British seas face ecological disaster due to over fishing and pollution

Paul Eccleston, The Telegraph 13 Oct 08;

The seas around Britain face an ecological disaster because of over fishing and pollution, a new report warns.

Many fish species that were once common are either vastly reduced in number or locally extinct, the Marine Conservation Society (MSC) says.

Its report Silent Seas warns that without urgent action to protect marine life and to limit the damage already inflicted marine ecosystems will fail.

The MSC launched its latest report in support of its call for a Marine Bill to be introduced in the Queen's Speech which would designate protections zones where all fishing would be outlawed.

MCS head of conservation, Dr Simon Brockington who compiled the report, said: "Echoing Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring", Silent Seas forsees a world where extinctions of marine creatures begins to rise and the ecosystem starts to fail.

"Too many fish are taken from the sea, too much rubbish is thrown into the sea, and too little is being done to protect precious marine life and habitats. We have to act now!"

The report warns that the state of our seas has changed over the past 25 years and the loss of wildlife could result in fundamental ecological 'regime shifts' which was already happening in some parts of the world. In Namibia's seas over-fishing has led to a dramatic increase in jellyfish which now dominate the ecosystem.

In shallow UK waters numbers of many predatory fish such as sharks, skates and rays have fallen largely through fishing, and several once common species are now locally extinct.

A century ago large fish such as common skate, angel sharks, Atlantic halibut and cod in excess of a metre long were common in the North Sea but many of these species are classed as critically endangered.

The report also highlights the problems caused by pollution and particularly plastic which poses a significant hazard to marine wildlife.

MCS claims plastic litter washing up on UK beaches has grown by 126 per cent in the last 14 years. Sea birds, turtles, whales and seals are all killed by marine plastic either through entanglement, or ingestion causing death through starvation.

Dr Brockington said the threats posed by pollution, over-fishing and a lack of habitat protection would be made worse by climate change.

Continued pressure on the marine ecosystem would bring it to the point where it could support only creatures at the bottom of the food chain, such as jellyfish and plankton.

He said: "In the next few years we're going to start seeing the effects of climate change; the first effects are already there, such as migration of fish and plankton types.

"Unless we build a healthy ecosystem, the impacts of climate change will be far worse."

As well as marine protection zones the MCS wants a government strategy to combat pollution, more sustainable fishing and better water treatment plants.

In a foreword to the report Prince Charles says it is a "wake up call" that our seas need help.

"I pray that the society's message will be heeded by everyone who can support them in their mission to ensure that our seas do not fall silent forever as a result of pollution, over-exploitation and neglect," he said.

"Highly protected marine reserves, selective fishing practices and action to reduce plastic litter are just some of the steps needed to initiate recovery."

The latest IUCN Red List of Endangered Species revealed that one in three marine mammal species is threatened by extinction including almost a quarter of the world's whales and dolphins.

The Silent Seas report says that there are seven times more vertebrate species at risk of extinction in British waters than there are on land.

Some of the species include:

Native oyster (Ostrea edulis): Southern North Sea used to support an oyster bed the size of Wales. Now found only in a few isolated locations.

Common sturgeon (Acipencer sturio): Much sought after for food and eggs that make caviar. Fished almost out of existence.

Angel shark (Squatina squatina): Once found throughout north east Atlantic. Extinct in the North Sea and now only rarely found.

Common skate (Dipturus batis): Once common all around the UK shore it has now vanished completely from many areas.

Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus): Largest animal in the world. Once common hunted to near extinction in the 1800s. Locally extinct.

Crawfish (Palinurus elephas): Commonly seen by divers until the 1970s but now rarely encountered.

Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua): Once abundant in north east Atlantic, hunted beyond biological limits and now endangered.

Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea): In substantial decline and last stronghold is Atlantic where it is seen hunting jellyfish in summer.

Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus): Largest flatfish in the world. Has suffered massively from over fishing.

Porbeagle (Lamna nasus): British shark seriously depleted by longline fishing.