A study by the World Wildlife Fund has found that populations of marine species fell by about half over four decades. Among the hardest hit were those essential to global food supply.
Image: Fotolia/lunamarina
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Marine protected areas in pictures
Conserving our seas is a must. As awareness of the problems facing ocean wildlife and habitat grows, so too do the number of marine protected areas. Albeit slowly. Click or swipe through our gallery to learn more.
Image: imago/blickwinkel
Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument
Covering an area of almost 1.3 million square kilometers (800,000 square miles), this is among the world's largest marine protected areas. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it is home to all manner of marine life including green turtles, pearl oysters, giant clams, reef sharks, coconut crabs, dolphins and whales.
Image: imago/blickwinkel
Pitcairn Islands Marine Reserve
Surrounding this British Overseas Territory lies the largest contiguous marine protected area in the world. The 834,334 square kilometers of pristine ocean habitat are monitored via satellite to track potential illegal fishing activity in this vast and remote corner of the South Pacific.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
Situated off the northeastern coast of Australia, the Great Barrier Reef is the largest in the world. A vast area of that reef, which is so big it can be seen from space, forms the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. The reef saw devastating coral bleaching in 2016 and 2017. In an effort to protect the delicate ecosystem, fishing is strictly regulated and commercial ships can only use certain routes.
Image: imago/blickwinkel
Galapagos Marine Reserve
A UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to many animals found nowhere else in the world, the Galapagos Marine Reserve in the Pacific Ocean is administered by Ecuador and is the largest marine park in a developing country.
Image: imago/Westend61
Bowie Seamount marine protected area
The Bowie Seamount is an underwater volcano located 180 kilometers off the west coast of Canada. Although the volcano rises about 3,000 meters from the ocean bed, its highest point is 24 meters below sea level. While it may be invisible to those of us living above water, the submerged mountain is home to a rich mix of marine fauna and flora.
Image: BR
Chagos archipelago
The United Kingdom declared this vast stretch of Indian Ocean a marine protected area in 2010. The legality of the move has been contested by Mauritius, which lays claim to the group of islands. In the 1970s, the UK evicted the entire native population from the archipelago and granted the United States permission to use it as a military base.
Image: NASA Johnson Space Center/Image Science & Analysis Laboratory
The Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park
Extending from the German-Danish maritime border down to the Elbe estuary, and with an area of 4,410 square kilometers, this is doubtless Germany’s largest national park. Due to the intertidal nature of the Wadden Sea, some 30 percent of it is only periodically under water.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
The Pelagos Sanctuary for Mediterranean Marine Mammals
Covering a large area between the French Riviera, Sardinia and the Italian region of Tuscany, this sanctuary was established specifically to protect marine mammals. It is currently the world's only conservation area in international waters.
Image: picture-alliance/Wildlife
Ross Sea Region Marine Protected Area
In October 2016, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) agreed to create a marine protected area off the coast of Antarctica. However, the 1.6 million square kilometers of pristine wilderness will only be protected for 35 years. What happens after remains to be seen.
Image: REUTERS/P. Askin
Aquatic Reserve of the South of Gabon
The government of Gabon announced in June 2017 creation of a 53,000-square-kilometer network of marine protected areas - the largest in Africa. It would apply to a quarter of Gabon's seas, which are incredibly rich in life, including sea turtles, whales, dolphins, corals, even crocodiles. The region is known for rampant overfishing - the reserves are accompanied by a sustainable fishing plan.
Image: Imago/Nature Picture Library
Cook Islands Marine Park
In July 2017, the Cook Islands - a small island nation about halfway between New Zealand and Hawaii - approved designation of the world's new largest marine sanctuaries off its shores. The 1.9-million-square-kilometer preserve includes a core no-fishing zone, otherwise limits on mineral extraction and commercial fishing. It's hoped to help preserve the archipelago's lagoons and reefs.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/C. Ehlers
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The WWF warned in its Living Blue Planet Report that over-fishing, pollution and climate change had reduced the size of fish stocks significantly between 1970 and 2010.
One family of fish, which includes tuna and mackerel had shown a decline of 74 percent. In large part, the WWF blamed unsustainable fishing practices.
"In the space of a single generation, human activity has severely damaged the ocean by catching fish faster than they can reproduce while also destroying their nurseries," said Marco Lambertini, head of WWF International.
"The picture is now clearer than ever: humanity is collectively mismanaging the ocean to the brink of collapse," said Lambertini. "Considering the ocean's vital role in our economies and its essential contribution to food security – particularly for poor, coastal communities – that's simply unacceptable."
The WWF analysis tracked 5,829 populations of 1,234 species - almost twice as many as in its past studies, to give "a clearer, more troubling picture of ocean health."
Turning the tide
The group highlighted sharks and rays, sea cucumbers, and marine turtles - all of which have suffered drastic population reductions - as indicators of current stress levels on biodiversity.
Without underplaying the severity of the crisis, the WWF stressed that the ocean was a renewable resource and that marine life could be restored if the human population lives within "sustainable limits."
Among the solutions that the WWF recommended to reverse the trend were "smart fishing" that would eliminate waste, a crackdown on unregulated fishing and the protection of marine environments.
The report noted there was a steep decline in coral reefs, mangroves and seagrasses that support fish species. A previous report by the group showed half of all corals had vanished, and they could disappear entirely by 2050 should temperatures continue to rise.
