Sealife as we know it may not live to see the turn of the century.
According to the UN Environment Program, if ther aren´t any significant changes by 2100 more than half of the ocean´s species may end up extinct.
The agency warns that commercial overexploitation is so shocking that 90% of fishery resources have already run out or just collapsed.
The fishing industry is also proficient in waste, as apparently 1 in 3 caught fish can´t become food. 10 million tons of waste are generated every year. Plastic is a huge problem too. It´s estimated that about 5 to 12 million metric tons end up in the ocean every year.
As if all that wasn´t enough, agricultural runoff and sewage are overloading marine ecosystems with harmful gases like nitrogen. This ends up generating enormous areas made of plankton, creating dead zones with low oxygen.
Most maritime life cannot survive in these areas. Hence the name.
The agency also notes that the ocean currently absorbs about 1/3 of the human-generated carbon emissions annually.
And finally there is the phenomenon of acidification, the CO2 dissolved in the water becomes acid and corrodes the sea life, in addition to reducing the breathing and feeding of the animals.
20% of ecosystems have already been lost and another 20% are in danger.