This interview by Deutsche Welle with marine biologist Douglas McCauley illustrates the uncertain future of many marine animals in the face of increasing industrialisation of the oceans:
Many species of marine animal, such as sharks, are facing possible extinction as a result of increasing industrialisation of the oceans.
Image credit: Dms1259 on freeimages.com
McCauley: The findings basically are a bit of good news and a bit of bad news. The good news is that we haven’t kick-started a major extinction event in the oceans yet. And the bad news is that it seems we’re changing the way we use the oceans. We’re sitting on an extinction cliff now for marine wildlife species. We’re seeing mass reductions in the number of a lot of animals – 80 percent declines in some shark and tuna species. Iconic marine animals like bluefin tuna are hovering, particularly in the Atlantic, on the brink of extinction.
(Break)
And our review of the way that we are using the oceans suggests that we may be sitting at the beginnings of a marine industrial revolution. It looks like a lot of different marine industries – from marine farming to mining to shipping to building power plants in the ocean – all of this is beginning to increase at very rapid rates, reminiscent of the early stages of the terrestrial Industrial Revolution. So if what happens to wildlife on land during the Industrial Revolution is any guide for us, we could be looking at a somewhat frightening future for marine wildlife in terms of extinction in the next 50 to 100 years.
To read more about the changing world and what you can do to prepare, visit: www.newmessage.org
