Oceans in Peril

WORLDWATCH REPORT 174 Oceans in Peril Protecting Marine Biodiversity michelle allsopp, richard page, paul johnston, and david santillo WORLDWATCH REPORT 174 Oceans in Peril Protecting Marine Biodiversity michelle allsopp, richard page, paul johnston, and david santillo Greenpeace Research Laboratories, University of Exeter, UK lisa mastny, editor worldwatch institute, washington, dc © Worldwatch Institute, 2007 Published: September 2007 ISBN: 978-1-878071-81-1 Library of Congress Control Number: 2007935003 Printed on paper that is 50 percent recycled, 30 percent post-consumer waste, process chlorine free. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the Worldwatch Institute; of its directors, officers, or staff; or of its funding organizations. On the cover: Bycatch on an Irish trawler. Photograph © Lyle Rosbotham Reprint and copyright information for one-time academic use of this material is available by contacting Customer Service, Copyright Clearance Center, at +1 978-750-8400 (phone) or +1 978-750-4744 (fax), or by writing to CCC, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Nonacademic and commercial users should contact the Worldwatch Institute’s Business Development Department by fax at +1 202-296-7365 or by email at [email protected]. Table of Contents Preface . 5 Summary . 6 The Diversity of the Oceans . 7 Dangers of Fishery Depletions . 13 Changing Climate, Changing Seas . 19 Polluting the Marine Environment . 24 Freedom for the Seas . 29 Endnotes . 38 Index . 52 Figures, Tables, and Sidebars Figure 1. Global Fish Harvest, Marine Capture and Aquaculture, 1950–2005 . 13 Figure 2. Status of World Fish Stocks, 2005 . 13 Table 1. Level of Protection of Critical Marine Ecosystems . 31 Sidebar 1. Effects of Climate Change on Arctic Marine Wildlife . 22 Sidebar 2. Impact of Climate Change on Antarctic Krill . 23 Sidebar 3. Recent Major Oil Spills and Their Effects . 27 Acknowledgments The authors would like to extend special thanks to Sari Tolvanen, Karen Sack, Jim Wickens, Oliver Knowles, Sebastián Losada, Daniel Mittler, Martin Attrill, and Mark Everard for their contribu- tions to and/or review of this work. Jennifer Jacquet with the Sea Around Us Project in British Columbia also provided helpful comments on an early draft of this report. At Worldwatch, many thanks go to Senior Editor Lisa Mastny for her efforts in whittling down the extensive text to the target length. Art Director Lyle Rosbotham lent his expert touch to the design and layout and worked closely with Greenpeace staff to select the diverse photos of marine life. Others at Worldwatch who provided valuable input or feedback include Courtney Berner, Bob Engelman, Brian Halweil, Darcey Rakestraw, Patricia Shyne, and Julia Tier. About the Authors Michelle Allsopp is a research consultant based at the Greenpeace Research Laboratories, located within the School of Biosciences at the University of Exeter, UK. Michelle obtained her PhD in biomedicine from the University of Exeter and Postgraduate Medical School of the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital in 1991. She has since written and published numerous reports for Green- peace over a period of more than 10 years, including recent reviews on the global distribution and impacts of marine litter, on persistent organic pollutants in marine wildlife, and on the science of ocean fertilization. Richard Page graduated in ecology from Kings College, London in 1983. He has worked for Greenpeace for the past 14 years, mainly on ocean protection issues. Richard has a longstanding interest in the protection of whales and other cetaceans and is currently responsible for coordin- ating Greenpeace’s work to secure a global network of fully protected marine reserves. Paul Johnston is principal scientist at the Greenpeace Research Laboratories and head of the Science Unit for Greenpeace International. He obtained his PhD from the University of London in 1984 for research into the aquatic toxicity of selenium. Paul now has 20 years experience in providing scientific advice to Greenpeace offices around the world, has published extensively on environmental pollution, marine ecosystem protection, and sustainability, and has contributed to numerous expert groups and committees, including the recently concluded GESAMP Working Group on sources of oil to the marine environment. David Santillo is a senior scientist with the Greenpeace Research Laboratories, with more than 10 years experience in providing analytical support and scientific advice to Greenpeace offices worldwide. David is a marine and freshwater biologist who obtained his PhD from the University of London in 1993 for research into nutrient uptake by oceanic plankton. Aside from publishing papers and reports on a range of science and science policy issues, David has represented Green- peace at various international treaties aimed at protecting the oceans over many years, including more than a decade as an observer within the London Convention. 