為什么我們必須保護海洋的“邊緣地帶”

為什么我們必須保護海洋的“邊緣地帶”

Most of us think of the ocean as what we see on the sunny surface. But beneath the shimmering waves, there's a deeper layer called the twilight zone.

我們大多數(shù)人認為海洋就像我們在陽光明媚的海面上看到的那樣。但在波光粼粼的波浪之下，有一層更深層的東西叫做“朦朧地帶”。

Referred to by scientists as the mesopelagic, this dimension is considered a "dark hole" in our understanding of ecosystems and one of the most understudied regions in the world.

這個維度被科學家稱為中尺度，被認為是我們對生態(tài)系統(tǒng)理解中的一個“黑洞”，也是世界上研究最不充分的區(qū)域之一。

The twilight zone is so cold and dark that often the only light comes from bioluminescent life. (Photo: Margus Vilibas/Shutterstock)

Researchers estimate there may be up to 1 million undiscovered species in the zone. Oceanographers who want to study this life don't have much natural light to observe them. But if they use too much artificial light, they risk frightening them. So researchers are still trying to find the right balance.

研究人員估計，該地區(qū)可能有多達100萬種未被發(fā)現(xiàn)的物種。想要研究這種生物的海洋學家沒有太多的自然光來觀察它們。但是如果他們使用過多的人造光，t它們就有被嚇到的危險。因此，研究人員仍在努力尋找正確的平衡。

Creatures in the zone

區(qū)域內的生物

The twilight zone of the ocean is full of organisms such as bristle worms. (Photo: Silke Baron [CC BY 2.0]/Flickr)

Studies have suggested that the biomass or weight of fish in the twilight zone might be as much as 10 times greater than they had originally thought, which is more than in the rest of the entire ocean. It could, in fact, make up more than 90% of all fish in the sea, according to the Blue Marine Foundation.

研究表明，處于“邊緣地帶”的魚類的生物量或重量可能比它們最初設想的要大10倍，比整個海洋的其他部分都要大。事實上，據(jù)藍色海洋基金會(Blue Marine Foundation)說，海洋魚類可能占到海洋魚類總數(shù)的90%以上。

Not only are there so many of these fish, they have unusual appearances and behaviors.

這些魚不僅數(shù)量眾多，而且有著不同尋常的外表和行為。

The fishing question

釣魚的問題

Some countries like Norway and Japan allow fishing in the twilight zone. (Photo: Iulianna Est/Shutterstock)

Because there are so many fish in the twilight zone, the fishing industry is naturally interested in this dark and mysterious layer.

因為有這么多的魚在朦朧地帶，漁業(yè)自然對這一黑暗而神秘的層感興趣。

These open-water fisheries far from land are mostly without regulations. Researchers and environmentalists are concerned about the consequences of removing so many organisms from this little-understood layer.

這些遠離陸地的開放水域漁業(yè)大多沒有規(guī)章制度。研究人員和環(huán)保人士擔心的是，將這么多生物從這個鮮為人知的層中清除出去會帶來什么后果。

Fish in the twilight zone are key for the environment.

處于海洋邊緣的魚類是環(huán)境的關鍵。

Researchers know fish play an important role in the ocean's food web by carrying large amounts of carbon from water near the surface into deeper areas of the ocean. This helps prevent it from escaping into the air as greenhouse gases.

研究人員知道魚類在海洋食物網中扮演著重要的角色，它們將大量的碳從海洋表面附近的水中帶到海洋深處。這有助于防止它作為溫室氣體排放到空氣中。

In addition, they are an important source of prey for marine mammals so when fisheries remove large quantities of twilight-zone fish, it can upset ocean biodiversity.

此外，它們是海洋哺乳動物的重要獵物來源，因此當漁場移走大量模糊地帶的魚類時，會破壞海洋生物多樣性。

So the fishing and research communities are balancing the need to protect the ecosystem with the benefits of finding new sources of food to deal with world hunger issues.

因此，漁業(yè)和研究界正在平衡保護生態(tài)系統(tǒng)的需要和尋找新的食物來源以解決世界饑餓問題的好處。

A perspective article in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science looked at the various sides of the fishing argument in the twilight zone.

發(fā)表在《海洋科學前沿》(Frontiers in Marine Science)雜志上的一篇前瞻性文章，探討了“邊緣地帶”漁業(yè)爭論的各個方面。

They quote Andrew Mallison, director general of IFFO, the fish meal and fish oil producers and consumer's organization, who said:

他們援引魚粉和魚油生產商及消費者組織IFFO總干事安德魯•馬立森(Andrew Mallison)的話說:

"The industry is certainly in need of more raw material – demand exceeds supply and demand is forecasted to continue growing as global aquaculture (and feed) increases. However, these deeper water fish will be more costly to harvest, and there would have to be a good set of science based harvest control rules to satisfy any environmental or ecosystem impact concerns. If the science indicates a potential sustainable fishery with a reasonable yield, there are several IFFO member companies who could look at the economics of fishing effort and return."

“該行業(yè)當然需要更多的原材料——需求超過供給，預計隨著全球水產養(yǎng)殖(和飼料)的增長，需求將繼續(xù)增長。然而，這些深水魚類的捕撈成本將更高，而且必須有一套良好的基于科學的捕撈控制規(guī)則，以滿足任何環(huán)境或生態(tài)系統(tǒng)影響方面的擔憂。如果科學表明潛在的可持續(xù)漁業(yè)具有合理的產量，那么IFFO的幾家成員公司可以研究捕撈努力和回報的經濟效益。”