Assignment on the law of the sea

Submitted by: Amina Aziz

ID:2021120301023

Course: Law of the sea

Midterm examination

Submission Date: 16.08.2021

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Contents

Introduction:...............................................................................................................................................2

Unsustainable fishing practicing:.............................................................................................................2

Inadequate protection for high seas:.......................................................................................................2
Various tourism related developments:..................................................................................................3
Dying coral reefs:.....................................................................................................................................3
Heavy traffic of ships causing oil spills:....................................................................................................4
Deliberate dumping of hazardous waste:................................................................................................4
Waste Pollution from Ships:....................................................................................................................5
Habitat destruction:.................................................................................................................................5
Climate change:.......................................................................................................................................6
Overfishing:.............................................................................................................................................6
Recommendation:......................................................................................................................................7

Conclusion:..................................................................................................................................................7

Bibliography;...............................................................................................................................................8
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Introduction:
The oceans cover more than 70 per cent of the Earth’s surface and hold approximately 90 per
cent of the planet’s living biomass. Ocean ecosystems support all life on this planet. They
provide oxygen and food, manage vast amounts of human pollutants, buffer the weather and
regulate global temperature. Most parts of the oceans are unexplored and deep seabed
environments are considered the largest reservoir of biodiversity on the planet. Despite the
oceans’ great natural capacity for self-purification, the health, productivity and biodiversity of
the marine environment is severely threatened by human activities. At present there is very little
protection for the oceans and seas which led to major threats for oceans and seas. The threats are
many but major threats are discussed below:

Unsustainable fishing practicing:

This practice is considered to be a major threat. In coastal area fishing is very much
unsustainable and that led to threat for ocean and seas. Most areas in the world have a lack of
oversight related to their fishing industry, which means the practices and activities of fishing
fleets are not monitored properly.it can be said that in international waters, there are little to no
rules regarding fishing practices. Everyone is using the water without thinking about the
pollution and its effect. Current estimates are that overfishing has impacted over 85% of the
world’s fish resources and that most fisheries are fished far beyond their sustainable capacity.
While this has a long-term effects on human consumption. However, there are also a number of
other effects, such as: removal of essential predators, poor coral reef health, threat to local food
sources, imbalanced ecosystem etc. it is said by Carl Safina, if you’re overfishing at the top of
the food chain, and acidifying the ocean at the bottom, you’re creating a squeeze that could
conceivably collapse the whole system.

Solution: The solution to this problem is to take steps from every state because oceans and seas
are common property so it is the duty of every state to take care of it properly rather using it
inadequately. The rules should be made and follow strictly to maintain the sustainability of the
oceans and seas.

Inadequate protection for high seas:

high seas are not governed by any one country but are part of a global commons overseen
collectively by all nations. The high seas represent nearly 65 per cent of our oceans’ surface.
Under customary international law the different lawful uses of the high seas such as navigation,
fishing and the conservation of natural resources must be balanced not only against one another
but also against the interests of the international community. In practice, we can see stronger
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States are often able to insist upon the acceptance of their own uses of the high seas as high seas
are common property, that such uses may not strike the right balance in the views of States with
less influence. They are using it inadequately that is creating threats for the oceans and seas.

Solution: Government negotiators, non-governmental organization (NGO) representatives and

other policymakers involved in environmental protection should ensure that every state is
following the law strictly because it is high time to work for the protection of the high seas. We
should avoid dumping in oceans, specially plastics which is very harmful. We should avoid
developments that may led to a threat for the oceans or seas.

Various tourism related developments:

In many areas, massive new tourist infrastructure has been built such as airports, marinas,
resorts, and golf courses. Overdevelopment for tourism has the same problems as other coastal
developments but it has a greater impact as the tourist developments are located at or near
frangible marine ecosystems. Mangrove forests and seagrass meadows have been removed to
create open beaches which creating a threat to the seas. Tourism contributes to more than 5% of
global greenhouse gas emissions, with transportation accounting for 90 % of this. By 2030, a
25% increase in carbon dioxide emission from tourism compared to 2016 is expected by the
researchers which is from 1597 million ton to 1998 million ton.1

Solution: In order to hotel and resort construction, landscape friendly designs should be adopted
so that it does not harm the oceans or sea. Hotels should use heating or cooling systems that have
less carbon emissions.

