LISBON—A long-delayed UN conference on how to restore the faltering health of global oceans kicks off in Lisbon Monday, with thousands of policymakers, experts and advocates on the case. Wild fish stocksMicroplastics — found inside Arctic ice and fish in the ocean’s deepest trenches — are estimated to kill more than a million seabirds and over 100,000 marine mammals each year. “At least one-third of wild fish stocks are overfished and less than 10 percent of the ocean is protected,” Kathryn Matthews, chief scientist for US-based NGO Oceana, told AFP. Another major focus will be “blue food”, the new watchword for ensuring that marine harvests from all sources are sustainable and socially responsible. If properly managed, “wild ocean fish can provide a climate-friendly, micro-nutrient protein source that can feed one billion people a healthy seafood meal every day — forever,” said Matthews.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer June 27, 2022 16:54 UTC