Great Barrier Reef. Warmer waters means that a

process on coral starts to occur called bleaching. This causes corals to lose color and slowly

begin to decay. This is extremely important because the death of coral reefs is the death of entire

habitats, leaving many fish without shelter or protection from predators. Another common side

effect to warmer waters is the rise in “toxins produced by algae blooms” which can “stress or kill

fish by clogging their gills or reducing oxygen levels in the waters” (Climate Central).

Covid-19 created a new lifestyle for humans that stopped a lot of their day-to-day

activity. This led to less of a need to drive or less production of oil or even less gases produced
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from factories. “Sizeable reductions in fossil fuel consumption are already resulting in

measurable reductions in greenhouse gas emissions which benefit the ocean by slowing the

impacts of climate change” (Hudson). According to the New York Times, emission of

greenhouse gases fell 10% “reaching their lowest levels in at least three decades.” This started a

slow healing of certain aspects in the ocean. This drop in emission led to cooler water. In

Kahaluu Bay, Hawaii, 35 baby corals were counted which is a very big increase in new coral

after many died during a bleaching event in 2019 (Morimoto). Even though there have not been

any major positive effects for the Great Barrier Reef, surveyors noted that in July of 2020 the

mortality rate of coral reefs had been minimal compared to recent years (Reef Ecologic). The

cooler waters and the lessened emissions of CO2 have allowed the annual coral bleaching

process to subside or lessen in strength. The lessened emissions have allowed fish to have a

bigger oxygen intake and live-in a less acidic waters. The lessened acidity has allowed fish to

grow and an increase in certain fish populations have been noted. This could be from the

decrease of dangerous algae that clog the gills of certain fish. With COVID-19 helping to

indirectly decrease the emission of greenhouse gases, with the temporary closing of factories and

less car travel, the ocean has been able to feel the relief of lessened CO2.

Trash Pollution

Trash pollution has always been a major issue facing the ocean. A research boat was

taken out to sea in 2014, and an observation was noted that “80% of floating marine debris was

expanded polystyrene (commonly known as Styrofoam), plastic bags, and plastic fragments”

(Moore). Keep in mind that this was before the pandemic and during the pandemic, the

percentage of that plastic debris definitely increased. With more people forced to live indoors,
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many streets became clear of trash and pollution. However, with more people inside, many

restaurants became delivery and pick up only. This meant that there would be an influx in plastic

bags, takeout boxes of all different sizes, and plastic silverware, all things know as one time use

plastic. Not only was there an increase in plastic boxes and items for takeout, with the economy

lowering, plastic became the go to for food containers in grocery stores. Plastic is more

affordable so production of plastic bottles and boxes and cans for produce had a large influx

leading to “30 percent more waste than 2019” (Ford). With this increase, it was inevitable for

this new increase in trash to make its way to the ocean. This happens because plastic is so light

weight that no matter where it is, the wind will carry it, and this leads to the plastic ending up in

the ocean. Plastic pollution is not the only trash ending up in the oceans. Masks and glove

production has skyrocketed with mandated rules to wear masks in public areas. A lot of these

masks are disposable masks that end up in the ocean. The main problem with these masks ending

up in the ocean is that they look quite similar to jelly fish which is a common food for a lot of sea

turtles. Plastic can be seen as food for many marine mammals since plastic breaks down in the

ocean into microplastics that resemble food (Crawford). With trash pollution rising, it could lead

to major marine deaths and possible new side effects we have yet to see.

Human Activity

Once COVID-19 was labeled a pandemic and the whole world went on lockdown, a lot

of people couldn’t go anywhere. Mandatory lockdowns put an end to tourism, fishing, shipping,

and more. It was almost like the world had stopped. This gave the ocean a chance to breathe,

with the beaches closed and boats off the water, and this allowed the ocean to begin a healing

process. A study done in India set out to determine the quality of the water and the fish living
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there during lockdown. Oxygen levels rose significantly which had an effect on the fish by

allowing them to grow denser and bigger. This could be because there are less people in the

water and the area which allows the oxygen to go towards the ocean rather than people

surrounding the ocean. Another significant finding was that the concentration of plastics in the

waters had significantly decreased because people were not crowding the beaches and littering

the sand and water. The researchers concluded by stating “the scaling down of adverse man-

made factors in numbers and intensity leads to environmental health” (Edward).

An amazing change occurred during quarantine in Italy. With the complete shutdown of

almost everything, there was no traffic on the canals in Venice, Italy. The constant tourism and

boats on the water caused major pollution to the canals; however, pictures emerged during the

pandemic of clean, clear water in Venice. The water

being clean was not the only significant change, the

rivers became home to a few dolphins. Clean water and

dolphins are something that Italy has not seen in a very

long time (Wray). The picture shows the Italian canals

and the major change during quarantine (Torgler).

