Global Threats and Issues in Marine Conservation

The oceans contain the most biologically diverse ecosystems on earth, yet in comparison to terrestrial systems,
our understanding and protection of these habitats and their species is lagging (Hendriks et al., 2006;
Richardson and Poloczanska, 2008; Polidoro et al., 2009; McCauley et al., 2015). Given the critical ecosystem
services that the oceans provide, such as food security, coastal defense, and climate regulation, and with much
of the oceans considered overexploited and potentially beyond recovery (Neubauer et al., 2013; Dulvy et al.,
2014; Selig et al., 2014), protecting and sustainably using the ocean's resources is a major issue for human well-
being.
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.
With such massive amount of plastic waste taking over our oceans, we are witnessing a pollution crisis occur
around the world. Trash is being eaten by marine life and has entered every level of the food chain — even
ending up in the seafood on our plates.
Global fish populations — a critical source of food for millions of people — are in danger of collapsing due to
widespread and destructive fishing practices. The global industry is overrun with human rights violations —
from human trafficking and forced labor to debt bondage and inhumane working conditions
Currently, there is very little protection for our threatened marine life and dwindling fish stocks — with less
than two percent of our oceans set aside as marine reserves, it has become all too easy for our natural resources
to be exploited from lack of protection.

Facts and figures on marine pollution

 Land-based sources (such as agricultural run-off, discharge of nutrients and pesticides and untreated
sewage including plastics) account for approximately 80% of marine pollution, globally.
 Agricultural practices, coastal tourism, port and harbour developments, damming of rivers, urban
development and construction, mining, fisheries, aquaculture, and manufacturing, among others, are all
sources of marine pollution threatening coastal and marine habitats.
 Excessive nutrients from sewage outfalls and agricultural runoff have contributed to the number of low
oxygen (hypoxic) areas known as dead zones, where most marine life cannot survive, resulting in the
collapse of some ecosystems.
 Over 220 million tons of plastic are produced each year.
 Plastics can contribute to reduce our carbon footprint. They provide improved insulation, lighter
packaging, are found in phones, computers, medical devices, etc. but appropriate disposal is often not
addressed.
  Once discarded, plastics are weathered and eroded into very small fragments known as micro-plastics.
These together with plastic pellets are already found in most beaches around the world.
 Plastic debris causes the deaths of more than a million seabirds every year, as well as more than 100,000
marine mammals.
 Plastic materials and other litter can become concentrated in certain areas called gyres as a result of
marine pollution gathered by oceanic currents. There are now 5 gyres in our ocean.
References:
https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/oceans/issues/
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2015.00011/full
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/ioc-oceans/focus-areas/rio-20-ocean/blueprint-for-the-future-
we-want/marine-pollution/facts-and-figures-on-marine-pollution/
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