Now that the definitions are understood, let’s apply them to just a few of the many specific examples. The following list is not by any means complete but serves to provide a meaningful guide so that a general understanding of the problem can be grasped by the average person.
Almost everyone is familiar with the collapse of the ocean whale fishery. Many whale species almost went extinct due to over fishing. Today, whales are a protected species, and the numbers of whales are slowly recovering. The same thing that happened to cause the collapse of all whale populations is or has happened globally to other species of large fish.
It is so rare to catch an adult tuna nowadays, that bidding wars drive the price of that rare fish into the 1 million dollar range. But that collapse of the adult tuna population has not slowed the consumer demand and pressure on this species, which are being hunted to extinction. The pursuit of the few remaining fish has created for profit bounty hunters, all seeking the Holy Grail and financial jackpot of the few remaining adult fish. The only tuna being caught nowadays are the juvenile tuna, but at some point, even those will disappear. When the decline of tuna reaches the point where no adults can breed, tuna in the wild can and will go extinct. Regionally, this has already happened, but it can and will happen globally as well.
Huge numbers of salmon used to be common in rivers year round on a global basis, with different runs made up of different kinds of salmon. Their numbers were so large that the sound of salmon splashing over sandbanks on the way up the river would keep people living near the river from sleeping for weeks at a time, because it sounded like a waterfall, due to the large number of fish. One estimate is that just one run of fish would number 500,000 fish.
Indians used to catch and then dry the salmon by the multiple wagon load for the winter. But that all ended when the dams went in, permanently blocking all migrating fish from going to their spawning grounds. As each dam was put in a river, the salmon disappeared. Today, there are only a miniscule small number of fish returning compared to what used to be there. Sometimes there is only one run compared to the former four runs that went on throughout the year, and that one small run needs the help of a hatchery to even survive at all.
Up to 75% of the former spawning habitat of the many and varied species of salmon has disappeared, and in cases of salmon who spawn at high altitudes in the spring, 100% of their habitat is now completely out of reach, behind dams. The spring salmon runs are now completely gone on all rivers with dams.
The chief threats to salmon survival are the following: high dams and other obstructions; pollution from domestic and industrial causes, including pest-control spraying; and reduction of stream flows through deforestation, siltation, concreting in streams/rivers and irrigation. (AGRP adds human caused global warming, droughts and river warming effects, plus radiation and chemicals.)
“California began hauling 30 million young Chinook salmon hundreds of miles toward the Pacific Ocean in tanker trucks to save the fishing industry after a record drought left rivers too low for migration.”
Starting the salmon count in 1950, after many dams on formerly salmon rich rivers had gone in, thereby causing the collapse of existing salmon stocks by perhaps 95%, here is the global salmon catch starting from that point;
It is obvious that salmon populations have collapsed from their former glory days. Salmon populations globally are collapsing further from there, with a few exceptions, where dams are being taken out and salmon are being reintroduced. Since 1950, the tiny remainder of global wild stocks of salmon have collapsed another 75% up to they year 2010. The new ‘norm’ is to have only one salmon ‘run’ with several thousands of fish returning, compared to an old norm of having a river numbering millions of salmon going up it, all year long.
2009 – To give one example; “In the fall of 2009, just 2,236 salmon returned to the entire river system to spawn; this has led to a government ban on salmon fishing off the coasts of northern California and Oregon.
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2013 – Unprecedented: Sockeye salmon at dire historic low on Canada’s Pacific coast — “We think something happened in the ocean” — “The elders have never seen anything like this at all” — Alaska and Russia also affected (MAP)
Aquaculture production in thousand tonnes as reported by the
FAO, 1950–2010
[11]Since the global collapse of the wild salmon fishery, aquaculture salmon farms and GMO salmon have been developed and approved. Despite being successful financially, these engineered salmon and fish farms have caused other problems that are speeding up the collapse of the wild fishery, by introducing new diseases, genetic problems and pests. Since 3/11 and the Fukushima mega nuclear disaster, the salmon fishery seems to have been negatively affected even more by low dose radiation.
COD, HERRING, SARDINES FISHERY COLLAPSED
National Geographic: “Atlantic cod and herring and California’s sardines, were also harvested to the brink of extinction by the mid-1900s. Highly disruptive to the food chain, these isolated, regional depletions became global and catastrophic by the late 20th century.”
