The Ocean as a System 
The processes of biological production and the 
physical/chemical factors are so intimately coupled 
that perturbations in either the biotic or abiotic sub- 
systems can significantly affect the ocean environ- 
ment and living ocean resources. One of the most 
dramatic examples of the linkages among the various 
components that make up the ocean environment 
is the sporadic occurrence of the El Nifio phenome- 
non. When currents of warm water of lower salinity 
move from the North Pacific along the west coast 
to South America displacing the normally cold, rich, 
upwelled water from the ocean depths, the produc- 
tivity of the ocean system is altered. In 1972, the El 
Nifio phenomenon, in combination with overfishing, 
had devastating effects on the anchoveta stock and 
reduced the catch significantly. The economic im- 
pacts of the failure of this fishery were felt through- 
out the world, Fish meal production, a major source 
of chicken and livestock feed, was curtailed, and 
meat prices increased significantly.2>* Secondary 
impacts were further felt in the soybean market as 
the demand for feed protein was transferred to the 
agricultural sector. 
Marine organisms can accumulate certain chemi- 
cals in amounts far exceeding their concentrations 
in seawater. Organisms may assimilate a chemical 
directly from seawater or by way of the food chain. 
Levels of bioaccumulation of certain chemicals tend 
to magnify in organisms at the higher trophic levels 
in the food web. Since we are at the highest trophic 
level, the potential exists for direct adverse impacts 
to human health in addition to the indirect effects 
we experience as a result of the continuous altera- 
tion of the ocean. 
Bioaccumulation, however, differs for each chemi- 
cal and each organism and can vary within a species 
from one habitat to another. The loss of one link in 
the food chain resulting from pollution toxicity can 
cause the collapse of an entire stock of fish that de- 
pends on a lost species as a source of food. 
Although environmental research has been exten- 
sive during the past decade, relatively little is known 
about the marine processes and functions of the 
ocean as an integral system. The marine ecosystem, 
however, is resilient. It can tolerate chronic levels 
of pollution for extended periods of time before 
cumulative harm results. Unfortunately, this resili- 
ency permits chronic pollution to continue for ex- 
tended periods of time without detection, and it may 
be decades before the environmental impact becomes 
*P. Hughes, “El Nino—Science Seeks to Fathom a Strange Cli- 
matic Problem.” NOAA Magazine January 1975. 
*J. Kolhonen. “Impact of El Nifio on World Fish Meal 
Trade,” unpublished manuscript. NOAA National Marine Fish- 
eries Service, Economic and Marketing Division, Washington, 
D.C., 1974. 
apparent. Significant damage may have already oc- 
curred, and effective future control of the pollutant 
might be extremely difficult or cause serious eco- 
nomic dislocations. On the other hand, acute doses 
of toxic material can interfere with life processes 
sufficiently to cause a catastrophic impact on the sys- 
tem as a whole. 
One of the underlying problems of dealing effec- 
tively with ocean protection is the lack of understand- 
ing of the natural environmental processes against 
which the effect of civilization must be measured. If 
the ocean is to be managed for “use in perpetuity,” 
more fundamental knowledge must be developed 
concerning the natural processes, currents, fluxes, 
transport phenomena, exchange rates, assimilation 
rates, species tolerance, and population behavior and 
dynamics. 
Similarly, the physical and chemical behavior and 
toxicity of the potential pollutants themselves must 
be evaluated. Finally, monitoring systems are re- 
quired to assess on a time-series basis the condition 
of the marine system and the levels of pollution and 
compare them with baseline information.* 
Warnings of pending disaster have been made by 
Cousteau, Heyerdahl, Piccard, and many other popu- 
lar lecturers.*»* Local accounts of environmental 
damage have added to the concern over the health 
of the ocean. In some instances the concerns have 
arisen because of the effect of long-term environ- 
mental insults, as in the New York Bight." In other 
cases, local concern is voiced over one-time, some- 
times spectacular, pollution events such as the 
breakup of the Amoco Cadiz. 
The limits to our use of the ocean may well be 
imposed by our ability to maintain the sea as a 
functioning system. The principles of “multiple use” 
and “‘sustained yield,” which have become the basic 
tenets of natural resource management of terrestrial 
ecosystems, must also be adopted as the guiding 
principles for management of marine ecosystems. 
Management of the ocean is predicated on three 
fundamental requirements: (1) adequate knowledge 
of the natural properties; (2) an understanding of the 
4National Academy of Sciences. Assessing Potential Ocean 
Pollutants. A report by the Study Panel on Assessing Potential 
Ocean Pollutants to the Ocean Affairs Board, Commission on 
Natural Resources, National Research Council. 
5 Jacques Cousteau. “The Perils and Potentials of a Watery 
Planet,” in Oceans: Our Continuing Frontier. H. Menard and 
J. Scheiber (eds.). San Diego, Calif., Publisher’s Inc., 1976. 
“Thor Heyerdahl. “How to Kill an Ocean,” in Oceans: Our 
Continuing Frontier. H. Menard and J, Scheiber (eds.). San 
Diego, Calif., Publisher's Inc., 1976. 
7U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA. Marine Environ- 
mental Protection—1976. Washington, D.C., Government Print- 
ing Office, 1977. 
8 Pollution Wrecking Inshore Fishery, New York Times, Sep- 
tember 8, 1977. 
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