A big change that came with the lockdown was the

large shutdown of fishing. With fish and shipping

companies being unable to come up with safe and healthy procedures, a lot of the boats went

unusable. “Fishing activity had decreased drastically… as much as 80 percent” of a decrease

(Carr). This naturally led to low to no boat traffic on the water. This is a big deal because if the

only motion on waters comes from the planet itself, ocean floors are able to settle, and fish are

able to occupy more space without worry of a boat engine killing them. With the lack of boats on
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the water, noise pollution decreased. Marine Madness puts it best in their blog by stating “Loud

persistent noises created by sonar, engines and fishing gear can confuse animals and cause a

range of problems, including – loss of hearing, increase in strandings, decompression sickness,

breakdown in communication and collisions with ships” (Greatorex). With the decrease of these

ships during lockdown and new health safety guidelines, marine animals have the ability to

recover from the constant sound and maybe regain hearing. The quarantine and smaller capacity

limits proved to show major effects on the ocean and marine life.

Analysis/ Conclusion

The information proves that the pandemic had a major effect on the waters and marine

life from many factors. The effects were a mix of positive and negative things that could be seen

as an equal balance. A major patter that could easily be seen would be that a majority of the

positive impacts were towards the time of the mandatory lock down stage. This is because of

human activity being almost completely limited to their homes. This helped the stop boat traffic

and tourist traffic along with direct littering. However, the pattern then shows that when

lockdown was no longer mandatory, all of the problems that occurred before the lockdown came

back but worse. For example, plastic pollution in the ocean is at an all-time high. This goes to

show just how impactful humans are on the ocean and it takes a pandemic and a mandatory

lockdown worldwide to allow our oceans a chance to breathe and attempt to heal. The first step

to take action is bringing attention to how big of an impact people have on the ocean. Once

people understand how dangerous conditions can be, the next major step would be reducing the

production of plastic. This is just one of many different ways to help our ocean, but it is by far

the easiest and very effective ways. Our ocean is dying. The majority of our planet is dying and
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without our oceans, devastating situations would arise that could lead to the collapse of every

other ecosystem and environment on Earth.

Works Cited

Carr, Sarah. " The COVID-19 pandemic, Part 2: Perspectives on the future of coastal and
marine tourism and its implications for coastal and marine ecosystems”
meam.openchannels.org, 27 July 2020, https://meam.openchannels.org/news/skimmer-
marine-ecosystems-and-management/covid-19-pandemic-part-2-perspectives-future-
coastal
Climate Central. “In Hot Water: Warming Waters Are Stressing Fish and the Fishing Industry.”
Climate Central, 26 June 2019, www.climatecentral.org/news/in-hot-water-warming-
waters-are-stressing-fish-and-the-fishing-industry-2019#:~:text=Warmer%20waters
%20impact%20fish%20in,vulnerable%20to%20parasites%20and%20diseases.
Crawford, Tiffany. “COVID-19: Ocean Wise Report Looks at Pandemic Impact on Marine
Life.” Vancouversun, Vancouver Sun, 29 July 2020, vancouversun.com/news/covid-19-
ocean-wise-report-looks-at-pandemic-impact-on-marine-life.
Edward, J. K.Patterson, et al. “COVID-19 Lockdown Improved the Health of Coastal
Environment and Enhanced the Population of Reef-Fish.” Marine Pollution Bulletin, Jan.
2021. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112124.
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%20trap%20more,climate%20patterns%20around%20the%20world.
Ford, Dave. "COVID-19 Has Worsened the Ocean Plastic Pollution Problem."
scientificamerican.com, 17 Aug 2020, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/covid-
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Greatorex, Rebecca. “The Potential Benefits of COVID-19 on Marine Wildlife.” Marine
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benefits-of-covid-19-on-marine-wildlife/.
Hudson, Andrew. “The Ocean and COVID-19.” UNDP, 28 Jun 2020.
https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/blog/2020/the-ocean-and-covid-19.html
Moore, Charles. “Rapidly Increasing Plastic Pollution from Aquaculture Threatens Marine
Life.” Tulane Environmental Law Journal, vol. 27, no. 2, July 2014, pp. 205–
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Morimoto, Tianna. “A Time for Healing: Hawaii's Coral Reefs Rebound during COVID-19.”
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Reef Ecologic. “Coral Shows Strong Recovery across the Great Barrier Reef.” Reef Ecologic, 11
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Torgler, Benno. “Sink or Swim: The COVID-19 Impact on Environmental Health, Fish Levels,
and Illicit Maritime Activity”. Nature Research. 22 April 2020.
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environmental-health-fish-levels-and-illicit-maritime-activity.
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Wray, Meaghan. “Dolphins Return to Italy's Coast amid Coronavirus Lockdown: 'Nature Just Hit
the Reset Button'.” Global News, Global News, 23 Mar. 2020,
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