Report: Ocean debris will likely worsen

 

Birds and turtles are developing digestive problems as their stomachs fill with plastic they mistakenly believe is food. The endangered Hawaiian monk seal population is struggling as many of the mammals get entangled in improperly discarded fishing nets.

These examples underscore that efforts to prevent and reduce ocean debris are inadequate and the problem will likely worsen, according to a congressionally mandated report released Friday.

The report by the National Research Council recommends the U.S. take the lead in coordinating regional management of marine debris. It said international maritime regulations should be changed to ban the dumping of trash into the ocean.

The report focused on marine debris discharged at sea, though it noted some ocean debris is generated on land as well.

“Despite all regulations and limitations over the last 20 years, there are still large quantities of waste and litter in the oceans,” said Keith Criddle, chair of the committee that wrote the report and a University of Alaska professor.

The study recommended Congress designate a lead agency to address problems like derelict fishing gear, ship waste and abandoned vessels. International regulations also should be modified to prohibit the discharge of all garbage at sea.

Other findings in the report:

- Ports should have adequate facilities for accepting and managing vessel waste.

- Ships should have incentives to dispose of their waste in port.

- Marine debris responsibilities are spread across organizations, slowing progress.

- The national Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration should develop fishing gear making protocols to reduce gear loss and abandonment.

 

Vocabulary

 

ocean debris – океанический мусор

endangered Hawaiian monk – на грани уничтожения Гавайский тюлень-монах

underscore – подчеркнуть, сделать ударение

designate – назначать, определять

discharge garbage – сброс мусора

fishing gear – рыболовные снасти

 

Read the text and answer the following questions:

1. Why do animals have digestive problems?

2. What is the report focused on?

3. What does the report recommend?

Fishery products

 

The primary mode of processing fishery products is now freezing, which has increased in importance over the years and is used for 23% of fishery production. Fresh products account for 20% of global production followed by curing and canning at 15% and 12%. Curing implies preservation practices like drying, smoking and salting, which like canning, avoid the need for refrigeration. The remaining 30% of fishery production is used industrially, mainly in the form of fish meal and is not directly eaten by people.

Among the majority of fishery products (those used directly as food), there is a wide range in the portion of the product that is consumed. Larger fishes range from 25% to 75% edible portion of the total weight. In other word’s fishes with big heads and fins like rockfish might yield fillets that weigh only one fourth the weight of the live fishes but meatier fishes like salmon yield up to three quarters edible weight. Of course, small fishes like anchovies and sardines are eaten whole, either dried or canned. Among shellfish, shrimp have about 50% edible portion while oysters may have only about 7%. Seaweed products are usually 100% edible.

There are over 200 taxonomic families of animals and plants that yield fishery products. These organisms include algae, fin fish, crustaceans, mollusks, mammals and others. In most cases, it is the muscle tissue of an animal that is eaten, cooked or uncooked, but there are as many variations for eating fishes and shell fishes as one can imagine. Often we consume fishery products without realizing it, unless we read labels very carefully. Substances extracted from seaweeds occur in a wide range of food and nonfood products.

Among sea urchins, sturgeon, herring and other fishes, the eggs (caviar) or gonads can be important products. This brings us to the three “s” words in fishery products: sushi, sashimi and surimi. Sushi refers to a rice preparation that is sticky and slightly sweet (sour) over which various fishery products, usually raw, are placed. Sea urchin roe, raw squid, fish roe, boiled octopus, raw shrimp and raw pieces of fish of many kinds (frequently salmon) are served with sushi rice in sushi bars. Often the sushi preparations are wrapped with a type of seaweed called nori. Sushi bars are now popular in the USA and many countries around the world including Russia.

Sashimi refers to fish or other sea food that is thinly sliced and eaten raw. Eating sashimi is a long-held dietary practice in Asia and is gaining popularity in the United States. The prime fish for sashimi is either tuna or salmon, but many types of fishes and shall fishes are used. The sea is usually dipped in soy sauce and wasabi, a green Japanese horse radish paste. The consumption of uncooked fishes raises the issue of parasites that might infect humans and lead to health problems. Carefully prepared sea food sashimi is generally safe to eat. While sushi and sashimi are becoming much more familiar to western nations as tastes in food are broadening, the big news that is changing the global marketing of fishery products in recent years is surimi.

