Use and Abuse of Oceans
Activity : Cut out each section and stick it in your notebook. Give it a heading and
identify the main idea in each paragraph.
The cradle of all life on Earth—the world’s oceans—are rapidly approaching the point of
losing its capacity to regulate the Earth’s climate and provide us with food, oxygen, and
habitat. Species extinction rates are now as high as a thousand times the natural rate, and
the world is nearing a “tipping point” where the loss could be irreversible.
The globe’s oceans, representing 99 percent of the living space on Earth and covering nearly
70 percent of our planet, are increasingly plundered, polluted, and pumped up with carbon
dioxide as a result of human activity.
Overfishing
Due to overfishing, 19 percent of all fish stocks are now overexploited, 8 percent are
depleted, 52 fully exploited, while only 1 percent show signs of recovery. Overexploitation is
resulting in substantial economic loss to fishing industries and communities.
“Overfishing would lead to the collapse of fish stocks, which would have two impacts: millions
of coastal inhabitants who depend on fisheries for their income would be driven back into
poverty. Marine fish and invertebrates are among the last sources of wild food on the planet,
providing over 2.6 billion people with at least 10 percent of their average per capita protein
intake,”
Due to overfishing, catches are seeing fewer and fewer large-bodied predatory fish, and more
species lower on the food chain—a phenomenon, known as “fishing down marine food
web”—such as jellyfish. Furthermore, overexploitation has put 20 species on the International
Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List as threatened with extinction.
“Sharks and bluefin tuna are under global threat. Coral reefs are under dangerous threat from
destructive practices and from climate change,” adds Ainsworth. “Accidental” and wasteful
catch of other marine species, such as fish, whales, dolphins, and turtles, is also a waste of the
ocean’s precious resources.
“Another vicious practice is the exploitation of marine resources of poor countries in Africa
and Asia, which have relatively better-preserved fish populations, but are unable to fish them.
Rich Western countries buy fish at ridiculously low prices, where there are no clearly defined
quotas for ‘sustainable catch,’”
As the fishing business continues as usual, commercial fisheries may collapse by 2050. Ninety
percent of big fish such as tuna and swordfish are already gone, having been fished out in
only 60 years. “Empty seas mean empty future, for the hundreds of millions who rely on fish
for food and the 170 million people whose jobs depend directly or indirectly on the fishing
sector,”
Pollution
Not only overfishing, but also pollution is a grave threat to our oceans, says
Rey.
“Pollution from oil by ships, tanker accidents, or oil rigs threatens our oceans, as we
saw with the disaster caused by BP in the Gulf of Mexico. Sewage, run-off, accidents, sea
dumping, mining, agricultural waste, and pesticides also make their way into our oceans and
harm them.”
Rey explains that when toxic material or other pollutants are consumed by
fish, which are then eaten by humans, the results could be food poisoning or longer-term
health effects such as developmental problems in babies and heart disease in adults.
Synthetic and organic toxins that reach the ocean may enter the food chain and lead to
incurable illnesses in people, and, according to recent studies, these kinds of chemical
pollutants may affect hormone levels, fertility, and brain capacity.
Acidification is Corroding Ocean Fauna
Oceans absorb much more carbon dioxide than land. Globally, every second 1,000 tons of
CO2 are emitted, of which 300 tons are absorbed by oceans. With the increasing of the
concentration of CO2, the acidification rate of the ocean changes. “While oceans become
more acidic, the ability of the sea water to dissolve calcium carbonate increases—which is the
constructive element of all seashell organisms and the skeleton of tropical and coldwater
coral reefs. Upon reaching a critical point, these animals will die,” says Berov.
The Ocean Helps Us, Why Won’t We Help It Back?
“The bad thing is that while ocean animals help us, we do not return the same,” says
Evtimova, reflecting on the plight of global oceans. But she is optimistic that each one of us
can do something to help. “We have a rule at home: if an electric device is turned on,
another must be turned off. We can car pool, use the subway, or bicycle to go to work. We
just need to think how to be useful to nature.” Evtimova reminds us of an ancient Native
American proverb: “We do not inherit the Earth from our parents, we borrow it from our
children.”