West Coast Publishing Ocean 2014 affirmative page

Marine Reserves Aff Description

The distinction between Marine Reserves and Marine Protected Areas is the key to understanding the specifics of the affirmative. Marine Protected Areas, as a general category, are merely places where some activity is restricted. A subset of MPAs, however, called Marine Reserves, prevent all human activity. This is important in distinguishing the affirmative's specific solvency cards, as well as distinguishing between the weak, ad hoc MPA policy of the status quo, and what the affirmative replaces it with. The weak MPAs that are the basis of the inherency story are so bad that, in California for example, “MPAs” allow all manner of exploitation within them (such as fracking) and only cut off fishing. The two 1AC advantages are biodiversity and overfishing, both of which are specifically solved by a reserves approach rather than a mere MPA approach.

The plan specifies: (1) reserves rather than mere MPAs, (2) a network approach--designed with the assumption that the USFG will coordinate the reserves interrelationship (even if they are developed by states), and (3) a 30% target of covered coastal area over the next decade. There are several solvency extensions specific to this particular approach at the beginning of the file. Understanding that evidence, whether debaters read it or not in the actual debate, will help you understand why generic MPA negative evidence mostly doesn’t apply to this affirmative—and why the smattering of MPA affirmative evidence in the file actually does apply to this affirmative.
The main strength of the aff, in addition to the on-point solvency evidence, is the biodiversity advantage, which subsumes the impacts of climate change and probably outweighs everything—an impact that puts the affirmative ahead on time frame, magnitude, and specificity of solvency. Vulnerabilities include anthropocentrism and deep ecology kritiks, and “development” topicality, so debaters should get their stories straight on why conservation, as a management function, is part of resource development (or, from a critical perspective, why such a definition should change).

Marine Reserves 1AC

Observation One: Inherency

1. Reserves are too limited geographically in the status quo

Yael Calhoun, Environmental Series Editor and author, 2009

Environmental Issues: Wildlife Protection, p. 76

Marine reserves in the U.S. are limited to a thinly scattered set of research and recreational sites, such as the Big Creek Marine Resources Protection Act Ecological Reserve, in California, or the Brackett's Landing Shoreline Sanctuary Conservation Area, in Washington. Larger reserves occur in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, where the Western Sambo Ecological Research Reserve is about 12 square miles (31 km) of seagrass, coral, and reef. The newly designated Tortugas Ecological Reserve weighs in at 200 square miles (518 km) and is the largest in the U.S. Although a comprehensive list of U.S. marine reserves does not yet exist, a review of the literature and current Websites turns up only about two dozen fully protected marine reserves.

2. Fake MPAs filling the gap in comprehensive standards, allowing fracking and exploitation

Dan Batcher, staffwriter, Bay Area Indimedia, April 16, 2014

"Phil Isenberg on Board of Betchel Foundation-Funded PPIC," Indybay.org, http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/04/16/18754246.php (accessed 4/28/2014)

The Marine Life Protection Act Initiative, funded by the Resources Legacy Fund Foundation, created a network of questionable "marine protected areas" that fail to protect the ocean from fracking, oil drilling, pollution, corporate aquaculture, military testing and and all human impacts other than fishing and gathering. From 2004 through 2006, Isenberg chaired the MLPA Initiative Blue Ribbon Task Force for the Central Coast, the first "study region" where the alleged "marine protected areas" were imposed. The Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force chaired by Isenberg from 2007 to 2008 cleared the path for the construction of the peripheral tunnels under the current Bay Delta Conservation Plan and the water bond/water policy legislation of 2009. The peripheral tunnels promoted by Isenberg will hasten the extinction of Sacramento River Chinook salmon, Central Valley steelhead,Delta smelt, longfin smelt, green sturgeon and other fish species, as well as imperil steelhead and salmon on the Trinity and Klamath rivers.

The Plan: The United States Federal Government should implement a managerial model of networked marine reserves with a goal of 30 percent protection of U.S. waters by 2025.

