Climate Change And Overfishing Are Driving The World’s Oceans To The ‘Brink Of Collapse’

[David_42]

It is horrifying what is occurring to our oceans..
Climate Change And Overfishing Are Driving The World’s Oceans To The ‘Brink Of Collapse’

Within a single generation, human activity has severely damaged almost every aspect of our global oceans.

That’s the finding of a new World Wildlife Fund study, which revealed that marine populations have declined 49 percent between 1970 and 2012. The WWF’s Living Planet Index database, maintained and analysed by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), tracked 5,829 populations of 1,234 species ranging from sea birds to sharks to leatherback turtles to coral reefs. This dataset was almost twice as large as last year’s and focused on the effects climate change, habitat degradation, and over-fishing has taken on marine biodiversity.

“The picture is now clearer than ever: humanity is collectively mismanaging the ocean to the brink of collapse,” wrote Marco Lambertini, Director General of WWF International, in the report. Over-exploiting fisheries, damaging marine habitat, and global warming have all contributed to the degradation of the world’s oceans.

CREDIT: DYLAN PETROHILOS/THINKPROGRESS

Populations of the Scombridae family of fish, which includes tunas, mackerels and bonitos, have fallen by 74 percent due to overfishing. The study refers to this overfishing trend as the “race for fish:” Humans are fishing at a faster rate than species can reproduce. A growing world demand for fish — partly driven by fishing subsidiesestimated at up to $35 billion per year — is depleting many coastal fisheries and causing fishing fleets to look further into deeper waters. The declining stocks of bluefin and yellowfin are of particular concern, as populations of adult Pacific bluefin were estimated to be as low as 40,000 individuals last year.

Louise Heaps, Chief Adviser on Marine Policy at WWF-UK, said in the original press release that “by over-exploiting fisheries, degrading coastal habitats and not addressing global warming, we are sowing the seeds of ecological and economic catastrophe.”

Climate change is causing the ocean to change more rapidly than at any other point in millions of years, according to WWF. Rising temperatures and increased acidity levels caused by carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere further weaken ocean systems and degrade habitats, like coral reefs and mangroves.

The study predicted the possibility of losing all coral reefs by 2050 due to warming oceans and ocean acidification. This is not only a huge danger to a quarter of all marine species that live in coral reefs, but also to the communities that rely on reefs for economic and social benefits. WWF reported that 61 percent commercial fish stocks are fully-exploited.

Ken Norris, Director of Science at ZSL, said in the press release that “the ocean works hard in the background to keep us alive.” Our world’s oceans generate half of the world’s oxygen and absorb almost one-third of carbon dioxide produced from burning fossil fuels. Besides natural benefits, the ocean also feeds billions of people around the world. According to the report, fisheries and aquaculture assure the livelihoods of 10 to 12 percent of the global population.

 

[waltky]

Global Marine Food Chain Collapsing?...

New Study Suggests Global Marine Food Chain Collapse
October 12, 2015 — A new study is warning that the world’s fisheries and ocean ecosystems are threatened even more than previously thought by rising carbon dioxide levels, and the global marine food chain could collapse.

After reviewing data from 632 published experiments covering tropical to arctic waters, and a range of ecosystems including coral reefs, kelp forests and open oceans, two Australian professors conclude that very few species will escape the negative effects of increasing carbon dioxide. An exception is microorganisms, such as plankton and algae, which are expected to increase in number and diversity. They provide food for marine herbivores. But the food situation becomes more dire for the bigger carnivorous creatures that fisheries industries are based around. That will lead marine life to undergo “a species collapse from the top of the food chain down," according to associate professor Ivan Nagelkerken of the Southern Seas Ecology Labs at the University of Adelaide. Previous scientific studies have predicted the collapse of commercial fish stocks within the next thirty years.

A large piece of coral can be seen in the lagoon located on Lady Elliot Island and 80 kilometers north-east from the town of Bundaberg in Queensland, Australia​

Mass die-offs of marine animal species

“No species is able to sustain itself in an environment where there's not sufficient food. And these effects are only exacerbated as you go up the food chain,” Nagelkerken told VOA. Nagelkerken, along with fellow University of Adelaide marine ecologist Professor Sean Connell, were led to conclusions much worse than they anticipated when they first started studying the impact of ocean temperature warming and acidification. “We didn't expect to see such strong negative responses across so many species in terms of their diversity and abundances,” Nagelkerken said. Even if carbon dioxide emissions are stopped, oceans will still continue to warm and be acidified for quite some time. But there are things humans can do to mitigate the looming disaster, according to Nagelkerken. “If we reduce the amount of local stressors, such as pollution of the ocean, eutrophication (process where water bodies receive excess nutrients that stimulate excessive plant growth) and over-fishing, we can actually buy some time. So reduce the number of stressors on these species so they, at least, get some chance to potentially acclimate to global change,” he said.