Dying coral reefs:

Thousands of animal species make their homes in tropical coral
reefs. Unfortunately, we are losing reefs at an alarming rate
which is a matter of concern for the species. However, in a report
by national Geographic it is estimated that 50% of the Great
Barrier Reef is dead due to human activity. In a interview of
Business insider marine scientist Michael Crosby explain that
80% of our breathing comes from the ocean not from the land
and in order to breath we have to safe oceans and seas.2

1
https://www.theworldcounts.com/challenges/consumption/transport-and-tourism/negative-environmental-impacts-of-tourism/story
2
https://www.boatinternational.com/luxury-yacht-life/marine-life/biggest-threats-to-oceans--26353
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Solution: coral reef can be protected by carrying fewer chemical products through sea, then we
have to stop ocean dumping especially plastic that may save the coral reefs.

Heavy traffic of ships causing oil spills:

An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the
marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. In recent days’ oil spills has
become a major environmental problem that is polluting the water in an extreme level. Recently,
a cargo ship broke into two off Japan coasts causing an oil leak. The oil leak from the ship
reportedly spread around 24 km. 3 This kind of incidents are
happening frequently which is so risky for the oceans and seas. oil
spills can be very harmful to marine birds, sea turtles and
mammals and also can harm fish and shellfish. Many birds and
animals also swallow oil and are poisoned when they try to clean
themselves or when eating oiled prey. Fish and shellfish may also
digest oil, which could cause changes in reproduction, growth
rates or even death.

Solution: seas can be saved from oil spill by using electric cars,
solar power and by using less petroleum free products.

Deliberate dumping of hazardous waste:

Ocean dumping of certain harmful wastes is banned.
The dumping of plastic is the most common scenario
3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et1D1pUrC94
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which is very harmful and it is not a new environmental concern as a matter of fact. There are
also many causes of ocean dumping such as, mining of metal ores, cargo activities at the port,
cargo accidents etc. These activities have very negative impact on the seas like, life threatening
for marine life, loss of livelihood of small fishermen, loss of marine biodiversity, destruction of
coral reef etc. There is relevant law regarding ocean dumping - The Ocean Dumping Ban Act of
1988 and now prohibits the ocean dumping of municipal sewage sludge and industrial wastes,
such as wastes from plastics and pharmaceutical manufacturing plants. But the problem is the
laws are not following strictly for which ocean dumping is increasing day by day rather
decreasing.

Solution: By taking effective management and minimization strategies at the ports, cargo
sweeping activity that releases slag and iron ore pellets can be controlled to reduce the
possibilities of ocean dumping. Then , a cleanup drive could be organized to clear the shoreline.

Waste Pollution from Ships:

Tens thousands of ships are responsible for more than 90 per cent of
world trade. Apart from other pollutants such as oil and gas, the
waste and garbage generated on board ships poses a significant
threat to the marine ecosystem. Both solid and liquid waste in form
of ballast water, grey water, food waste, dunnage and packing
material, paper products and cleaning material and rags etc. pollutes
the seawater and badly affects marine lives. The vessels used for
various purposes contribute to this pollution in different levels.

Solution: in order to protect the sea from the ship the Compactors should be used effectively to
reduce the volumes of mainly plastics and other waste material which can be compressed.
Wastes such as plastic, metals, glass, batteries, medical wastes, oily rags, sludge, waste oils, etc.
those which cannot be disposed of at sea should be incinerated or given away to shore reception
facilities.

