Researchers
from the University of York in the United Kingdom have found that the
industrialization of fishing has exploited fish stocks and has
dramatically altered seabed ecosystems, with many marine species that
have since collapsed.
Species that have been heavily fished as
food items, such as halibut, turbot and plaice have fallen 94% in
numbers since 1889. Moreover, cod has declined 87%, with hake decreasing
by more than 95%.
The researchers note that fishing laws and quotas
have thus far been ineffective in replenishing fish populations. Study
co-author Ruth Thurstan commented, “I hope this allows people to realize
just how much the seas have been altered and how much has been lost.”
Meanwhile,
overfishing combined with global warming and pollution, has also
endangered other regions such as the Mediterranean Sea.
Philippe
Cousteau, son of French environmentalist and explorer Jean-Michel
Cousteau, is also CEO of the ocean education organization EarthEco
International.
He commented on the drastic change of the world’s
oceans since the time of his grandfather, legendary oceanographer and
conservationist Jacques-Yves Cousteau.
Philippe Cousteau (M):
The Mediterranean Ocean is a dead sea. Well, my grandfather was diving
40-50 years ago. You can go back and see those films and look at that
footage.
And you go back to the same places today and it’s changed
so much. And these places with coral and full of life, you go back and
it looks like desert under water.
Supreme Master TV : And what do you propose as a solution to all of this?
Philippe Cousteau (M): Cutting
back on meat is a very important one because of all the carbon waste,
all the animal waste that goes into the water supplies and pollutes the
water and the oceans.
Also thinking about cutting back on simple
things every day, like plastic bags, plastic bottles. Plastic is a very,
very terrible substance that is polluting our oceans and polluting
water everywhere and our land. We have a motto that says, “It’s not that
you can make a difference, it’s that everything you do makes a
difference.”
VOICE: Our thanks Mr. Cousteau and scientists for
raising our awareness about the plight of our depleted oceans. May we
all lend a hand in restoring the beauty and balance of our precious
water planet by respecting and granting peace to all life forms of the
sea.
At a March 2009 climate change conference in Xalapa City,
Mexico, Supreme Master Ching Hai urged for humankind’s care of all
co-inhabitants, including those that support the living oceans.
Supreme Master Ching Hai:
Every being on Earth and in the sea has value, no matter how small they
might look, and something unique to do on this planet. It is our
ignoring of this balance and the preciousness of all lives that has
contributed to our global danger right now.
The way to solve this problem is through greater consideration for all lives.
If
everyone is vegan, having an animal-free diet, then there is a
different outlook, different conception for development of all kinds.
In our case, it will proceed with compassion and care, which is what we need to restore the wonders of our marine life.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE64345420100504 http://planetark.org/wen/57861 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1272378/Extraordinary-decline-British-fish-stocks-drop-94-cent.html?ito=feeds-newsxml http://www.ssacn.org/ssacn-library/scientific-papers/changes-in-the-firth-of-clydehttp://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/12/mediterranean-degradation/