Oceans cover 71 percent of the Earth’s surface and contain 97 percent of its water. They are also the world’s largest source of protein: more than 3 billion people rely on fisheries and other marine life as their main source of protein. More than 200 million people are employed in fisheries around the world.

However, global fisheries are in decline due to overfishing. A third of fisheries are currently being depleted more quickly than they are replenished, and subsidies are contributing to this problem. According to Oceana, improved fisheries management could help increase fishery yields by up to 40 percent. If overfishing ended now, 700 million people could enjoy a daily seafood meal by 2050. Oceans are also threatened by pollution in the form of trash, chemicals, fertilizers and untreated sewage, as well as oil and wastewater from shipping. Fertilizers from farms and lawns pose a particular problem, as their nutrients can lead to eutrophication – the flourishing of algal blooms, which can deplete the water of oxygen, causing other marine life to suffocate.
Oceans can play an important role in mitigating climate change, as they store 50 times more carbon dioxide than the atmosphere and also regulate regional climate and weather patterns.


READ FURTHER FROM the GLF link above