Habitat destruction:
While marine habitats deal with the pressure of coastal pollution, most notably coral reefs, there
are other ways we are systematically destroying the ecosystems that marine plants and animals
need to survive. These include clearing mangrove forests for shrimp production and scraping
entire ecosystems off seamounts, or underwater mountain ranges through deep-sea trawling.
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However, The United Nations Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) are taking measures for the
protection of the seas.

Solution: cleaning the forest should be stooped in order to save the species. Plants are very
important for the ecosystem to survive but we are cutting it without thinking about the negative
impact on the habitats.

Climate change:

The oceans help control global warming by absorbing millions of tons of carbon dioxide but
their absorption capacity is being exceeded. Consequently, emissions into the atmosphere are
increasing along with the temperatures. Increased temperature leads to melting ice caps and a
rise in sea levels. When waters warm up more storms are formed and marine currents are altered
which is affecting continental climates. At the same time, the changes happening in sea
temperature and chemical composition reduce biodiversity and facilitate the appearance of
invasive species. The carbon dioxide absorbed by the oceans makes the water more acidic,
destroying ecosystems. Therefore, oceans play an important role in climate change.

Overfishing:
Fishing is one of the most significant drivers of declines in ocean wildlife populations. Catching
fish is not inherently bad for the ocean except for when vessels catch fish faster than stocks can
replenish. The damage done by overfishing goes beyond the marine environment. Billions of
people rely on fish for protein, and fishing is the principal livelihood for millions of people
around the world. The impacts of overfishing are many but some are very dangerous such as,
degrading food and economic security, creating imbalance,
loss of livelihood of many people etc. approximately 28.8 per
cent of the world’s wild fish stocks are estimated by the UN
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as overfished.
About 61.3 per cent are reported as fully fished which means
90 % of the world’s wild fish are either fully or over-
exploited. This is happening due to destructive fishing
practices such as bottom-trawling which destroys seabed
habitats by accumulating huge levels of bycatch. 4

4
https://www.boatinternational.com/luxury-yacht-life/marine-life/biggest-threats-to-oceans--26353
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Solution: The effects of overfishing are vast and many of them are not aware that they are
actually negatively impacting human life on the planet. There are a number of conservation
groups around the world focusing on ways to make the fishing industry more sustainable in the
long run. The MSC (The Marine Stewardship Council) is giving an effort to create a standard
that can be implemented to help commercial fisheries maintain production without harming the
environment. Another way to reduce the problem of overfishing is by working with retailers to
educate them on ways to purchase their seafood from sustainable fisheries. 

Recommendation:
The designing of the Marine protected areas should be considered as follows –
1. The fishery management should be more effective.
2. It is important to maintain the health of marine ecosystems beyond the relatively small
protected area.
3. Public participation is needed to ensure the effectiveness.
4. Protection of mangrove should be ensured for a healthy ecosystem.
5. Developing, adopting and implementing science-based fisheries management plans can
be a solution to protect the marine environment.

Conclusion:
The ocean and seas are a vital life support system and there is clear evidence that human impacts
such as overfishing, habitat destruction, and pollution disrupt marine ecosystems and threaten the
long-term productivity of the seas. According to the International Programmer on the State of the
Ocean (IPSO), the pace and extent of marine damage have been significantly pointed out and
identified the consequences of our activities are at a high risk of causing through the combined
effects of climate change, overexploitation, pollution and habitat loss. Therefore, Urgent
implementation is needed in order to safe the rest oceans and seas.
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Bibliography;
1. https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/overfishing
2. https://www.sprep.org/att/IRC/eCOPIES/Global/84.pdf
3. https://www.boatinternational.com/luxury-yacht-life/marine-life/biggest-threats-to-
oceans--26353
4. https://onlinemasters.ohio.edu/blog/environmental-engineering-solutions-to-tourism-on-
coastlines/
5. https://www.nap.edu/read/9994/chapter/11#181
6. http://www.earthsystemgovernance.net/sdg/sites/default/files/files/publications/UN-
NGLS_Brief_for_OWG_on_SDGs-OceanSeas-Feb_2014.pdf