Solving the Oceanic Conundrum
Posted: 05 Dec 2015 17:24
Sticking with the marine theme that grew out of Hope’s earlier ‘Full Moon’ post and a reply which described and discussed the influence of the moon on tidal activity, I thought that it might of value to remind us all of how precious the sea is to our survival, especially in light of the UN Climate Change Conference ongoing in Paris until 11th of December 2015 and parallel reports of dense smog in Beijing with hazardous air pollution levels for several days
The ocean produces over half of the oxygen that we and the animal kingdom breathe and represents a potent force against climate change, absorbing fifty per cent of all the carbon dioxide generated on earth. In terms of underpinning the survival of human kind, more than 1 billion people across the world rely on seafood as their main source of protein, while the livelihoods of 200 million people depend on fishing.
As it stands, only 3 per cent of the ocean is protected, yet as the global population grows the need for greater protection becomes ever more vital.
Approximately 90 per cent of world fish stocks are either classified as completely depleted, fully exploited, overexploited or in recovery from earlier exploitation. Overfishing of course looms large as the cause of a major food security issue and undoubtedly has a devastating impact on what is a fragile biodiversity of our planet. The truth is we simply cannot continue going blindly down this path.
We have a duty to protect the oceans from irreparable harm; our governments should be in a unique position to do this if previous commitments are honoured.
Take the UK as a prime example, with 14 overseas territories it is responsible for the fifth largest area of ocean in the world at 6.8 million square kilometres (2.6 million square miles), that is almost 30 times the land mass of the UK itself.
If the promised protected status is delivered, then this would help the environmental regeneration of a greater expanse of ocean than any other country in the world. What are termed as marine reserves offer the opportunity to increase the amount of fish in a given area by 3 to 5 times in a minimal period of 7 years!
The ocean produces over half of the oxygen that we and the animal kingdom breathe and represents a potent force against climate change, absorbing fifty per cent of all the carbon dioxide generated on earth. In terms of underpinning the survival of human kind, more than 1 billion people across the world rely on seafood as their main source of protein, while the livelihoods of 200 million people depend on fishing.
As it stands, only 3 per cent of the ocean is protected, yet as the global population grows the need for greater protection becomes ever more vital.
Approximately 90 per cent of world fish stocks are either classified as completely depleted, fully exploited, overexploited or in recovery from earlier exploitation. Overfishing of course looms large as the cause of a major food security issue and undoubtedly has a devastating impact on what is a fragile biodiversity of our planet. The truth is we simply cannot continue going blindly down this path.
We have a duty to protect the oceans from irreparable harm; our governments should be in a unique position to do this if previous commitments are honoured.
Take the UK as a prime example, with 14 overseas territories it is responsible for the fifth largest area of ocean in the world at 6.8 million square kilometres (2.6 million square miles), that is almost 30 times the land mass of the UK itself.
If the promised protected status is delivered, then this would help the environmental regeneration of a greater expanse of ocean than any other country in the world. What are termed as marine reserves offer the opportunity to increase the amount of fish in a given area by 3 to 5 times in a minimal period of 7 years!