2011 – Biologist: Pacific herring in Canada bleeding from eyeballs, faces, fins, tails — I’ve never seen fish looking this bad — All 100 examined were bloody — Officials informed of hemorrhaging soon after 3/11 — Gov’t ignoring problem (PHOTO)
“They’re All Gone”: Shock as sardines vanish off California — Fishermen didn’t find a single one all summer — Scientist: This is about the entire Pacific coast… Canada, Mexico, U.S. — NOAA: We don’t know why; The young aren’t surviving
http://enenews.com/theyre-all-gone-shock-as-sardines-vanish-off-california-fishermen-didnt-find-a-single-one-all-summer-scientist-this-is-about-the-entire-pacific-coast-noaa-the-young
SEA BIRD POPULATION COLLAPSE
Just 1% of usual number of baby California pelicans; “Nearly complete failure to breed”; Only 20 newborns in area where 10,000 expected — Expert: ‘Flabbergasted’ by what’s happening in Malibu, “I’ve never seen anything like that” (AUDIO)…..
Kathy Molina, biologist: “This should be just a cacophony of Caspian terns, and gull-billed terns and skimmers. They should all be coming in with food, feeding their chicks, vocalizing to their mates or their chicks. This is really quiet.”
The populations of pelicans, sea birds, seals, killer whales and other top predators have been collapsing since 2011. Populations before settlers arrived were in the millions, but are now small fractions of that former number. The number of young being born and raised to adulthood are not sufficient to replace the current population.
TURTLE POPULATION COLLAPSED
A few local increases largely due to strong conservation efforts and local protection laws are far outweighed by many turtle population collapses and extinctions globally, especially of island populations, and the demise of once large populations, such as in Malaysia.
One example; “Monitoring of the nesting assemblage at Mexiquillo has been continuous since the 1983-1984 breeding season, making it the longest leatherback monitoring program in México, and one of the most complete databases for this species in the world. Since 1986 the population at Mexiquillo has been in a continuous decline, with a particularly low year in 1993-1994 (Sarti et al., 1994) (Figure 1)”
The best recorded turtle population above, based on number of nests, has collapsed from 6,500 in 1986 to less than 500 in 1994.
LEATHERBACK
“The leatherback turtle has survived for more than 100 million years, but is now facing extinction. Recent estimates of numbers show that this species is declining precipitously throughout its range.”
HAWKSBILL
The 2007 analyses of populations at 25 Index Sites around the world show a decline of 88.3 to 90.8% in the number of females nesting annually over the last three hawksbill generations (105 years in the Atlantic and 135 years in the Indo-Pacific).
GREEN
Analyses of historic and recent abundance information by the MTSG indicates that extensive population declines have occurred in all major ocean basins over approximately the past 100-150 years. The MTSG analyzed population trends at 32 index nesting sites around the world and found a 48-65% decline in the number of mature females nesting annually over the past 100-150 years.
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/turtles/green.htm
“With the advent of new gear and boat technologies, fishing has become one of the greatest sources of mortality to sea turtles around the globe.
Each of the six sea turtle species found in United States waters is listed as either endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act which means that they may go extinct in the foreseeable future.”
PREDICTION OF ALL GLOBAL OCEAN FISHERIES COLLAPSING
By 2008, the
IUCN had assessed about 3,000 marine species. This includes assessments of known species of shark, ray, chimaera, reef-building coral, grouper, marine turtle, seabird, and marine mammal.
Almost one-quarter (22%) of these groups have been listed as threatened.
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Stanford University; Science study predicts collapse of all seafood fisheries by 2050 – Based on current global trends, the authors predicted that every species of wild-caught seafood—from tuna to sardines—will collapse by the year 2050. “Collapse” was defined as a 90 percent depletion of the species’ baseline abundance.
National Geographic; Overfishing – Ocean overfishing is simply the taking of wildlife from the sea at rates too high for fished species to replace themselves. The earliest overfishing occurred in the early 1800s when humans, seeking blubber for lamp oil, decimated the whale population. Some fish that we eat, including Atlantic cod and herring and California’s sardines, were also harvested to the brink of extinction by the mid-1900s. Highly disruptive to the food chain, these isolated, regional depletions became global and catastrophic by the late 20th century.
CNN – Overfished and under-protected: Oceans on the brink of catastrophic collapse
The
Census of Marine Life, a decade-long international survey of ocean life completed in 2010, estimated that
90% of the big fish had disappeared from the world’s oceans, victims primarily of overfishing. “Anywhere you go and try to harvest fish with a trawl you are going to destroy any coral that lives there, and there is example after example of the damage that is done by trawlers. Ron O’Dor, senior scientist on the Census of Marine Life
More severe threats remain to the world’s oceans, such as the following:
Acidification Tipping Point
Wikipedia; “The oceans are normally a natural
carbon sink, absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Because the levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide are increasing, the oceans are becoming
more acidic.