Ocean acidification affects global climate

As the oceans warm, some species will swim to higher latitudes but the laggards will find their chances of survival greatly imperiled. The analysis also shows that warmer waters or increased acidification or both, harms habitat-forming species such as coral, oysters and mussels. Any slight change in the health of their habitats is forecast to have broad impact on a wide range of species living in the reefs. The study also predicts acidification will lead to ocean plankton making less dimethylsulfide gas (DMS). DMS helps increase cloud cover which regulates the Earth's temperature. So, less of the gas means fewer clouds and more warming. Results of the University of Adelaide study are being published Tuesday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

New Study Suggests Global Marine Food Chain Collapse

 

[waltky]

Overfishing in Senegal leaves industry in crisis...

Overfishing Leaves an Industry in Crisis in Senegal
June 07, 2017 — It was almost sunset as fishermen guided their boats back onto the beach at Joal, Senegal, after a long day at sea. At first glance, it looks as though they'd collected a good day's haul, but their nets were full of small sardinella, known locally as yaabooy.

Fisherman Mamdou Lamine had caught just one bucket of mackerel. He held one up next to a yaabooy to show how much bigger it was — and there are many more yaabooy than mackerel these days, he said. Furthermore, A local favorite, grouper, called thiof in Senegal, is getting harder to find. The U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization says more than half of West Africa's fisheries are dangerously depleted. Local officials in Senegal say it's the foreign-owned industrial boats that have depleted fish stocks and destroyed marine habitats. When fishermen at Joal set off on trips, they have to carry more fuel to reach waters farther away, and the added fuel costs cut into their earnings.

Longer trips, more fuel

Saff Sall was heading to Guinea-Bissau, about 200 kilometers south, in search of the elusive thiof. He said the fish are found among rocks, but that there are no more rocks because they have all been destroyed by the big industrial boats. That's why they have to go to Guinea-Bissau to search for fish. Before, Senegalese fishermen had to spend only a week at sea to have all the fish they needed, he said, but now they have to spend twice as long to catch what they need.

Overfishing in West African waters has depleted stocks of high-quality fish, such as a local grouper known as thiof in Senegal. Thiof is revered in the cuisine and culture. Joal, Senegal​

Under-regulated fishing by locals has also contributed to the problem, said Joal Fishing Wharf chief of operations El Hadji Faye. He said the government was making an effort, but the situation was very complicated. He said that in the Senegalese city of Saint Louis, for example, each neighborhood has a designated day it can fish. But in Joal, they do not do that yet. Every day, he said, all the fishermen go to sea. Sometimes when a lot of them go, they bring back a lot of fish and the price is not good.

Economic staple

Fish are the backbone of the town's economy. The day's catch is taken to the local smokehouse, turned into fish meal for export abroad or sold fresh at the market, where knife-wielding female vendors prep the fish for sale. Business is tough even for vendors with the rare large fish. Scarcity has driven up the prices. The price of thiof per kilogram has doubled in the past five years, local officials said. Fish vendor Rose Ndour said that maybe those in the industry would do other work — if there were better jobs available. The impact of overfishing is felt in households. The wife of the fishing wharf manager, Coumba Ndiaye, said that for the family's evening Ramadan meal, she had to make due with sardinella because she could not get an affordable thiof at the market.

No Good Fish in the Sea: Overfishing in Senegal​

She made thieboudienne, Senegal's national dish. Its name literally translates to "fish and rice." But for a good thieboudienne, you need good fish like dorade or thiof. The fish are a part of Senegal's culture. Ndiaye said that "when someone says your husband is 'thiofee,' they are comparing him to thiof. The thiof is beautiful and noble. The thiof is classy." The children sat on their parents' knees as the family ate around the large shared bowl of thieboudienne. The fishermen would return to the sea the next day to try their luck again.

Overfishing Leaves an Industry in Crisis in Senegal

 

[ding]

Isn't that two generations?

 

[fncceo]

Driving The World’s Oceans To The ‘Brink Of Collapse’

How does an ocean collapse? It can't really fall over.

 

[polarbear]

Driving The World’s Oceans To The ‘Brink Of Collapse’

How does an ocean collapse? It can't really fall over.

It will fall over and the brink is at the edge of the flat earth..no joke, all temperature readings are altitude "corrected" to yield a higher temperature as if the earth were indeed flat.

 

[Old Rocks]

Forecasting fisheries collapse

1. Steven D. Gaines1 and
2. Christopher Costello

When sustainably managed, wild harvests from the sea provide livelihoods and a vital source of protein for hundreds of millions of people (1, 2). If managed well, these benefits are perpetually renewable. However, numerous challenges can compromise the sustainability of this natural bounty. Ironically, a significant challenge arises because of the diversity of species caught in nearly all fisheries. Although healthy diverse ecosystems can provide resilience against some perturbations, fishing pressure in these ecosystems is almost always geared to the strongest, most economically valuable stocks. In the process of fishing, many other species are incidentally caught including both (i) species that nobody wants to catch but are costly to avoid, commonly called bycatch, and (ii) species with substantially lower economic value than targeted, highline stocks. Even when the target stock is perfectly managed, these incidentally caught stocks can collapse if their life history traits make them more susceptible to a given level of fishing effort than target species. Without regular monitoring and strong management of all species, these weak stocks may force the closure of otherwise highly profitable fisheries. One solution is to expand scientific assessments to all species affected by each fishery, but this is prohibitively expensive. Fish are expensive to monitor, and as a result, even the majority of target species are currently not adequately assessed worldwide (3). Solving the weak stock problem requires new innovation. In PNAS, Burgess et al. (4) offer a unique forecasting tool to innovatively address this global challenge.

