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This article provides information about the imminent threat on sea life:
Our oceans cover two thirds of the planet and host 80% of all life, from microscopic plankton to the largest of the great whales. Oceans also provide half of the oxygen requirement of the planet. Until a few centuries ago oceans were protected by vast distances, great depth and harsh conditions making it inaccessible to the human kind.
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The latest vessels and equipment used to exploit marine life coupled with the burning of fossil fuels and the development and dumping of chemicals into the oceans outpace their ability to cleanse themselves and maintain a natural balance. The indiscriminate exploitation of oceans causes “dead zones” of lifelessness in the sea, decimation of fishing stocks, extinction of whales etc. Green peace movement makes a voice against this for saving our sea and sea life from further destruction.
Other than seabed trawling some of the key threats to the sea life are industrial fishing, destructive fishing, unfair fisheries and fish farming. Industrial fishing fleets, using pinpoint accurate sonar, can zone in on schools of fish with frightening speed and precision. The modem ‘goldrush’ for fish in many places far exceeds the ocean’s ability to recover. Destructive fishing wastes marine life. Many times when it is fishing for particular types of fishes 90% of what comes into the net are thrown back mostly killing the unwanted fish lives.
This accidental catch or by-catch as it is euphemistically known is not restricted to unwanted fish. Every year, up to 300,000 whales, dolphins and porpoises die in nets and 100,000 albatrosses are caught on hooked fishing lines. Turtles, seals and sharks are also victims of indiscriminate fishing practices. Unfair fisheries include pirate ships that steal vast quantities of fish destroying the marine environment. Also by misappropriation of their “catch” large fleets of trawlers cheat the nations. Fish farming, known as aquaculture, is often promoted as the solution to over fishing. But it is far from the answer.
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The shrimp aquaculture industry is perhaps the most destructive, unsustainable and unjust fisheries industry. Mangrove clearances, fishery destruction, murder and community land clearances, to make way for fish farming, have been widely reported by human rights and environmental groups in almost a dozen countries around the world.
Some countries have introduced protected areas within their national waters – a national twelve-mile exclusive economic zone to save the sea from destructive human activities. Greenpeace believes that this is not enough if protection is to be effective. They call for a massive network of marine reserves. Marine reserves are areas of the sea that are fully protected from human activities – national parks for oceans. Greenpeace defines marine reserves as areas that are closed to all extractive uses, such as fishing and mining, as well as to disposal activities.
Within these areas there may be core zones where no human activities are allowed, for instance areas that act as scientific reference areas or areas where there are particularly sensitive habitats or species. Some areas within the coastal zone may be opened to small-scale, non-destructive fisheries, provided that they are sustainable, within ecological limits, and have been decided upon with the full participation of affected local communities. The establishment of marine reserves has been shown to result in long-lasting and often rapid increases in marine populations, their diversity and productivity.