Surimi is a processed fish product pioneered by the Japanese. The surimi process utilizes relatively inexpensive marine fishes with white flesh like Alaska pollock. The making of surimi is essentially a high-technology industrial process that results in a minced and gelled fish protein product that can be modified by the addition of flavorings and textures into countless consumer products. The surimi revolution in fishery products has only begun. Many of these products are analogues of other seafood, such as crab. Surimi can be processed at sea, stored by freezing for long periods and yields products of high and predictable quality for different markets around the world.

 

Vocabulary

fishery products - продукты рыболовства

to cure - обрабатывать

to imply – заключать в себе, значить,

rock fish – морской ерш, морской окунь

anchovy – анчоус

salmon – лосось

herring - сельдь

crustaceans - ракообразные

to yield – добывать, приносить, давать урожай

shrimp – креветка

shellfish – ракообразные, моллюски

seaweed=algae – водоросли

tuna - тунец

sturgeon – осетр

pollock – сайда, минтай

drying – вяление

canning - консервирование

curing – копчение, вяление

muscle tissue – мышечная ткань

fish roe – икра рыб

horse radish - хрен

 

Read the text and answer the following questions:

 

1. How are the fishery products processed?

2. What organisms included into taxonomic families that yield fishery products?

3. What does sushi refer to? How is it served?

4. What does sashimi refer to? How is it served?

5. What is surimi?

6. What are your favorite fish products?

 

