The Living Seas
May 25th, 2009 | By ssacn | Category: SSACN AnnouncementsThe oceans were once teeming with life before overfishing depleted their riches. Governments and scientists must protect them from overexploitation
How often do we read of the seas teeming with fish, of porpoises gambolling in the harbour in olden days, and glistening blue whales gliding past England’s coastline? We admire the romantic notion, indulge the poetic exaggeration and reflect wryly on the cold, grey, lifeless oceans of today. But it was no exaggeration. The seas were indeed once more plentiful than we could ever now imagine. It is man’s predatory overfishing that has emptied the seas, a relentless destruction that has gathered pace in the past century and brought much marine life to the brink of extinction.
In some places, the damage is irreversible and as the European Commission has now found, even a controlled fisheries policy is not working: the world’s seas are fast depleting, and fishing, a livelihood that can be traced back to the Middle Stone Age, may never recover.
Britons have built their history on the sea. This island’s wealth, influence and security have all depended on the watery girdle surrounding us. That is why The Times is lending support to the London symposium of Nobel laureates, who this week will examine global sustainability and the challenge of climate change. A living sea sustains a living world. It must be protected at all costs.
Condensed from an article on Times Online
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