Marine Reserves 1AC

Observation Two: Solvency

1. A network-based reserve management model produces lasting abundance, diversity and productivity of marine organisms

Elliot A. Norse, Marine Conservation Biology Institute, 2012

"Marine Reserves: The Best Option for our Oceans?" Ecology and the Environment, http://palumbi.stanford.edu/manuscripts/marine%20reserves%20the%20best%20option%20for%20our%20oceans.pdf (accessed 4/30/2014)

Clearly, prevailing management hasn't worked. In 1999, therefore, the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) began a study to advance the theory of marine reserve design and to synthesize data on the performance of existing reserves (Lubchenco et al. 2003). The participating scientists concluded that reserves trigger lasting, often rapid increases in abundance, diversity, and productivity of marine organisms, and that reserve size matters. However, even small reserves have positive effects, reserve networks achieve benefits greater than isolated reserves, and full protection is necessary to achieve these benefits. Furthermore, in the few studies that examined effects outside reserves, size and abundance of exploited species increased, thanks in part to larval spillover. The NCEAS working group concluded that existing scientific information justifies immediate application of marine reserves as a central management tool. Superimposed on findings by the National Research Council panel on MPAs (Houde 2001), the NCEAS study provided a compelling case for establishing marine reserve networks.

2. We must act now. A consensus of evidence demonstrates marine reserves solve biodiversity and overfishing

Kumi Naidoo, Greenpeace International Executive Director, July 2010

"Emergency Oceans Rescue Plan: Implementing the Marine Reserves Roadmap to Recovery," Greenpeace.org, http://www.greenpeace.org/international/PageFiles/163940/Emergency%20Oceans%20Rescue%20Plan%20FINAL%20LR.pdf (accessed 4/28/2014)

Our oceans are in crisis. Hardly a week goes by without another major study linking the loss of marine biodiversity with human activity. Scientists repeatedly warn that many ocean ecosystems are fast approaching tipping points whereby they will be changed for ever. There is a growing realisation that the wholesale degradation of our seas and oceans is likely to have a profound impact on us all as vital services provided by ocean ecosystems are disrupted, threatening food security and the very survival of millions of people. However, there is hope. Evidence garnered from all around the globe shows that the creation of marine reserves – areas of ocean set aside as off-limits to fishing, fossil fuel extraction and other industrial activities – can protect and restore ocean ecosystems. Furthermore, by creating networks of marine reserves and implementing sustainable management in the surrounding waters, not only can we conserve marine species and habitats but also ensure fish for the future. Unfortunately time is not on our side. A sense of urgency needs to be instilled in our politicians and decision-makers.

Marine Reserves 1AC

3. International areas can't be restricted; we must massively increase domestic protected areas to solve overfishing

Tom Levitt, environmental reporter for CNN, the Earth Island Journal, Ecologist, Financial Times, March 27, 2013

"Overfished and under-protected: Oceans on the brink of catastrophic collapse," CNN World, http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/22/world/oceans-overfishing-climate-change/ (accessed 5/3/2014)

The problem is that most of the world's ocean is located outside of international law and legal control. Any attempts to implement rules and regulation come with the problem of enforcement, says Rogers, who is also scientific director of the International Program on State of the Ocean (IPSO). Marine conservationists estimate that at least 30% of the oceans need to be covered by marine protected areas, where fishing and the newly emerging deep-sea mining of valuable minerals on the seabed, is banned or restricted.

4. Fishers support MPAs because they solve depletion

Science Net Links, 2014

"Marine Reserves," AAAS Science Net Links, http://sciencenetlinks.com/science-news/science-updates/marine-reserves/ (accessed 4/29/2014)

In 1872, Yellowstone became the first of many national parks in the U.S. Now, many scientists are calling for more -- not just on land, but in the sea. They want to establish marine reserves, areas where natural resources can't be removed. You might think fishermen would object to these restrictions. But Robert Warner, a marine ecologist at the University of California in Santa Barbara, says marine reserves have benefits beyond their borders. He and his colleagues have found that these reserves contain twice as many fish and twenty percent more species of fish than other areas. Warner: The average size of organisms has increased as well, almost 30 percent. Now that doesn't sound very much that, maybe you have a 10 cm animal, now you have a 13. But, the number of babies that individuals can have as they get bigger goes up in an exponential fashion with length. Those babies stock the reserve and nearby fishing areas, both preserving fish species and rebuilding depleted fisheries. Warner: Fishermen have come around. They have become advocates for establishing reserves, and here's why. It's simply because fisheries yields have increased and fisher's yields have become much more sustainable. That is, they've been dependably there from one year to the next. So it's a win-win situation.