[75][76] The potential consequences of ocean acidification are not fully understood, but there are concerns that structures made of calcium carbonate may become vulnerable to dissolution, affecting corals and the ability of shellfish to form shells.
[77]A report from NOAA scientists published in the journal Science in May 2008 found that large amounts of relatively acidified water are upwelling to within four miles of the Pacific continental shelf area of North America. This area is a critical zone where most local marine life lives or is born. While the paper dealt only with areas from
Vancouver to northern California, other continental shelf areas may be experiencing similar effects.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_fisheries
For more in depth information about ocean acidification, click on the following links.
NOAA – A Simple Explanation of Ocean Acidification; via @AGreenRoad
http://agreenroad.blogspot.com/2013/09/noaa-simple-explanation-of-ocean.html
Acid Oceans; Why Should We Care? via @AGreenRoad
http://agreenroad.blogspot.com/2012/06/acid-oceans-why-should-we-care.html
Acid Test; The Global Challenge Of Ocean Acidification; via A Green Road
Eutrophication/Dead Zones Tipping Point
The number and size of dead zones in the world’s oceans are growing and spreading wider.
Effect of eutrophication on marine benthic life
Wikipedia; “Eutrophication is an increase in chemical nutrients, typically compounds containing nitrogen or phosphorus, in an ecosystem. It can result in an increase in the ecosystem’s primary productivity (excessive plant growth and decay), and further effects including lack of oxygen and severe reductions in water quality, fish, and other animal populations.
The biggest culprit are rivers that empty into the ocean, and with it the many chemicals used as fertilizers in agriculture as well as waste from livestock and humans. An excess of oxygen depleting chemicals in the water can lead to hypoxia and the creation of a dead zone.[69]
The World Resources Institute has identified 375 hypoxic coastal zones around the world, concentrated in coastal areas in Western Europe, the Eastern and Southern coasts of the US, and East Asia, particularly in Japan.[71] In the ocean, there are frequent red tide algae blooms[72] that kill fish and marine mammals and cause respiratory problems in humans and some domestic animals when the blooms reach close to shore. (red tide algae thrive in chemical/nutrient rich waters that come from agribusiness and sewage runoff from cities)
In addition to land runoff, atmospheric anthropogenic fixed nitrogen can enter the open ocean. A study in 2008 found that this could account for around one third of the ocean’s external (non-recycled) nitrogen supply and up to three per cent of the annual new marine biological production.[73] It has been suggested that accumulating reactive nitrogen in the environment may have consequences as serious as putting carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.[74]”
OCEAN RADIATION TIPPING POINT
It is well known that the immune system is compromised by low level radiation.
It is documented that low level radiation contamination is happening in the Pacific, at levels that are orders of magnitude higher than all previous radiation releases, including the 2,400 open air nuclear bomb ‘tests’.
It is documented that sea lions, seals, polar bears and now fish have all suffered from sores, hair loss, and internal damage, all in roughly the same time period, right after 3/11, to now.
Local areas might have had diseases and die offs before this point. What is different now is that the fish and marine (plus land) animals (since 3/11) have all suffered from a HUGE mortality/die off rate in the Pacific ocean all the way from Alaska down to Mexico, which has NEVER happened before in recorded history, not even in the American Indian or Eskimo tribe history.
The biologists could NOT find any bacteria or virus to blame. Science is about looking for cause and effect.. Yes, it could be disease. This was ruled out. Yes, it could be methane, but could that be a cause across thousands of miles of ocean? What is much more likely as a root cause, because there is a definite release of HUGE amounts of radiation, and then right after that, a massive die off of sea animals happened, plus high radiation readings in seaweed, plankton and algae were measured, is low level radiation, consisting of up to 9 tons of 1,200 man made radioactive elements that came out of Fukushima on 3/11.
