Dead in the water - February 25, 2008
Okay, it isn’t really ‘stop-the-presses’ news that global warming, pollution and over-harvesting are threatening the worlds’ fish stocks. But a UN report out last Friday (In Dead Water, pdf) hammers home some statistics on the dangers, and has some good graphics highlighting some of our oceans’ bigger problems.
The report’s key findings include:
• Over 90 % of the world’s temperate and tropical coasts will be heavily impacted by 2050.
• Currently there are an estimated 200 temporary or permanent ‘dead zones’ - areas of de-oxygenated water. That’s up from around 150 in 2003.
• Up to 80 % of the world’s primary fish catch species are exploited beyond or close to their harvesting capacity.
• Alien invasive species are increasingly associated with the polluted, overharvested and damaged fishing grounds. The concentration of ‘aliens’ unsurprisingly relates to the world’s major shipping routes (see pic).
This caught the attention of many (AP), including the Jamaican Gleaner, which is worried about hot times ahead. The Africa Science News Service flags an interesting shark tagging project in the wake of the report.
The report comes from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), as the result of a forum in Monaco last week. This was “the largest gathering of environment ministers since the climate convention conference in Bali, Indonesia just over two months ago” (press release). The fisheries report scooped the majority of press from the meeting, but other topics were up for discussion too, including mercury and waste management and sustainable development of the Arctic (Earth negotiations bulletin).
Also hitting the media’s attention was the creation of a ‘carbon neutral forum’ called CN Net from the Monaco meeting (AFP). What exactly members of this forum pledge to do (other than ‘aiming to reduce emissions’) is unclear – from their website it seems to be more a “network of idea sharing” than a ‘network of binding-promise making’, but anyone can join, from countries to cities or companies.