Ocean ecosystems face significant stress from overfishing, acidification, and climate change. Researchers are advocating for marine rewilding as an approach to actively restore these environments, moving beyond solely creating protected areas.
A new paper outlines eight guiding principles for marine rewilding, adapting the concept from terrestrial ecosystems. Unlike terrestrial rewilding, which aims for minimal human intervention, marine rewilding acknowledges that people are integral to the process. Restoring food webs, potentially by reintroducing apex predators like sharks, is a critical component.
An example of this approach involves a project that shipped aquarium-raised Indo-Pacific leopard shark eggs to nurseries in Raja Ampat, Indonesia. Over 60 young sharks have been released into protected waters there, aiming to rebalance the coral reef ecosystem. Strengthening ecological connectivity between habitats is also a key principle of marine rewilding.
Source: Mongabay