SOS For Fading Ocean Life

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Creating
“national parks of the sea” may be the only effective way to reverse
trends that have left 76 percent of world fish stocks fully- or
over-exploited and marine biodiversity at severe risk, according to the
new report, Oceans in Peril: Protecting Marine Biodiversity, released today by the Worldwatch Institute.

Marine
reserves are essential to protect the biodiversity that maintains
ecosystem integrity, say the report’s authors, Michelle Allsopp,
Richard Page, Paul Johnston, and David Santillo. The four environmental
experts call for a radical change in fisheries management, from a
single-species approach to one that is ecosystem based and also
includes the use of precautionary measures to tackle pollution and to
reduce carbon dioxide emissions that are changing the temperature and
chemistry of the oceans.

“The oceans cannot save themselves,”
says Christopher Flavin, president of the Worldwatch Institute.
“Collective commitments to thriving ecosystems are needed to save
overfished species from being systematically depleted from compromised
habitats.”

Major reasons for the depletion of fish stocks
include overfishing, the use of bottom trawling and other destructive
fishing techniques, unsustainable aquaculture, and illegal,
unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing.

• Bottom trawling
  has been likened to forest clearcutting. As fishers drag heavy nets and
  other gear across the sea floor, this causes massive collateral damage
  to corals and other features that offer protection and habitat for many
  creatures.
• Bycatch is a growing problem,
  killing or injuring hundreds of thousands of seabirds, turtles, marine
  mammals, and other marine species annually. In some cases, industrial
  fishers discard nearly half their dead or dying catch back into the sea.
• While fish farming
  adds to the world’s fish supply, in some intensive aquaculture systems
  the weight of fishmeal inputs is greater than the weight of farmed fish
  produced. Producing some carnivorous fish, like salmon, requires
  amounts of fishmeal between 2.5 and 5 times the amount of fish
  produced. For tuna raised on ranches, the weight of wild fish used is
  about 20 times the weight of tuna produced.
• IUU fishing
  accounts for up to 20 percent of the global catch and is worth $4–9
  billion a year. As industrial countries see their own fish stocks fall
  and impose stricter controls, fishers often move to developing-country
  waters where effective control is absent—jeopardizing the livelihoods
  of fishing communities.

Human-induced climate change is
predicted to increase sea-surface temperature, raise sea levels, and
reduce sea-ice cover. Polar regions may already be suffering from
climate change. In one sector of the Southern Ocean, krill densities
fell by an estimated 80 percent between 1976 and 2003, correlating with
losses in the extent and duration of sea ice the previous winter and
leaving penguins, albatrosses, seals, and whales especially vulnerable.
In parts of the Arctic, the impacts of climate change on sea ice and
snowfall may be affecting the breeding success of ivory gulls, ringed
seals, and polar bears.

Pollution from chemical, radioactive, and
nutrient sources; oil spills; and marine debris can contaminate the
marine environment, kill organisms, and undermine ecosystem integrity.
Of particular concern is the effect on marine wildlife of persistent
organic pollutants (POPs), especially those chemicals not yet regulated
under the 2001 Stockholm Convention, such as brominated flame
retardants. Marine debris, including plastics and derelict fishing
gear, is responsible for causing death and injury to many marine
species, among them seabirds, turtles, and marine mammals. Large
oxygen-depleted “dead zones,” made worse by excessive nitrogen runoff
from fertilizers, sewage discharges, and other sources, are further
signs that the oceans are under severe stress.

A well-designed
global network of marine reserves, covering key ecosystems and
habitats, could help reverse the devastating toll human actions are
taking on the world’s oceans, note the authors. Marine reserves are a
proven method for restoring fish populations:

• At the
  Soufriere Marine Management Area in St. Lucia in the Caribbean, three
  years of protection tripled the biomass of commercial fish species
  within the closed reserves. After five years, in areas outside the
  reserves, biomass doubled and average catches per trip increased 46 to
  90 percent depending on the size of trap used.
• Marine reserves
  established in the Red Sea in 1995 increased the catch per unit of
  effort in surrounding areas by more than 60 percent after five years of
  protection.

There is currently no mechanism under
existing international agreements to create a global marine reserve
network encompassing the high seas—areas beyond national jurisdiction.
The authors suggest a new implementation agreement under the United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to establish and
manage such reserves. They call for an integrated, precautionary, and
ecosystem-based approach to the conservation and sustainable management
of the marine environment in the high seas.

The authors also
recommend moving negotiations on fish and fish products out of the
World Trade Organization and into other multilateral fora where
commercial and trade interests do not dominate. They call for an end to
“sweetheart” agreements that allow industrial countries to fish
liberally in developing-country waters: in the case of tuna fishing in
the Pacific, the economic return from access fees and licenses paid by
foreign fleets is at most 5 percent of the $2 billion the fish is
worth. Fairer deals would allow coastal states to manage resources more
sustainably and ensure continued livelihoods for communities.

A
holistic, ecosystem-based approach, where demands on marine resources
are managed within the limits of what the ecosystem can provide, is
needed to protect marine biodiversity. “Current presumptions that favor
freedom to fish and freedom of the seas will need to be replaced with
the new concept of freedom for the seas,” notes the report.

Now, more than ever, we need to do something. The solution is simple. We don't need to write more laws or write long letters. All we need to do is eat fewer fish. Now,l as I said before, I am not telling people to boycott fish or give it up all together. What I am asking for people to do is to cut down on their consumption. Eat it twice a week and when you do eat fish, eat the sustainable kind. It's not hard, Just check out the Marine Stewardship Council's website, www.msc.org. Click on the where to buy section and you will be provided a list of all grocery stores in your country that carry the seafood with their logo on it. It's really, that easy!!!