Image by yucar studios.
We are destroying our oceans. The UN Oceans Conference, taking place from June 9-13 in Nice, France, is aimed at working toward resolving this devastating problem.
And the problem is real. Just ask Prince William and Sir David Attenborough.
Prince William marked World Oceans Day on Sunday by delivering remarks at the Blue Economy and Finance Forum.
“We come together today united by our deep connection to the ocean and our concern for its safety,” William, 42, said in his speech at the event held in Monaco. “For many of us, it is a place where some of our happiest memories are made, where we have explored the wonders of the natural world, and we have all relied on its great abundance for our food and livelihoods.”
He continued, “And yet, all too often, it can feel distant and disconnected from our everyday lives, allowing us to forget just how vital it is. The truth is that healthy oceans are essential to all life on earth. They generate half of the world’s oxygen, regulate our climate and provide food for more than three billion people, and today they need our help.”
The Prince of Wales further noted that “rising sea temperatures, plastic pollution and overfishing” have placed pressure on the “fragile ecosystems” and the people “who depend most upon them.”
The destruction of the oceans is, of course, harming marine life, and, as Prince William said, it also jeopardizes our communities. Over 3 billion people depend on the oceans for food, income, and even cultural practices. Collapsing fisheries threaten food security, particularly in developing nations, while coastal communities face increased flooding and erosion due to rising seas and degraded ecosystems. The economic toll is immense, with estimates suggesting that ocean degradation could cost the global economy trillions by 2050.
We know there are solutions to this problem, but they require bold, coordinated action and no government seems willing enough to tackle the issue head-on. At least some of the ways to mitigate the damage we are causing to oceans is by expanding Marine Protected Areas, enforcing sustainable fishing quotas, and banning destructive practices like bottom trawling.
But human-caused climate change is exacerbating the crisis. Rising sea surface temperatures, which have increased by approximately 0.13°C per decade over the past century, are driving coral bleaching, mass die-offs of fish, and shifts in species distribution.
The oceans cover over 70 percent of Earth’s surface and are the lifeblood of our beloved planet. The Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, as well as the other oceans, seas, and large bodies of water, regulate climate and provide food and livelihood for billions of people. They harbor immense ecosystems that will die off if we do nothing to save them. It is our activities that are pushing these vital systems to the brink of collapse. We are guilty of overfishing, pollution, and deep-sea exploitation.
Attenborough told Prince William he is “appalled” by the damage that some fishing methods are causing. Attenborough’s concerns are echoed by scientists and environmentalists worldwide.
Overfishing represents one of the most damaging and immediate threats to the vast ocean ecosystems. Industrial fishing operations, with their fleets of factory ships and their massive fishing nets, are decimating fish populations and preventing them from replenishing.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimated in 2019 that over 33% of global fish stocks are overfished, with another 60% fished to their maximum sustainable limit. Imagine how much worse it has gotten since then. This relentless harvesting has decimated populations of key species like cod, tuna, and sharks, disrupting food chains and endangering marine biodiversity.
Bottom trawling, a particularly destructive fishing method, drags heavy nets across the ocean floor, obliterating habitats like coral reefs and seagrass beds. These practices not only kill millions of non-target species, such as seabirds, turtles, and sharks, but also release massive amounts of carbon stored in the seabed.
Scientific magazine Frontiers in Marine Science published a study suggesting that bottom trawling alone releases up to 370 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, exacerbating climate change. The scale of destruction is staggering.
Deep-sea mining is gaining momentum despite warnings from Attenborough and other scientists who emphasize that deep-sea biology is “the most threatened of global biology.” Mining operations churn up sediment, destroy habitats, and release toxic plumes that can smother marine life for miles.
Offshore oil and gas drilling further compounds the problem. Spills, leaks, and seismic surveys disrupt marine ecosystems, while the noise from drilling operations disorients whales and other species reliant on sound for communication. Pollution is choking the oceans, with plastic waste, chemical runoff, and sewage creating a toxic environment for marine life. Agricultural runoff, laden with fertilizers and pesticides, creates vast “dead zones” where oxygen levels plummet, suffocating marine life.
The 2023 High Seas Treaty and other international agreements offer hope and frameworks for change, but progress is slow and they must be backed by enforcement and accountability.
The damage is awful, but it is not too late to act. Public awareness is growing, spurred by voices like Prince William and Sir Attenborough, and hopefully we can work together to save our oceans.
And let’s hope real solutions emerge from the UN Oceans Conference.
