The Oceans are in great danger

It’s high time humans understood that they must heal the oceans, which are sickened by climate change, pollution and overfishing, in the hope of preserving life in the sea and saving our own, several experts warned ahead of a major United Nations conference scheduled to open Monday, June 27, in Lisbon.

We must recognize that it is thanks to the oceans – which, decade after decade, absorb a quarter of CO2 pollution and more than 90% of excess heat – that the Earth’s surface has remained livable.

我们人类向海里倾倒了堆积如山的塑料，使海里的鱼类消失殆尽。海岸线受到化学品和农产品的污染，形成了缺氧的死亡地带。

“At least a third of wild fish stocks are overfished and less than 10% of the ocean is protected,” says Kathryn Mathews, scientific director of the American NGO Oceana.“Illegal fishing vessels are wreaking havoc with impunity, both in coastal waters and on the high seas,” she says.

尽管世界贸易组织上周为部分禁止过度捕捞采取了初步措施，但近 $35 亿美元的补贴肯定会在里斯本受到严厉批评。

但与此同时，二氧化碳导致的海洋酸化和海洋热浪（可持续数月）继续夺走珊瑚礁，而四分之一的海洋生物和 2.5 亿人都依赖于这些珊瑚礁。

“We still have little idea of the extent of the devastation caused by climate change on the health of the oceans,” assures Charlotte de Fontaubert, lead expert on the blue economy at the World Bank.

“It’s scary”

Co-hosted by Portugal and Kenya, the UN Oceans Conference – originally scheduled for April 2020 and then postponed because of COVID – will bring together thousands of representatives from governments, businesses, scientific institutions and NGOs in search of solutions over five days.

虽然他们主张的补救措施可能不尽相同，但他们在相关问题上的观点基本一致。

“If we don’t do the right thing, we could end up with a dead ocean,” summarizes Rashid Sumaila, a fisheries expert and professor at the University of British Columbia.

“Imagine that…how scary it is,” he confides.

从回收利用到全面禁止塑料袋，此类污染也将列入会议议程，目的是扭转目前的趋势，即到 2050 年，海洋中的塑料含量将与鱼类一样多。

从遨游公海的亚洲工厂船到在热带海岸航行的个体渔船，如何实现渔业的可持续发展也将是里斯本会议讨论的主题。

A new leitmotif, “blue food” is supposed to make the oceans a sustainable and equitable source of livelihood.

“Wild fish from the sea can be a source of protein and micronutrients that can provide a billion people with a healthy meal a day, forever,” says Kathryn Mathews of the NGO Oceana.

由于珍贵的红树林遭到破坏以及抗生素的过度使用，人们对新兴的水产养殖业表示担忧。

会议可以确定，自 20 世纪 90 年代以来一直在下降的公海渔业产量正在被水产养殖产量赶超，每个部门每年的产量约为 1 亿吨。

A coalition of nearly one hundred countries is advocating a flagship measure to declare protected areas covering 30% of the world’s oceans and land.

Recent scientific studies have made a clear observation. The oceans will continue to suffer unless greenhouse gas emissions are reduced, and the fight against global is doomed to failure if the oceans lose their ability to absorb CO2. warming