Lexis exercises 1. Read the text and fill in the gaps with the right word environment, species, scientists, plan, shore, water, layers, catches, source, habitat, waste, shell, territory, impact, nets, heritage. The unique ecology of Baikal includes more than 1000 types of flora and 1550 types of fauna, including endemic ________ like omul and the Baikal seal. But most importantly of all, it owes its crystal clear _______ to another of its unique species – the epishura. These tiny crayfish constantly filter the water’s upper _______, enriching it with oxygen, and making it an ideal ______ for other species. But experts have noted that the crayfish are showing increasing signs of degradation – their gills are effected, and their _______ is becoming thinner. If they become extinct, the lake will die with them. Half a century ago, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev backed a monstrous idea to build a pulp-and-paper plant on the _______ of the unique lake. The authors of the project saw Baikal as a _______ of clean water, which is required for the production of superstrong cord pulp, urgently needed for the nation’s developing space program. Since than, _________ have always insisted that Baikal can only be saved if the plan is shut down. While the producers of pulp are polluting the lake with industrial ______, poachers are pursuing their own business. Unauthorized _______ of omul have grown by 10 percent in the past year, surpassing 400 tons. Trying to cover up their illegal activities, poachers are throwing _______ with rotting fish into the lake. Unlicensed builders are not sitting idly – dachas, houses, and huge villas are mushrooming on Baikal’s shores. Monitoring of Lake Baikal’s natural ________ (386000 squire kilometer) is carried out by seven agencies who study 30 different components of its ________ and threats. This complicated system has to be streamlined. To redress the situation, they have drafted a _______ for improving state-sponsored monitoring of the lake and its natural habitat. The ultimate goal is to reveal the condition of the environment and the _______ of negative factors upon it. Russia is not alone in worrying about Lake Baikal. Since it was declared a UNESCO world _______ site it has also been monitored by international agencies. But UNESCO also has a black list of endangered sites. It would be good to avoid it. 2. Read the text and fill in the gaps with the right word conservation, traps,birds, island, wild,dish An international bird ________ group reports that more than 1 million migratory birds were illegally trapped and killed in Cyprus during the past year to be served up as local delicacies. Birdlife Cyprus says the ________ were indiscriminately killed in nets or on sticks dipped in sticky lime. Songbirds are a popular _______ on the Mediterranean _______, which lies on a key migratory route. Diners often pay up to $7 per fried or grilled bird at restaurants that ignore Cyprus’s ban on killing and selling of _______ birds. Birdlife says birds are often lured into the nets and ______ by songbird recording, and suffer a lingering and painful death. 3. Read the text and fill in the gaps with the right word population, waters, biologists, fish,behavior, research, development Increasing algal blooms, or red tides, in California’s coastal _______ are responsible for more frequent epileptic seizures and behavioral abnormalities being observed in the region’s sea lion _______, according to marine ________. Toxins created by the phytoplankton blooms are eaten by _______, which are then often consumed by pregnant sea lions. The toxins alter seal fetal _______, and result in birth defects that cause the seizures and odd _______ later in life, according to NOAA’s Center for Environmental Health and Biomolecular _______. 4. Complete the text with the right form of words Global earthquakes Antarctic researchers have tracked down of _________ mystery tremors that were first detected by seismographs _______ deploy on the ______ continent in 2005 – sudden advances of ice _______ rivers spilling into the ocean. These daily earthquakes glacier _______ register magnitudes of up to 7. Other researchers regular Say such seismic signals from glacial ________ have been move increasing worldwide due to a ________ climate. Warm 5. Complete the text with the right form of words Day-Glow fish Ichthyologists appear to have been blind for decades to a ichthyology fluorescent crimson glow that _______ comes from many nature fish at ______ where the sun’s red light cannot penetrate. deep The fish experts had long believed that the _______ water creatures ________ could not even see the color red, because probable the sea filters out that wavelength of light at depth _______ great than 10 metres. But ________ at the University of Tubingen research in Germany ________ saw fish glowing red when they used a accident filter to block out the _______ green and blue light waves, bright leaving only red ones. Nico Michiels and his team _____ at least find 32 species of reef fish, glowing in _______ hues of ruby, rust, vary Crimson and cherry. They say the _________ can only be seen fluorescent at short distances, and believe it may be used for _________ communicate possibly for mating or to signal danger. 6. Read the text and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only one word in each gap (prepositions and auxiliary verbs) Listening for whales A new underwater acoustic system positioned around Boston Harbour is expected to help prevent collisions ______ North Atlantic right whales and the passing ships that often kill the marine mammals. Worldwide, only _____ 400 of the species are believed to have survived centuries ____ hunting and ship collisions. Once the sound of a whale ____ been detected _____ the busy shipping lanes around Cape Cod, nearby vessels will be asked _____ sail no faster _____ 10 knots. The network ____ marine microphones and the accompanying monitoring system will cost about 1 million each year _____ the next 25 years, according to the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. “It is definitely an expensive tactic”, said sanctuary marine biologist Leila Hatch. “But, the shipping industry ____ accepted it.” Translation practice from Russian into English I. Translate the following word combinations Приготовление сурими можно разнообразить добавлением ароматических веществ и биологических тканей; протеиновый рыбный продукт в виде фарша; дорогая рыба с белым мясом; для сасими используют главным образом тунец или лосось; резать рыбу тонкими ломтиками и есть в сыром виде; рыбу погружают в соевый соус или в зеленую пасту из хрена; родоначальниками сурими были японцы; потребление неприготовленной рыбы; рисовые клейкие и слегка подслащенные шарики; помещать сырую рыбу, кальмара, осьминога на рисовые шарики; заворачивать суши в водоросли; приобретать популярность во всем мире; маленькие рыбы едят целиком. II. Translate the following sentences 1.Традиционно рыбу замораживают, коптят, солят, валят и консервируют.2.Потребление свежей рыбы составляет 20%. 3.Японцы предпочитают употреблять сырую рыбу, также как и местное население прибрежных государств. 4.Японские бары и рестораны все чаще появляются в разных странах мира. 5.Говоря об изменениях в употреблении рыбы и ракообразных мы в первую очередь имеем ввиду суши и сасими.6.Суши -это клейкая и слегка подслащенная рисовая масса или шарик, на которую помещаются сырые кусочки рыбы, креветок, кальмара, осьминога или икра. Иногда суши заворачивают в водоросль. 7.Сасими – это морепродукт, который нарезан тонкими ломтиками и подается в сыром виде. Морепродукт погружают в соевый соус или зеленую пасту из хрена. Чаще всего для сасими используют лосось или тунец, но и многие другие виды рыб и ракообразных можно использовать в этом случае. 8.Считают, что сасими довольно опасен для употребления, т.к. увеличивается выделение паразитов. Поэтому необходимо готовить продукт тщательно.