New research finds damaged oceans worldwide

Recent research has discovered that 40% of the marine world has been heavily affected by human activities, including fishing, climate change and pollution.

Researchers at the National Centre for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) in California have created a world map that colour-codes the influence of human activity upon the world’s oceans, believed to be the first of its kind in the world.

The most heavily affected areas in the world include large swathes of the North Sea, the South and East China Seas, the Caribbean Sea, the east coast of the U.S., and the Red Sea. Coral reefs, rocky reefs and seagrass beds are the most affected ecosystems.

The least affected areas are around the north and south poles. The least affected ecosystems are open surface waters.

The researchers who published the map hope that it will act as a wake up call, encouraging people to protect the oceans.

The lead scientist at NCEAS, Ben Halpern, said: “This project allows us to finally start to see the big picture of how humans are affecting the oceans.

“Our results show that when these and other individual impacts are summed up, the big picture looks much worse than I imagine most people expected. It was certainly a surprise to me.”

The Marine Conservation Society also commented on the map, saying that “Urgent action must be taken by Government to achieve a more effective balance between use and protection.

“This study is an internationally embarrassing wake up call for the UK to properly manage its seas.”

Whilst the map is the most comprehensive study of its kind, more work needs to be done on it as many human activities are poorly studied, and some areas lacked good data.