FlyWestair June 2020

Page 36

OCEANS OF

LIFE IN DISTRESS

O

ceans cover just over 70% of the earth, and the bounty of the sea has sustained humanity for thousands of years with an alternative source of protein, iodine, vitamins, minerals and omega-3 fatty acids. The oceans have also provided jobs to countless millions of people.

Vast as our oceans are, their resources are not inexhaustible. The insatiable hunger of the world’s booming population is one of the major causes of the over-exploitation of the oceans’ resources, while illegal fishing is another contributing factor. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has issued a sober warning, saying a third of the world’s assessed fisheries “… are currently pushed beyond their biological limit.” According to the FAO annual catches are in the order of about 80 million tonnes a year! This figure, however, could even be more than 30% higher because of illegal, under-reported and unregulated fishing, especially on the high seas where it is difficult to enforce regulations. The 23 most-caught species account for around 40% of global catches. Sadly about 10% of the total catch are by-catches and dumped overboard, while around 12% is processed into fishmeal and fish oil.

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There are currently more than 4.6 million fishing vessels plying the oceans – with 75% of the global fleet being from Asia. Especially the high-value species which are popular in restaurants in the United States, Japan and the European Union are being targeted by illegal fishing vessels, while lower value species considered as affordable sources of protein are also under threat of over-exploitation. About six million tonnes of tuna are caught every year. According to the FAO most tuna stocks are fully exploited and some are already over-exploited. Skipjack tuna, the most commonly caught species used for canning (it features prominently in sandwich fillings and salads), is not under threat. But catches of bluefin tuna, favoured in sushi in upmarket restaurants in the east, began plunging already from the 1950s to the point where it is now classified as critically endangered. About 100 million sharks are caught each year for their dorsal fins which are used in shark fin soup, a delicacy in China. The sharks are simply dumped (often while they are still alive) once the fin has been removed. Sharks are apex predators and a decrease in the shark population will have a profound effect on the entire marine ecosystem. But not only commercial species are under threat. Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles and seabirds, as well as marine


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FlyWestair June 2020 by Venture Media - Issuu