National Geographic Explorer-at-Large Sylvia Earle attends the National Geographic Awards on June 12, 2019, at Lisner Auditorium in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Paul Morigi/Getty Images for National Geographic)
Nov 10, 2021
Renowned oceanographer Sylvia Earle is calling for world leaders at the United Nations climate summit to support a ban on industrial fishing in international waters to "safeguard the blue heart of the planet."
"We must protect nature as if our lives depend on it."
"All of that wildlife taken out of the ocean not only affects biodiversity and fosters extinctions at an accelerated rate. It breaks the carbon cycle--the nutrient chain that maintains the fabric of life on Earth," said Earle, who was at COP26 this week, The Guardian reported Wednesday.
The deep-sea researcher said tackling the issue of overfishing is as important to the climate crisis as curbing fossil fuel emissions. A industrial fishing ban, said Earle, would help protect oceans "in a stroke."
\u201cYou can't address climate change without taking care of the ocean.\u201d— Sylvia A. Earle (@Sylvia A. Earle) 1634615619
Due to poor management and regulation, overfishing occurs when fish species are removed from the ocean at such high rates they become too depleted to recover, destroying fish populations around the world. Commercial fishing also employs tactics that perpetuate unnecessary waste, when massive amounts of unwanted fish and animals are caught in nets and then discarded.
According to a 2018 report by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, a third of commercial fish populations are being harvested at biologically unsustainable levels and the world's fisheries are in deep trouble.
While three billion people worldwide rely on wild-caught or farmed seafood as a food source, Earle noted that just five nations were "benefiting disproportionately on an industrial scale from the wild animals that live [in international waters]," for means of profit. Earle argued that the coastal communities who survived on fishing could do so within national waters.
Eighty-six-year-old Earle, president of Mission Blue, an organization that aims to establish marine protected areas (MPAs), welcomed COP26's "30x30" initiative to secure at least 30% of world's oceans by 2030, but says the proposal does not go far enough.
"We must protect nature as if our lives depend on it," she said. "Achieving 30% of full protection for land and sea... doesn't mean we can trash the rest."
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Renowned oceanographer Sylvia Earle is calling for world leaders at the United Nations climate summit to support a ban on industrial fishing in international waters to "safeguard the blue heart of the planet."
"We must protect nature as if our lives depend on it."
"All of that wildlife taken out of the ocean not only affects biodiversity and fosters extinctions at an accelerated rate. It breaks the carbon cycle--the nutrient chain that maintains the fabric of life on Earth," said Earle, who was at COP26 this week, The Guardian reported Wednesday.
The deep-sea researcher said tackling the issue of overfishing is as important to the climate crisis as curbing fossil fuel emissions. A industrial fishing ban, said Earle, would help protect oceans "in a stroke."
\u201cYou can't address climate change without taking care of the ocean.\u201d— Sylvia A. Earle (@Sylvia A. Earle) 1634615619
Due to poor management and regulation, overfishing occurs when fish species are removed from the ocean at such high rates they become too depleted to recover, destroying fish populations around the world. Commercial fishing also employs tactics that perpetuate unnecessary waste, when massive amounts of unwanted fish and animals are caught in nets and then discarded.
According to a 2018 report by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, a third of commercial fish populations are being harvested at biologically unsustainable levels and the world's fisheries are in deep trouble.
While three billion people worldwide rely on wild-caught or farmed seafood as a food source, Earle noted that just five nations were "benefiting disproportionately on an industrial scale from the wild animals that live [in international waters]," for means of profit. Earle argued that the coastal communities who survived on fishing could do so within national waters.
Eighty-six-year-old Earle, president of Mission Blue, an organization that aims to establish marine protected areas (MPAs), welcomed COP26's "30x30" initiative to secure at least 30% of world's oceans by 2030, but says the proposal does not go far enough.
"We must protect nature as if our lives depend on it," she said. "Achieving 30% of full protection for land and sea... doesn't mean we can trash the rest."
Renowned oceanographer Sylvia Earle is calling for world leaders at the United Nations climate summit to support a ban on industrial fishing in international waters to "safeguard the blue heart of the planet."
"We must protect nature as if our lives depend on it."
"All of that wildlife taken out of the ocean not only affects biodiversity and fosters extinctions at an accelerated rate. It breaks the carbon cycle--the nutrient chain that maintains the fabric of life on Earth," said Earle, who was at COP26 this week, The Guardian reported Wednesday.
The deep-sea researcher said tackling the issue of overfishing is as important to the climate crisis as curbing fossil fuel emissions. A industrial fishing ban, said Earle, would help protect oceans "in a stroke."
\u201cYou can't address climate change without taking care of the ocean.\u201d— Sylvia A. Earle (@Sylvia A. Earle) 1634615619
Due to poor management and regulation, overfishing occurs when fish species are removed from the ocean at such high rates they become too depleted to recover, destroying fish populations around the world. Commercial fishing also employs tactics that perpetuate unnecessary waste, when massive amounts of unwanted fish and animals are caught in nets and then discarded.
According to a 2018 report by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, a third of commercial fish populations are being harvested at biologically unsustainable levels and the world's fisheries are in deep trouble.
While three billion people worldwide rely on wild-caught or farmed seafood as a food source, Earle noted that just five nations were "benefiting disproportionately on an industrial scale from the wild animals that live [in international waters]," for means of profit. Earle argued that the coastal communities who survived on fishing could do so within national waters.
Eighty-six-year-old Earle, president of Mission Blue, an organization that aims to establish marine protected areas (MPAs), welcomed COP26's "30x30" initiative to secure at least 30% of world's oceans by 2030, but says the proposal does not go far enough.
"We must protect nature as if our lives depend on it," she said. "Achieving 30% of full protection for land and sea... doesn't mean we can trash the rest."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.