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World Ocean Facts

[© David Doubilet]

Fish Stocks

• Marine scientists have recognized for the last two decades that most ocean resources are severely depleted.

• Eighty percent of fisheries worldwide are fully exploited or overexploited.

• More than a billion people rely on fish as their main source of animal protein.

Pollution and Protection

• Human health suffers from contamination of coastal water: bathing in contaminated water causes 250 million clinical cases per year, such as gastro-enteritis and respiratory diseases.

• The global economic cost related to pollution of coastal waters is US$16 billion annually.

• Worldwide, 100,000 marine mammals and turtles are killed each year by plastic litter.

• There are 200 known "dead zones," or areas deprived of oxygen and devoid of life (areas between 1 and 70,000 km2) in the world's oceans.

• Less than 1 percent of the marine environment is within protected areas, compared with nearly 9 percent of the land surface.

The Coasts

• Coastal areas make up 20 percent of the Earth's surface and are home to 50 percent of the human population, rising to a projected 75 percent by 2025. The ocean is the favorite destination for tourists worldwide.

• Reefs and mangroves protect the shoreline, absorbing at least 70-90 percent of the energy of waves.

• The total annual economic value of reefs has been estimated at between US$100,000 and US$600,000 per km2; the value of mangroves is estimated at more than US$900,000 per km2.

• It is estimated that 35 percent of mangrove forest has disappeared and some countries have lost 80 percent of cover.

• Thirty percent of the world's reefs are seriously damaged, and 60 percent could be lost by 2030.

Climate and the Oceans

• The sun's heat warms the oceans, which absorb heat and redistribute it around the world by way of currents and interaction with the atmosphere, thereby regulating the Earth's climate.

• The oceans absorb gases and a great amount of CO2, which causes chemical modification of the waters by acidification. As much as on land, ocean plants assure the process of photosynthesis and nourish animals.

• 46 million people per year are currently at risk of flooding from storm surges.

• A one-meter seawater rise may eliminate entire small island nations, and many delta areas will be lost.

What You Can Do

1. Respect local guidelines to protect the environment on the beach.

2. Use public transport rather than a car.

3. Volunteer and organize beach cleanups, pick up litter, manage and recycle waste.

4. Report illegal dumping.

5. Choose goods that have traveled less, buy reusable shopping bags.

6. When you buy or sell seafood in shops or restaurants, check the species is not endangered and if it was caught or farmed in a sustainable way. Choose restaurants promoting sustainable practices and species.

7. Sign an ocean pledge online and encourage your friends to do the same.

8. Support the creation and maintenance of marine parks and reserves.

9. Promote and organize events or share information at work, school or in your community to focus on the oceans' role in our lives. Join World Ocean Day on June 8.

For more information, see the World Ocean Network's Ocean Info Pack at www.worldoceannetwork.org/

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