CLIMATE CHANGE AND OVERFISHING ARE THE MAJOR THREATS TO THE WORLD’S OCEANS

8 May 2001

New York, United Nations - The state of the world's oceans is cause for serious international concern, with climate change and overfishing representing the two greatest threats to the marine environment and biodiversity today said Greenpeace in a statement to the United Nations.(1)

Recent reports such as those from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and the World Resources Institute (WRI) point to increasing degradation of marine and coastal ecosystems and the urgent need to reverse this trend.(2)

According to the international environmental group, other major threats include marine pollution, the degradation of coastal wetlands and other important habitat, land-based sources of marine pollution, the movement of exotic species and substandard shipping. Emerging threats to the oceans include the potential release or escape of genetically modified fish from aquaculture operations into the marine environment and the potential development of large-scale seabed mining for precious metals, methane hydrates and other resources.

“It is obvious that human activities are having an increasingly adverse impact on the oceans. A major commitment to a better scientific understanding of these impacts is essential to govern current and future human activities,” said Matthew Gianni, Greenpeace Ocean campaign coordinator. “Equally important, the precautionary approach is essential to minimize adverse effects, particularly given how little we know of the full scope of human impacts on marine ecosystems and biodiversity.”

The FAO report released in February of this year points to a disturbing deterioration of the world’s fisheries. The report states that 72 to 78 percent of the world's fisheries are fully exploited, overexploited or depleted. It also points to the larger impact of fishing on marine ecosystems overall and the picture is equally bleak: the eastern Indian Ocean and western central Pacific are the only areas showing "little signs of stress" from overfishing. All other ocean areas are "close to full exploitation."

According to a report released by the World Resources Institute in April, nearly two-thirds of all the fish harvested in the world depend to some extent on coastal wetlands, mangroves, seagrass beds, and coral reefs.

Yet all of these ecosystems are suffering increasing degradation, as pointed out by an IPCC report, which stressed the particular vulnerability and risk of irreversible damage to coral reef, atoll and mangrove ecosystems. The report further states that many coastal areas will experience increased flooding, erosion and loss of wetlands and seawater intrusion into freshwater sources as a result of climate change. The impacts on fisheries and fisheries dependant coastal communities are likely to be far-reaching and severe.

“With the growing evidence of the disruptive impacts of climate change and opinion polls around the world showing an ever higher level of concern, the stance taken by the Bush Administration on global warming is incomprehensible and irresponsible,” said Gianni. “We would argue that the biggest threat to the US economy is not a tight energy supply, but the failure of the government to adopt an aggressive policy to shift the country away from dependence on oil and other fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy.”

In this regard, Greenpeace welcomed the clear stance taken by the European Union, China, Brazil and other countries in reaffirming their commitment to the Kyoto process.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Matthew Gianni, Greenpeace Ocean campaign Coordinator, mobile +1 561 945 45 28
Luisa Colasimone, Greenpeace Communication, mobile +1 561 945 45 28 or +1 212 355 0300 ext. 308

(1) United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea, New York, 7-11 May 2001.

(2) a. “The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2000”, UN FAO, February 2001; b. Report of Working Group II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: “Climate Change 2001; Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability”, IPCC, 2001; c. “ Pilot Analysis of Global Ecosystems (PAGE): Coastal Ecosystems”, World Resources Institute, April 17, 2001.