Oily runoff into U.S. waters from roads, refineries, and ships equals 20 Exxon Valdez oil spills each year. Last year there were 7,000 beach closings due to pollution. One in four fish eaten around the world is farmed. But destructive fish farming practices are actually driving us towards a worldwide collapse of our wild fisheries. Every pound of farmed shrimp, salmon, tuna, or cod requires 2 to 5 lbs. of feed made from wild-caught fish.
Sea life is astoundingly diverse.
Between 3 million to 500 million species exist exclusively in the marine environment, but we know very little about their world. More people have walked on the Moon than have touched the ocean floor. Knowledge of the oceans is no longer a matter of curiosity, President Kennedy said in 1961. Our very survival may hinge upon it. We can no longer afford to take for granted all the oceans do for us , using them to dispose of anything we want to rid ourselves of.