4 OCEANS IN PERIL www.worldwatch.org Preface nyone familiar with the state of the ing ourselves doesn’t have to come at the world’s oceans would have a hard expense of a healthy environment. A time feeling optimistic. From coral Just as meat that originates in a factory farm reefs overwhelmed by coastal is different from meat that comes from animals runoff to tiny but ecologically vital plankton raised on pasture, the differences between that are suffering from climate change, the “good” and “bad” seafood are many. For exam- diversity of sea life is fading. Just as nutrition- ple, fish farming that focuses on large, carnivo- ists are discovering how healthy and beneficial rous species like salmon and tuna consumes seafood really is, we face a growing shortage of many times more fish in the form of feed than this once-bountiful food source. it yields for human consumption. Alterna- Yet we continue to invest in wasteful and tively, raising fish that is low in the food chain, shortsighted fishing techniques. Destructive such as clams, scallops, and other mollusks, bottom trawling not only catches tons of can provide healthy seafood without any feeds. unwanted species, it also destroys deep-water As this paper demonstrates, scientists, activ- coral reefs and other rich habitats that nurture ists, and the fishing industry itself are already the fish we do want to catch. Fishing subsidies showing what a shift in perspective—and in are so bloated that roughly a third of the global governmental policies—can mean for the fleet is considered unnecessary. And as near- oceans. Consider marine reserves, just one ele- shore fish populations collapse, fleets are forced ment of a new “ecosystem approach” to man- to probe farther and deeper to find their targets. aging the seas that is critical to protecting the The good news is that there is a way out of oceans for future generations. These reserves, this predicament. By treating the oceans with which make swaths of the oceans off-limits to more respect and by using them more wisely, damaging human activities, can protect whole we can obtain more from these life-supporting ecosystems and enable fish and other species to waters while also maintaining healthy and recover and flourish. But currently, only about diverse marine ecosystems. This is a key mes- 0.1 percent of the oceans is fully protected. sage of this latest Worldwatch report, Oceans “Current presumptions that favor freedom in Peril: Protecting Marine Biodiversity. to fish and freedom of the seas will need to be This surprising conclusion, reached by the replaced with the new concept of freedom for report’s authors—a team of scientists with the seas,”write the authors of Oceans in Peril. Greenpeace Research Laboratories in the The freedom they speak of is essentially free- United Kingdom—complements work that dom from human exploitation—from nets, Worldwatch’s own food and agriculture team dredges, trawlers, hooks, and knives—and the has undertaken over the last decade. Through freedom to heal from past overuses. It’s a sim- our research and analysis, most recently in ple change in perception, but the ramifications Catch of the Day (2006) and Happier Meals couldn’t be more important. (2005), we have sought to illustrate that feed- —Brian Halweil, Worldwatch Institute www.worldwatch.org OCEANS IN PERIL 5 Summary niquely among the universe’s resources in an equitable way. It is a holistic known planets, the Earth is a sphere approach that considers environmental protec- U dominated by watery oceans. They tion and marine management together, rather cover 70 percent of its surface and than as two separate and mutually exclusive are home to a myriad of amazing and beautiful goals. Paramount to the application of this creatures. Life almost certainly originated in approach is the establishment of networks of the oceans, yet the biological diversity of fully protected marine reserves—in essence, marine habitats is threatened by the activities “national parks” of the sea. These provide pro- of one largely land-based species: us. The activ- tection of whole ecosystems and enable biodi- ities through which humans threaten marine versity to both recover and flourish. They also life include overfishing, use of destructive fish- benefit fisheries by allowing for spillover of fish ing methods, pollution, and commercial aqua- and larvae or eggs from the reserve into adja- culture. In addition, climate change and the cent fishing grounds. related acidification of the oceans is already Outside of the reserves, an ecosystem having an impact on some marine ecosystems. approach requires the sustainable management Essential to solving these problems will be of fisheries and other resources. Demands on more equitable and sustainable management marine resources must be managed within the of the oceans as well as stronger protection of limits of what the ecosystem can provide indef- marine ecosystems through a well-enforced initely, rather than being allowed to expand network of marine reserves. as demographic and market forces dictate.

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