26 December 2011
90% of The Big Fish Are Gone- Sylvia Earle Oceanographer
Posted by Dan Satterfield
I heard an interview this morning on the BBC World Service with Sylvia Earle, the renowned oceanographer. She talked about the “grave threat” our oceans are in, and mentioned several basic facts that few people are aware of. You can listen to the 23 minute interview by clicking the image below, and It’s well worth your time. A significant minority of people believe the oceans are far to vast for we humans to damage, but the facts illustrate how totally absurd this statement is.
Check out OneWorldOneOcean.org
Somehow, some way, we must do a better job of educating the next generation about the oceans. There is no greater threat to our species than our neglect of them. The next 10 years will define the next 10,000- Sylvia Earle.
I heard that wonderful interview too, and while I knew things were bad with overfishing, Earle’s view that 90% of large fish are gone from the oceas was a shock to me. As a poet and teacher, I also found it fascinating that the oxygen for 1 out of every five breaths we take is provided by microscopic organisms in the sea. It should make us urgently review everything we do, and work far harder to bring the situation to wider public attention …
Dan, Interestingly a segment on 60 Minutes on December 18 featured the coral reefs south of Cuba. This is a protected area with lots of sharks. The marine scientist on the program mentioned that 90% of the sharks worldwide have disappeared. I am checking that figure out. If true, that would be an astounding figure.
I think Earle said much the same thing Jim. I was stunned at how bad things are.
Description of the study she mentioned:
Big-Fish Stocks Fall 90 Percent Since 1950 (2003, Nature)
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/05/0515_030515_fishdecline.html
On Sir David Attenborough’s Blue Planet, there is an extra episode dealing with the state of the world’s fisheries. It really was a depressing episode.
There’s also an interesting book I read (can’t remember the name now), but he points out many of the same things, but then says how a seafood lover can still eat ethically (although he says in some countries jellyfish and chips may become the replacement for fish and chips). Still, that book was also depressing as he went through the litany of problems and how it comes back to the uninformed consumer.
See also https://www.google.com/search?q=“Jeremy+Jackson”+”shifting+baselines”
Here’s the jellyfish burger illustration:
http://ocean.si.edu/ocean-photos/jellyfish-sandwiches
[…] the next 50 years, the complete loss of our fish stocks. The facts speak for themselves – 90 percent of big fish are now gone from our oceans, and all coral will be dead within 15 – 40 years; this will happen unless we do something […]