Marine Reserves 1AC

Advantage One: Biodiversity

1. Ocean biodiversity is rapidly decreasing now

Yu Sun, Chief Writer for Women's International Perspective, April 22, 2014

"Deteriorating Ocean Health Threatens Food Security," The WIP, http://thewip.net/2014/04/22/deteriorating-ocean-health-threatens-food-security/ (accessed 5/3/2014)

Rising concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases are increasing sea water temperatures and pushing many fish stocks to higher latitudes, which also threatens food security in tropical regions. The ocean has already absorbed up to 30% of excessive CO2 emissions over the past 200 years, causing ocean more acidic and posing severe threat to ocean biodiversity.

2. Biodiversity loss threatens irreversible extinction

Jennifer Welsh, Science Editor at Business Insider, and Randy Astaiza, researcher and staffwriter at Business Insider, December 21, 2012

"14 Ways The World Could REALLY Come To An End," Business Insider Australia, http://www.businessinsider.com.au/how-the-world-could-end-2012-12#as-biodiversity-drops-whole-ecosystems-could-go-with-them-as-ecosystems-collapse-there-will-be-major-fallout-for-humanity-9 (accessed 4/30/2014)

The ongoing massive loss of biodiversity -- as species die off as humans destroy their natural environments and as climate changes with on going global warming and environmental changes -- could become a real problem. A United Nations report in July indicated that the world's ecosystems 'are being pushed towards their biophysical limits' and that sudden, irreversible and potentially catastrophic changes are looming as biodiversity plummets. The press release on the report states: If humanity does not urgently change its ways, several critical thresholds may be exceeded, beyond which abrupt and generally irreversible changes to the life-support functions of the planet could occur. Scientists have even named this event: The Holocene extinction event. And it's happening quicker than any other extinction event in Earth's history. Even us humans, in our ivory tower of consciousness, depend on the world around us for food and oxygen, so an ecosystem collapse could have a very negative impact on the human race, as well as the rest of the planet.

Marine Reserves 1AC

3. Reserves repopulate and restore diversity

Waitt Foundation, 2014

"Marine Protected Areas: A Vital Tool for Conservation," Waitt Foundation, http://waittfoundation.org/marine-protected-areas (accessed 4/30/2014)

Research shows that protected ocean areas not only harbor more fish, they harbor older and bigger fish that can produce up to 200 times as many offspring as younger ones. More importantly, these safe havens have a spillover effect as abundant marine life begins to repopulate depleted species that migrate out to places beyond the borders of the reserve. These reserves provide a healthier habitat and more diverse life than unprotected areas. These healthy, intact ecosystems will become even more important as the ocean is stressed by global warming and ocean acidification. In a scientific survey of more than 100 marine reserves worldwide by the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO), scientists found: - 446% average increase in biomass of animals and plants - 166% average increase in number of plants or animals - 1,000% increase in biomass and populations density of heavily fished species - 28% average increase in body size of animals - 21% average increase in species density.

Advantage Two: Overfishing

1. The ocean-based food supply is on the brink of collapse

Yu Sun, Chief Writer for Women's International Perspective, April 22, 2014

"Deteriorating Ocean Health Threatens Food Security," The WIP, http://thewip.net/2014/04/22/deteriorating-ocean-health-threatens-food-security/ (accessed 5/3/2014)

We must protect our ocean or risk significant impact on global food security, stated the Global Ocean Commission, an independent international panel of global leaders championing ocean health and high seas governance recently in Hong Kong. “Healthy high seas are fundamental to overall ocean productivity and resilience, yet we are pushing the ocean system to the point of collapse and putting long-term food security at risk. If we want future food security, we need to act now to restore a healthy ocean,” said Trevor Manuel, co-chair of the Global Ocean Commission.

