为什么我们必须保护海洋的“边缘地带”

为什么我们必须保护海洋的“边缘地带”

Most of us think of the ocean as what we see on the sunny surface. But beneath the shimmering waves, there's a deeper layer called the twilight zone.

我们大多数人认为海洋就像我们在阳光明媚的海面上看到的那样。但在波光粼粼的波浪之下，有一层更深层的东西叫做“朦胧地带”。

Referred to by scientists as the mesopelagic, this dimension is considered a "dark hole" in our understanding of ecosystems and one of the most understudied regions in the world.

这个维度被科学家称为中尺度，被认为是我们对生态系统理解中的一个“黑洞”，也是世界上研究最不充分的区域之一。

The twilight zone is so cold and dark that often the only light comes from bioluminescent life. (Photo: Margus Vilibas/Shutterstock)

Researchers estimate there may be up to 1 million undiscovered species in the zone. Oceanographers who want to study this life don't have much natural light to observe them. But if they use too much artificial light, they risk frightening them. So researchers are still trying to find the right balance.

研究人员估计，该地区可能有多达100万种未被发现的物种。想要研究这种生物的海洋学家没有太多的自然光来观察它们。但是如果他们使用过多的人造光，t它们就有被吓到的危险。因此，研究人员仍在努力寻找正确的平衡。

Creatures in the zone

区域内的生物

The twilight zone of the ocean is full of organisms such as bristle worms. (Photo: Silke Baron [CC BY 2.0]/Flickr)

Studies have suggested that the biomass or weight of fish in the twilight zone might be as much as 10 times greater than they had originally thought, which is more than in the rest of the entire ocean. It could, in fact, make up more than 90% of all fish in the sea, according to the Blue Marine Foundation.

研究表明，处于“边缘地带”的鱼类的生物量或重量可能比它们最初设想的要大10倍，比整个海洋的其他部分都要大。事实上，据蓝色海洋基金会(Blue Marine Foundation)说，海洋鱼类可能占到海洋鱼类总数的90%以上。

Not only are there so many of these fish, they have unusual appearances and behaviors.

这些鱼不仅数量众多，而且有着不同寻常的外表和行为。

The fishing question

钓鱼的问题

Some countries like Norway and Japan allow fishing in the twilight zone. (Photo: Iulianna Est/Shutterstock)

Because there are so many fish in the twilight zone, the fishing industry is naturally interested in this dark and mysterious layer.

因为有这么多的鱼在朦胧地带，渔业自然对这一黑暗而神秘的层感兴趣。

These open-water fisheries far from land are mostly without regulations. Researchers and environmentalists are concerned about the consequences of removing so many organisms from this little-understood layer.

这些远离陆地的开放水域渔业大多没有规章制度。研究人员和环保人士担心的是，将这么多生物从这个鲜为人知的层中清除出去会带来什么后果。

Fish in the twilight zone are key for the environment.

处于海洋边缘的鱼类是环境的关键。

Researchers know fish play an important role in the ocean's food web by carrying large amounts of carbon from water near the surface into deeper areas of the ocean. This helps prevent it from escaping into the air as greenhouse gases.

研究人员知道鱼类在海洋食物网中扮演着重要的角色，它们将大量的碳从海洋表面附近的水中带到海洋深处。这有助于防止它作为温室气体排放到空气中。

In addition, they are an important source of prey for marine mammals so when fisheries remove large quantities of twilight-zone fish, it can upset ocean biodiversity.

此外，它们是海洋哺乳动物的重要猎物来源，因此当渔场移走大量模糊地带的鱼类时，会破坏海洋生物多样性。

So the fishing and research communities are balancing the need to protect the ecosystem with the benefits of finding new sources of food to deal with world hunger issues.

因此，渔业和研究界正在平衡保护生态系统的需要和寻找新的食物来源以解决世界饥饿问题的好处。

A perspective article in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science looked at the various sides of the fishing argument in the twilight zone.

发表在《海洋科学前沿》(Frontiers in Marine Science)杂志上的一篇前瞻性文章，探讨了“边缘地带”渔业争论的各个方面。

They quote Andrew Mallison, director general of IFFO, the fish meal and fish oil producers and consumer's organization, who said:

他们援引鱼粉和鱼油生产商及消费者组织IFFO总干事安德鲁•马立森(Andrew Mallison)的话说:

"The industry is certainly in need of more raw material – demand exceeds supply and demand is forecasted to continue growing as global aquaculture (and feed) increases. However, these deeper water fish will be more costly to harvest, and there would have to be a good set of science based harvest control rules to satisfy any environmental or ecosystem impact concerns. If the science indicates a potential sustainable fishery with a reasonable yield, there are several IFFO member companies who could look at the economics of fishing effort and return."

“该行业当然需要更多的原材料——需求超过供给，预计随着全球水产养殖(和饲料)的增长，需求将继续增长。然而，这些深水鱼类的捕捞成本将更高，而且必须有一套良好的基于科学的捕捞控制规则，以满足任何环境或生态系统影响方面的担忧。如果科学表明潜在的可持续渔业具有合理的产量，那么IFFO的几家成员公司可以研究捕捞努力和回报的经济效益。”