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EnglandGeographyQuick questions
Component 2: Global Systems and Global Governance
Quick questions on Ocean threats and management - Eduqas A-Level Geography
4short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What are threats to the oceans?Show answer
The oceans are degraded by three overlapping pressures. Overfishing has driven many stocks below sustainable levels, with industrial fleets, improved technology and destructive methods (bottom trawling) and by-catch compounding the damage. Pollution takes several forms: an estimated 8 million tonnes of plastic enter the oceans each year, accumulating as microplastics and in great ocean gyres; oil spills cause acute local damage; and chemical and nutrient run-off (fertilisers, sewage) causes eutrophication and oxygen-starved dead zones. Climate change adds warming (stressing species and shifting ranges), ocean acidification (from absorbed carbon dioxide, harming corals and shellfish), sea-level rise and coral bleaching, linking the oceans directly to the carbon cycle.
What are management strategies?Show answer
Management operates at every scale. Marine protected areas can let depleted ecosystems recover and rebuild fish stocks, especially when fully enforced "no-take" zones. Fisheries quotas and regional bodies try to keep catches within sustainable limits. MARPOL and other conventions regulate pollution from ships, and national bans target single-use plastics.
What is q1?Show answer
Define the term by-catch. [2 marks]
What is q2?Show answer
Explain why marine protected areas are not always effective. [3 marks]
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