We must protect our ocean or risk significant impact on global food security, stated the Global Ocean Commission, an independent international panel of global leaders championing ocean health and high seas governance recently in Hong Kong.
“Healthy high seas are fundamental to overall ocean productivity and resilience, yet we are pushing the ocean system to the point of collapse and putting long-term food security at risk. If we want future food security, we need to act now to restore a healthy ocean,” said Trevor Manuel, co-chair of the Global Ocean Commission.
A healthy ocean is vital for all lives on Earth and provides food, clean air and livelihoods. According to FAO, fisheries make a significant contribution to GDP in many countries. With 3 billion people dependent on fish to provide at least 20% of their animal protein, protecting the global ocean is critical to global food security. However, the global ocean is suffering from the grave impacts of overfishing and climate change right now.
The high seas, covering more than 45% of the planet’s surface outside national jurisdiction, are suffering from over-exploitation and ineffective management. According to the Global Ocean Commission, almost 90% of all marine fisheries are either over-exploited or fully exploited, and some important commercial fish stocks are close to collapse. The loss of fish resources would deprive about 500 million people of their primary protein source.
Rising concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases are increasing sea water temperatures and pushing many fish stocks to higher latitudes, which also threatens food security in tropical regions. The ocean has already absorbed up to 30% of excessive CO2 emissions over the past 200 years, causing ocean more acidic and posing severe threat to ocean biodiversity.
To rescue ocean environment and fishery resources, the Commissioners recently in Hong Kong agreed a detailed package of proposals for ocean restoration and governance reform. This package of proposals will be presented to the United Nations in June, and priorities requiring action include overfishing and illegal fishing, fishing subsidies, ocean acidification, ocean governance and protection.
The Global Ocean Commission claims it’s important to support countries in boasting their capabilities in the management of global oceanic resources. “We know what needs to be done, but we can’t do it alone. Now we need governments, business and civil society to join us in implementing it,” said David Miliband, Global Ocean Commission co-chair.
Yu Sun is the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Environmental Impact Assessment magazine, Beijing.
Ocean fish can be returned to historic abundance. We have successfully demonstrated this in 2012 in the world’s first large scale ocean pasture restoration. Fish live on pastures the same as animals on land, when the pastures are depleted they can support few livestock.
Our ocean pasture restoration in the NE Pacific in 2012 replenished and restored tens of thousands of square kilometers of ocean to historic pasture abundance. Last fall the Pink Salmon of Alaska swam into the nets and onto the plates of Alaskan’s in the largest catch of salmon in history. Where 50 million fish were expected 226 million were caught. http://russgeorge.net/2013/10/28/fish-came-back-next-day/
Just in the past few months the US government has purchased 60 million meals of our Alaska pasture fed salmon bounty and is providing it to hungry children in USDA domestic food aide programs… http://russgeorge.net/2014/04/09/usda-buys-pasture-fed-alaska-salmon-hungry-kids/
Our research and development of ocean pasture restoration methods and our efforts will soon include restoring additional critical ocean fish pastures in oceans around the world. In doing so we are certain that we can bring a billion additional fish into the nets and onto the plates of hungry people everywhere. http://russgeorge.net/2014/04/11/bring-back-fish-everywhere/
We will need help and support and more…