How Fukushima Radiation Is NOT Measured In Pacific Ocean by IAEA Sponsored And Paid For Scientists; via @AGreenRoad
http://agreenroad.blogspot.com/2013/05/fukushima-radiation-measured-in-pacific.html
The Deep Pacific Ocean Is Broken/Dead; Devoid Of Life For Thousands Of Miles, Where It Used To Be Filled With Life; via @AGreenRoad
http://agreenroad.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-deep-pacific-ocean-is-brokendead.html
Radioactive Waste Dumping In Oceans via @AGreenRoad
http://agreenroad.blogspot.com/2012/09/radioactive-waste-dumping-in-oceans.html
Seals, Walruses, Polar Bears And Fish ARE Suffering From Fukushima Radiation Caused Effects; via A Green Road
http://agreenroad.blogspot.com/2013/02/seals-walruses-polar-bears-suffering.html
Comparing Contaminated Zones Around Chernobyl And Fukushima Plus Total Ocean Radiation Released; via A @AGreenRoad
http://agreenroad.blogspot.com/2012/05/comparing-contaminated-zones-around.html
Animals And Plants; Low Level Radiation Effects
http://agreenroad.blogspot.com/p/animals-and-low-level-radiation-effects.html
Fukushima Pacific Ocean Radiation And How It Concentrates In Mussels, Sea Stars, Chitons, Clams, Oysters, And Fish; via @AGreenRoad
http://agreenroad.blogspot.com/2014/01/fukushima-pacific-ocean-radiation-and.html
SUMMARY
According to the UN Environment Programme, the Earth is in the midst of a mass extinction of life. Scientists estimate that 150-200 species of plant, insect, bird and mammal become extinct every 24 hours.
This extinction is happening both on land and in the ocean, as more garbage, radioactive waste, chemicals, and acid is pouring into the world’s oceans. The ocean dead zones are growing in number and size. As oceans become acid and as more garbage and radiation is pumped and dumped into the oceans, this then bio accumulates and bio concentrates up to humans via the food web, and puts more extinction causing stress and pressure on all living species in the ocean.
There are many more negative tipping points (link below) that also have an effect on all seafood and the web of life in the oceans that humans rely on. As oceans become more polluted and acidic, the few species that benefit are toxic bacteria/algae and jellyfish, which thrive in this environment. In turn, as these species become more abundant, they are the DIRECT cause of the extinction of all fishery life where they thrive. In some places globally, there are only jellyfish and toxic algae/bacteria existing, but no other life or fish can be found. Due to numerous negative tipping points, the web of life is being unraveled, one thread of life, one species going extinct at a time, accelerating faster and faster, in the wrong direction.
As the ocean blanket/web of life unravels, because one species may support a dozen or a hundred other species, the rate of extinction of species will gather speed and momentum, until a global tipping point is reached, beyond which there is no return.
The ocean’s animals are warning us; do not keep going down this road.. The environment is also giving us notice, via numerous tipping points. Do not go down this road. All life and unseen helpers are shouting out; Warning, Warning. Danger, Danger, cliff ahead. Humanity (so far at least) is driving faster and faster towards the edge of the cliff.
2014 List of 45+ Global Tipping Points, Many Of Them Have Been Reached Or Exceeded, Almost All Are Getting Worse; via @AGreenRoad
Further mass die offs, collapses, reductions in fishery catches and extinctions are predicted, because the threats to the oceans and all life in it are not being addressed adequately. More and more pressure is being placed on the animals and top predators that depend on fishery stocks to survive, such as killer whales, seals, walruses, polar bears, whales, etc.
The small global village of humanity living on a dust mote in a sunbeam needs to learn the science of sustainable health, as taught be A Green Road Project. There is a way of living and doing business in a way that does not harm our oceans, which is the cradle of the largest miracle; which is called life. There are more species in the ocean than on land. Two or three generations are responsible for the extinction of many species of life, which took millions of years to evolve.
Geologically speaking, all life on Earth is being extinguished in a nano second. What right do humans have to deprive countless future generations of life? What right do humans have to take away the jewel like miracle of life on this planet?
How would you feel, if you knew that you were at least partially responsible, either through inaction to stop this, and/or through actions that caused this to happen by living in a way that helps create one of those negative tipping points?
What kind of lifestyle do we all have to live to make sure the oceans and all species in it stay healthy and at sustainable levels of population? What kind of lifestyle do we have to adopt so that seven future generations can also enjoy the life of the ocean and eat healthy seafood? Certainly, our present course is not sustainable; that much should be VERY obvious. The most important thing we can do is to learn and teach the science of sustainable health, and then take actions to correct the unsustainable tipping points, as a global rainbow village.
End
2014 – Global Ocean Fishery Tipping Point Report; via @AGreenRoad
http://agreenroad.blogspot.com/2014/05/2014-global-ocean-fishery-tipping-point.html
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