Brussels, 04/06/2009 (Agence Europe) - There must be immediate measures to halt the collapse of fish resources, the destruction of marine habitats and the pollution affecting European waters, states Oceana in a press release published on Thursday 4 June. Oceana, an international organisation which campaigns for the protection of the oceans, points out, with Monday 8 June being the World Oceans Day, that “European waters are among the most damaged in the world”.
More than 31,000 marine species are found in European waters out of the 230,000 catalogued worldwide. However, for several decades, this precious biodiversity is suffering deterioration as a result of pollution and physical attack on the ecosystems, the Oceana press release says. It says that “each day” in European waters, there are about 275 illegal dumps from boats; more than 55,000 tonnes of oily and bilge waters and fuel waste are spilled into the sea; more than 350,000 hectares of the sea bed are affected by trawlers; 20,000 tonnes of fish are taken out, with an additional 3,000 tonnes that are thrown back.
Overfishing. According to the European Commission, 88% of our fish stocks are overexploited. Of these, 69% are at risk of collapse. The main causes, according to Oceana, are fleet overcapacity, the setting of “excessive” total allowable catches (TACs), and illegal fishing practices, including the use of illegal fishing gear, such as driftnets. Oceana is also critical of accidental catches (or bycatches) and discards where dead fish are thrown overboard (“in most cases for exclusively economic reasons”)
Destruction of habitats. Industrial trawlers are destroying seabeds with their sack-shaped nets that catch everything in their path, including threatened species, while destroying sponges and corals that are thousands of years old. In response to this and other threats, the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity determined that, by 2012, 10% of all seas must be protected in order to halt the loss of ecological biodiversity. In the EU, only 2.7% marine areas are protected, according to estimates made by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), so measures must be urgently adopted. The most extensive protected areas are located in Germany (the Schleswig-Holsteinisches Wattenmeer National Park, with 267 km2), in Spain (the Marine Protected Area of El Cachucho, with close to 230 km2) and in Greece (the Alonissos-Vories Sporades National Park, with 226 km2). Of these, only El Cachucho is exclusively marine.
Pollution. Maritime traffic generates more than 20 million tons of hydrocarbon waste in Europe. Almost 40% of EU vessels do not comply with the MARPOL convention that regulates marine pollution.
In fact, chronic hydrocarbon pollution caused by tank-washing, emptying ballast waters and other oily waste products constitute a danger that is three times more serious than oil spillages. Other contaminants must also be taken into account, as well as the effects of waste. The Mediterranean is the world's most polluted sea.
Climate Change. The oceans help control global warming, absorbing millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide, but their absorption capacity is being exceeded. Changes in sea temperature and chemical composition reduce biodiversity and facilitate the appearance of invasive species. The carbon dioxide absorbed by the oceans makes the water more acidic, destroying ecosystems and endangering coral reefs and organisms, like crustaceans, that need calcium to build their skeletons and shells. (L.C./transl.rt)