Forecasting fisheries collapse

Collapse of the fisheries is hardly a joking matter to about 2 billion people that depend on those resources for their protean.

 

[fncceo]

about 2 billion people that depend on those resources for their protean.

Too bad for them ...

Isn't it spelled 'proteen'? Or is it 'protine'? Protyne?

 

[Old Rocks]

Very good, when you can afford it. Most in the world cannot.

 

[fncceo]

Very good, when you can afford it. Most in the world cannot.

Get jobs ...

 

[Old Rocks]

Dumb ass, most in the world would love to have a decent wage job. And even thought I am just an upper middle class wage earner, what I make is just a dream to most in the world. And you are really proving what an asshole your are with your flippant replies on very serious subjects.

 

[fncceo]

on very serious subjects.

Oh yes, you're so VERY serious. Any school girl can whine and cry about the problems of the world. Did you offer any solutions? Wa...wa... people eat too much fish. So, I suggest they eat meat. No... no... no... people can't afford it. So, I suggest, they work themselves up to where they can afford it ... Wa .. wa ... you're not serious enough.

When you get serious, and stop being a drama queen about how much you care about the world's problems to impress freshmen poly sci majors and actually start offering solutions ... they maybe people will take you seriously.

Here's a hint ... THIS is not being serious

 

[polarbear]

on very serious subjects.

Oh yes, you're so VERY serious. Any school girl can whine and cry about the problems of the world. Did you offer any solutions? Wa...wa... people eat too much fish. So, I suggest they eat meat. No... no... no... people can't afford it. So, I suggest, they work themselves up to where they can afford it ... Wa .. wa ... you're not serious enough.

When you get serious, and stop being a drama queen about how much you care about the world's problems to impress freshmen poly sci majors and actually start offering solutions ... they maybe people will take you seriously.

Here's a hint ... THIS is not being serious

The liberal excuses kind`a reminds me of that one :

 

[skookerasbil]

Oh Gawd...........nobody cares about this. Stuff resonated a wee bit with the public about 15 years ago, but not in 2017. Progressives cant help themselves with the hysterics. All this bomb throwing...........what has it gotten them? I said 10 years ago time for Plan B........but they just keep blowing their faces off with the stoopid.

 

[flacaltenn]

Forecasting fisheries collapse

1. Steven D. Gaines1 and
2. Christopher Costello

When sustainably managed, wild harvests from the sea provide livelihoods and a vital source of protein for hundreds of millions of people (1, 2). If managed well, these benefits are perpetually renewable. However, numerous challenges can compromise the sustainability of this natural bounty. Ironically, a significant challenge arises because of the diversity of species caught in nearly all fisheries. Although healthy diverse ecosystems can provide resilience against some perturbations, fishing pressure in these ecosystems is almost always geared to the strongest, most economically valuable stocks. In the process of fishing, many other species are incidentally caught including both (i) species that nobody wants to catch but are costly to avoid, commonly called bycatch, and (ii) species with substantially lower economic value than targeted, highline stocks. Even when the target stock is perfectly managed, these incidentally caught stocks can collapse if their life history traits make them more susceptible to a given level of fishing effort than target species. Without regular monitoring and strong management of all species, these weak stocks may force the closure of otherwise highly profitable fisheries. One solution is to expand scientific assessments to all species affected by each fishery, but this is prohibitively expensive. Fish are expensive to monitor, and as a result, even the majority of target species are currently not adequately assessed worldwide (3). Solving the weak stock problem requires new innovation. In PNAS, Burgess et al. (4) offer a unique forecasting tool to innovatively address this global challenge.

Forecasting fisheries collapse

Collapse of the fisheries is hardly a joking matter to about 2 billion people that depend on those resources for their protean.

When Cod reaches $11.99 a pound, most folks shift to Catfish and Talapia. Talapia wasn't even a household word 10 years ago. Now it's 25% of the fish counter at the grocery. Most of the "overfishing" crisis, which impacts markets is in Local Common fishing grounds. The kind of "local production" that is called sustainable and green.

Where the ONLY source of fish is what comes off the boats. And that is another "tragedy of the commons" story where everyone attempts to get max catch out of a limited resource. Many experiments have shown that if you auction off licenses and let individuals "stake out" fishing grounds, that they will PROTECT and ENHANCE their areas. Was done with crab and lobster in New England to really good results. And with grouper and rock fish at various other US locations.

 

[flacaltenn]

Community-Run Fisheries: | PERC – The Property and Environment Research Center

Resolving the Tragedy of the Commons by Creating Private Property Rights in Wildlife

 

[fncceo]

An easier solution ...