Conservation Group Calls For Ocean 'Bailout
By Matt J. Weiss, December 23, 2008 @ 02:00 AM (EST)
Source: Sustainablebusiness.com
A group of top U.S. marine
scientists urged the incoming Obama administration and members of the
U.S. Congress to implement a "bailout" for the oceans.
Mankind has damaged the oceans so badly that many marine species will collapse and even become extinct within the next few decades, the international ocean conservation group Oceana said in a release. However, if the U.S., in cooperation with other nations, acts immediately, we can prevent further extinctions and ecological disruptions.
"We've been borrowing against the future for far too long, and the oceans can't lend us any more. We must act responsibly and live within our means," said Dr. Michael Hirshfield, chief scientist and senior vice president, North America, Oceana. Just as our terrestrial economic bubble depended on lax oversight and wishful thinking, we have resisted managing the ocean for long term sustainability rather than short term profit, warned the scientists.
"The good news is this bailout can be affordable if we act fast," said Dr. Jeremy Jackson, director of the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, Scripps Institution of Oceanography. "We need to limit rather than expand human activities such as fishing," added Jackson. To underscore his point, a new peer-reviewed study of overfishing, published December 10, 2008 by scientific journal PLoS ONE, found that the "total catch per capita from large marine ecosystems is at least twice the value estimated to ensure fishing at moderate sustainable levels" into the future.
Mankind has damaged the oceans so badly that many marine species will collapse and even become extinct within the next few decades, the international ocean conservation group Oceana said in a release. However, if the U.S., in cooperation with other nations, acts immediately, we can prevent further extinctions and ecological disruptions.
"We've been borrowing against the future for far too long, and the oceans can't lend us any more. We must act responsibly and live within our means," said Dr. Michael Hirshfield, chief scientist and senior vice president, North America, Oceana. Just as our terrestrial economic bubble depended on lax oversight and wishful thinking, we have resisted managing the ocean for long term sustainability rather than short term profit, warned the scientists.
"The good news is this bailout can be affordable if we act fast," said Dr. Jeremy Jackson, director of the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, Scripps Institution of Oceanography. "We need to limit rather than expand human activities such as fishing," added Jackson. To underscore his point, a new peer-reviewed study of overfishing, published December 10, 2008 by scientific journal PLoS ONE, found that the "total catch per capita from large marine ecosystems is at least twice the value estimated to ensure fishing at moderate sustainable levels" into the future.
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