FISH PERISH AS CLIMATE CHANGE DISRUPTS OCEAN SYSTEMS
   The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) recently released "In Dead Water: Merging Climate Change with Pollution, Over-Harvest, and Infestations in the World's Fishing Grounds," which maps the multiple impacts of stressors such as pollution, infestations of exotic species, and over-exploitation on the seas and oceans. The report shows that at least 75 percent of the world's key fishing grounds may be affected by changes in the circulation of ocean water as climate change interferes with the ocean's natural pumping systems. Higher sea-surface temperatures over the coming decades also are expected to bleach and kill up to 80 percent of the world's coral reefs, and the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide, CO2, is steadily rising.

The report also states that up to 80 percent of the world's primary fish catch species are exploited beyond or close to their harvesting capacity, with bottom trawling being the most damaging and unsustainable fishing practice.

This report draws on a wide range of new and emerging science including the latest assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the body of 2,000-plus scientists established by UNEP and the World Meteorological Organization.

Source: Environment News Service, 22 February 2008
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2008/2008-02-22-01.asp