Fish in danger

MONACO – A deadly combination of climate change, over-fishing and pollution could cause the collapse of commercial fish stocks worldwide within decades, says Achim Steiner, head of the United Nations Environment Programme.

“You overlap all of this and you see you’re potentially putting a death nail in the coffin of world fisheries,” Steiner told reporters on Friday on the fringes of a climate conference involving more than 150 nations and 100 environment ministers. Some 2,6 billion people worldwide depend on fish for protein, said a UNEP report ‘In Dead Water’ published on Friday.Climate change has compounded previous problems such as over-fishing, as rising temperatures kill coral reefs, threaten tuna spawning grounds, and shift ocean currents and with them the plankton and small fish which underpin ocean food chains.The report found the most affected areas included those responsible for half the world’s fish catch.Nampa-ReutersSome 2,6 billion people worldwide depend on fish for protein, said a UNEP report ‘In Dead Water’ published on Friday.Climate change has compounded previous problems such as over-fishing, as rising temperatures kill coral reefs, threaten tuna spawning grounds, and shift ocean currents and with them the plankton and small fish which underpin ocean food chains.The report found the most affected areas included those responsible for half the world’s fish catch.Nampa-Reuters