by Alexander Mildener

NYSMEA student member and 16-year-old student at the World Journalism Prepatory School in Flushing, NY

   The younger Cousteau has continued his grandfather's legacy, dedicated to ocean exploration, education, and conservation of marine ecosystems throughout the world. He is currently working to restore New York Harbor's waters. He plans to do this through his "Plant a Fish" Foundation. He came up with this idea during a middle of the night brainstorm. He had heard about "Plant a Tree", and it occurred to him that the concept could be applied to the Ocean.

    Cousteau stated "Let's not just think about green, let's think about blue."

As a result, Cousteau and his foundation have been planting oysters in New York Harbor. Oysters are filter feeders and as a result, extract toxins from the water, purifying the harbor. In one of the presentations during the Eco Fest event, biologist Randi Ray said, "New York Harbor once sustained the largest oyster population in the world, but the population is now severely damaged due to overharvesting and shipping that occurred in the 19th and early 20th centuries."

The importance of cleaning up NY Harbor has been recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency. Polluted waters lead to a higher concentration of nitrogen levels, increasing algae bloom. This in turn, ultimately causes a tremendous crash in the algal biomass (biomass is the total mass of all species in a given area) which depletes the oxygen during decomposition, causing fish kills.

According to The Long Island Sound Study website, "Low-oxygen waters are linked to an increase in nutrients such as nitrogen in a process called eutrophication, in which high nutrient concentrations stimulate blooms of algae. In New York and Connecticut, major sources of nitrogen include sewage from wastewater treatment plants and septic systems, atmospheric deposition from power plants and vehicles, and fertilizer runoff. In an effort to reduce nitrogen levels, the states, with the cooperation of EPA, have embarked on a plan to reduce nitrogen levels by 58.5 percent by 2017."  The process of eutrophication has had an impact on a variety of fish populations.

Cousteau said, "Our world fish bank account has shrunk by almost 60%."

The BP oil spill in Louisiana in 2010, is another example of what polluted waters can do fish populations. According to the Times Picayune, the economy of Louisiana was greatly impacted by the spill because the fish became too dangerous to eat. As a result the economy of Louisiana suffered. People lost their jobs. However, the situation has since improved.

When our oceans are polluted, public health is also threatened. According to Cousteau there are specific garbage patches, patches made up of human pollution such as plastic bags, bottle caps, and cans around the oceans. Various animal species may incidentally feed on the garbage or absorb dangerous chemicals that may leach out of man-made products. People eat animals that inhabit areas around the garbage patches. When humans ingest animals that contain industrial toxins, such as PCB'S, (Polychlorinated biphenyl), this leads to an increase in human diseases."As a result, we eat our own garbage" said Cousteau. "What we put in our ocean ends up in our plates."

The marine ecosystem is very fragile and a variety of endangered species are threatened. The health of the marine ecosystem depends largely on phytoplankton. According to Cousteau, phytoplankton is responsible for 70% of the world's oxygen. We are limiting our own sources of oxygen. Carbon dioxide in the presence of water turns into carbonic acid, which destroys the cell structure of the phytoplankton. We are producing an excessive amount of carbon dioxide that is slowly increasing the acidification of our oceans.

"Without phytoplankton the entire marine ecosystem collapses. Without phytoplankton, oysters starve and therefore cannot remove toxins from the water. As a result seafood becomes too dangerous to eat which causes businesses, restaurants and the entire economy to suffer" says Cousteau.

Phytoplankton supports krill populations, which serve as food for a wide variety of animals; from the small Blue Fairy Penguin to the great Blue Whale.  Cousteau explains that Earth  is the equivalent of a circulatory system. If part of the planet is damaged than everything suffers as a result.  The health of the marine ecosystem has a strong connection to the well being of people."One world, one people. Sharing the same circulatory system is one of the things that make us a unique and small family" says Cousteau.

"There are multiple ways that are very simple for students to get involved in 'Plant a Fish.'  You could volunteer or intern or travel with us. We've got the ear of the powers that be in NY State. Start something in your high school or university that relates to protecting the marine ecosystem" said Cousteau.

Cousteau believes that the answer to restoration lies in grassroots movements. He believes that everyone should band together in a common vision and be "part of the solution."

There were several other events in addition to Fabien Cousteau's presentation. Professor Tom Greene, Board Member of the New York State Marine Education Association (NYSMEA), gave a lecture on oysters.  The room was packed. Several dozen people hovered just outside the classroom to listen to the lecture. The lecture was extremely informative. Former students of Kingsborough discussed the niche of oysters in the marine ecosystem, their classification, and why oysters are currently threatened in NY. Both former and current students of Kingsborough presented their research data on pH, temperature and salinity in Jamaica Bay. This is extremely important because small changes in these parameters have an enormous effect on fish and marine invertebrates.

 Environmental organizations present at the Eco-Fest included NYSMEA, the Wildlife Conservation Society, NY Aquarium Gowanus Canal Conservancy, Museum of Natural History, Greenbelt Native Plant Center, NY Sea Grant, NYC Dept of Parks and Rec- Natural Areas Volunteers, NYC Dept of Parks and Rec- Urban Park Rangers, Gateway National Recreation Area, Wild Metro and Shark Angels/Pew Charitable Trust. NYSMEA member Jamie Pollack, from Shark Angels, is currently working on making shark fin soup illegal.  "It's a Chinese tradition to eat shark-fin soup. They've been doing it for generations. I say it's time for them to stop, due to the fact that sharks are threatened and vulnerable species.

Also present was NYC Audubon Citizens Unite! They have been collecting data by measuring horseshoe crabs on Plumb Beach in Brooklyn. According to NYC Audubon, citizen scientists can help with monitoring and conducting population inventories on horseshoe crabs, other species of concern along our shorelines. They play an important role in the food chain for wildlife in the area. In order to find out more information and to volunteer go to http://nycaudubon.org/jamaica-bay-project.

The Eco-fest was highly educational. People can learn so much through the presentations and experiences that the speakers have to offer. It truly inspires people to protect and cherish the marine environment.