Warning over fishing threat to seas

Over-fishing of the world's oceans ranks beside climate change as one of the biggest problems facing humans this century, it has been warned.

The warning from journalist Charles Clover ahead of the launch of his film on fishing, The End of Line, came as research showed the majority of people do not realise how under threat our seas are.

A YouGov poll of 2,000 adults showed that almost three quarters (72%) do not know that blue fin tuna are as close to extinction as the white rhino.

The YouGov survey for Waitrose, which is supporting the film, also found that despite half of the cod on our plates being fished illegally, some 78% of people do not try to buy fish caught sustainably.

And while some scientists have warned the world's fisheries could face collapse by 2048, more than half of those polled were unaware of the extent of the danger facing our seas.

Mr Clover said: "The world needs to understand over-fishing ranks up there beside climate change, human overpopulation and food security as one of the four big problems facing the present century. We're going to have to start managing large abundant fish populations for healthy oceans, rather than hunting down the last fish and then moving onto the next species."

And he said: "Over-fishing and global warming are linked. We need a healthy marine ecosystem to absorb carbon dioxide from the air."

He said recent research showed fish excreted a compound called calcium carbonate, which if it dissolves in the upper levels of the oceans could help replenish the alkalinity of the seas.

Other scientists have warned that increasing levels of CO2 emitted into the air and dissolved into seawater make the oceans more acidic. The increased acidity could damage ecosystems, coral reefs and fish stocks and prevent the seas absorbing as much CO2 in the future, reducing their use as "carbon sinks".

Mr Clover called on consumers to demand sustainably-caught fish from retailers and restaurants, and added he thought celebrities would soon begin to desert top restaurants which served endangered fish as it did not fit with their green image.