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According to the report Oceans in Peril: Protecting Marine Biodiversity, marine biodiversity is at risk with 76 percent of the world’s fish stocks being fully or over exploited.
Major causes of this exploitation are due to: overfishing; bottom trawling and other destructive fishing techniques; unsustainable aquaculture; and illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing.
The report’s authors say that declaring 40 percent of the oceans off limits to human exploitation may be the only way for the oceans to recover. This means establishing a global network of marine reserves throughout the world’s oceans.
Greenpeace Australia Pacific oceans campaigner Jason Collins said that marine reserves were a powerful tool for conserving ocean wildlife. “Reserves may also benefit fisheries by promoting recovery and reproduction of exploited species.”
Last year, in the report “Roadmap to Recovery”, Greenpeace set out a design for a global network of high seas marine reserves. The report identifies marine areas that need immediate protection in the high seas off North Western Australia, off the South West Australian coast, around Lord Howe Rise and Norfolk Ridge to Australia's east and a large area in the Southern Ocean including Antarctic waters.
See the Greenpeace “Roadmap to Recovery” report and map, presented to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in March last year.
Already, marine reserves in the Caribbean and the Red Sea are helping to restore fish populations in those areas.
Kadavu is a classic example of an area being overfished to a state where there is no fish left for the locals. Establishing a marine reserve in this area will help increase its biodiversity, create a more resilient ecosystem and boost fisheries.
The Oceans in peril report calls for a new implementation agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to establish and manage such reserves.
Major causes of this exploitation are due to: overfishing; bottom trawling and other destructive fishing techniques; unsustainable aquaculture; and illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing.
The report’s authors say that declaring 40 percent of the oceans off limits to human exploitation may be the only way for the oceans to recover. This means establishing a global network of marine reserves throughout the world’s oceans.
Mapping the road to recovery
Greenpeace Australia Pacific oceans campaigner Jason Collins said that marine reserves were a powerful tool for conserving ocean wildlife. “Reserves may also benefit fisheries by promoting recovery and reproduction of exploited species.”
Last year, in the report “Roadmap to Recovery”, Greenpeace set out a design for a global network of high seas marine reserves. The report identifies marine areas that need immediate protection in the high seas off North Western Australia, off the South West Australian coast, around Lord Howe Rise and Norfolk Ridge to Australia's east and a large area in the Southern Ocean including Antarctic waters.
See the Greenpeace “Roadmap to Recovery” report and map, presented to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in March last year.
Already, marine reserves in the Caribbean and the Red Sea are helping to restore fish populations in those areas.
Attempting the first Pacific marine reserve
In the Pacific, a small island south of Fiji called Kadavu is trying to create the first marine reserve in the Pacific region.Kadavu is a classic example of an area being overfished to a state where there is no fish left for the locals. Establishing a marine reserve in this area will help increase its biodiversity, create a more resilient ecosystem and boost fisheries.
Global action needed
There is no mechanism under international agreements to create a global marine reserve network encompassing the high seas.The Oceans in peril report calls for a new implementation agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to establish and manage such reserves.
What you can do
The oceans need drastic action and you can help us convince international governments and the UN to create a global network of marine reserves by signing our petition.Let the Oceans recover
I support the Greenpeace plan to protect 40 percent of the world’s oceans as Marine Reserves.
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