Ocean Optimism: Is there really hope for the oceans? Bryce Stewart, Department of Environment and Geography
Event details
Merchant Adventurers' Science Discovery Lecture
Public awareness of our oceans and the threats they face has probably never been as high as it is today. Blue Planet 2 kept us spellbound by bringing the wonders of deep into people’s homes like never before, but then brought us back down to Earth by highlighting the dangers of overfishing, plastic pollution and climate change. News headlines regularly warn about how we will run out of fish by mid-century, if ocean warming doesn’t cook them, or ocean acidification doesn’t dissolve them, first. While these threats are real, if sometimes exaggerated, there seems to be much less focus on how to tackle them. In this talk, I will present stories from both my own research and experiences about how scientists, conservationists and coastal communities are slowly turning the tide. The ocean belongs to all of us, so we all have a role to play in helping to ensure it has a sustainable future.
Photo credit: Howard Wood
Bryce Stewart
Bryce is a marine ecologist and fisheries biologist whose work has ranged across temperate and tropical seas. He gained a BSc(Hons) (Zoology) from the University of Melbourne, and a PhD (Marine Biology) from James Cook University, before moving to the UK in 1999. The central goal of his research has been to better understand the factors regulating marine populations and communities, so as to ensure their conservation and sustainable utilisation. Since 2016 he has been particularly involved with assessing the potential effects of EU-Exit on UK fisheries and the marine environment, working with a wide range of stakeholders and advisers.