Marine Reserves 1AC

B. Overfishing depletes all fish stocks beyond replacement rate

U. Thara Srinivasan, scientist at the Pacific Ecoinformatics and Computational Ecology Lab, Berkeley, William W.L. Cheung, lecturer in marine ecosystem services at the University of East Anglia, Reg Watson, senior research fellow at the University of British Columbia Fisheries Centre, and U. Rashid Sumaila, associate professor and director of the Fisheries Centre and the Fisheries Economics Research Unit at the University of British Columbia Fisheries Centre, September 2010

"Overfishing Trends and the Global Food Crisis," Pew Environmental Group Ocean Science Series, http://www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/News/Press_Releases/Protecting_ocean_life/Pew%20OSS%20Food%20Security%20FINAL.pdf (accessed 5/2/2014)

Advances in the fishing industry—such as more efficient boats or gear—have made it possible for increasing numbers of fish to be caught. Although this larger catch could initially feed more people, increase the share of seafood in people’s diets around the world and generate more revenue, additional fishing effort can lead in time to diminishing returns and an overall decrease in catch as fish stocks are fished beyond their natural replacement rate (i.e., overfished populations are caught beyond their maximum sustainable yield (MSY), an estimate of the largest number of fish that can be removed without affecting their replacement rate).

C. Empirically overfishing deprived 20 million people of food in the year 2000, and made food 75% less available for vulnerable countries

U. Thara Srinivasan, scientist at the Pacific Ecoinformatics and Computational Ecology Lab, Berkeley, William W.L. Cheung, lecturer in marine ecosystem services at the University of East Anglia, Reg Watson, senior research fellow at the University of British Columbia Fisheries Centre, and U. Rashid Sumaila, associate professor and director of the Fisheries Centre and the Fisheries Economics Research Unit at the University of British Columbia Fisheries Centre, September 2010

"Overfishing Trends and the Global Food Crisis," Pew Environmental Group Ocean Science Series, http://www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/News/Press_Releases/Protecting_ocean_life/Pew%20OSS%20Food%20Security%20FINAL.pdf (accessed 5/2/2014)

If the waters of countries with undernourishment levels greater than 5 percent had not been overfished, the additional fish catch in 2000 could have fed 20 million people, many of them in the world’s poorest nations. With better management, the authors found catches in the low-income, food-deficit countries might have been 75 percent greater on average.

Marine Reserves 1AC

4. Loss of seafood deprives 500 million people of food

Yu Sun, Chief Writer for Women's International Perspective, April 22, 2014

"Deteriorating Ocean Health Threatens Food Security," The WIP, http://thewip.net/2014/04/22/deteriorating-ocean-health-threatens-food-security/ (accessed 5/3/2014)

The high seas, covering more than 45% of the planet’s surface outside national jurisdiction, are suffering from over-exploitation and ineffective management. According to the Global Ocean Commission, almost 90% of all marine fisheries are either over-exploited or fully exploited, and some important commercial fish stocks are close to collapse. The loss of fish resources would deprive about 500 million people of their primary protein source.

5. Reserves solve overfishing and create abundant spillover, saving fish

David Shiffman, Senior Correspondent for Southern Fried Science, January 20, 2011

"Can marine protected areas save the oceans? Under certain circumstances, maybe," Southern Fried Science, http://www.southernfriedscience.com/?p=8999

From a pure conservation standpoint at least, you can’t argue with the results. A meta-analysis of 124 restricted-fishing (to various degrees) MPAs in 29 countries found that while the magnitude of each change varied a great deal, in nearly every case the area inside the MPA had more animals, larger animals, and more species of animals than the area immediately adjacent to the MPA. Encouragingly, these effects can occur within a few years, and they appear to last as long as the MPA exists. Even a small MPA can make a big difference.