Realizations

Studies show that human activity is responsible for environmental changes.

Love the ocean

“You will love the ocean. It makes you feel small, but not in a bad way. Small because you realize you're part of something bigger.”

The oceans are very important to human life. When evaporation takes place, the clouds condense and then rain falls. The oceans also help to moisturize the air that human beings breathe. If the ocean life dies, even the human race will be in danger. Another main issue that affects oceanic life is overfishing.

How are we destroying the marine life?

Human activities are a threat to marine and oceanic life. Human beings have depleted the fish reserves in the aquatic environment by constant fishing and pollution. The human activities disturb the fish, reduce their numbers and interfere with their ecosystem. Others dump a lot of wastes in the rivers, streams and other bodies and these activities have negative ramifications to marine life. Human beings in the world slaughter about 100 million sharks every year.

Human beings also turn the coastal beaches into tourist destinations and this affects the marine life negatively. People are always lying on the beaches especially during the holidays. The people who visit the beaches opt to eat marine cuisine and they also affect the animal habitats. Human beings have also turned the coastlines into hotels and residential areas and they continue to move closer as the years go by. The human interference takes a toll on oceanic life.

Pollution is another threat to marine life. When people dump untreated sewage, fertilizers, and chemicals in the water the fish die out. Other people also dump industrial chemicals that affect the whole ecosystem in the water. These chemicals kill the bacteria and planktons in the water. The fish die out and the cycle continues to the bigger fish. Human beings also harm themselves because they eat fish which have a lot of chemicals. This is one of the reasons why people suffer from diseases like cancer.

In conclusion, the main human threats to marine life are shark hunting, overfishing, inadequate protection, tourism, shipping, oil and gas, pollution, aquaculture and climate change. These are activities that cause fish and plants in the aquatic habitat to become extinct. Scientists predict that human beings will deplete the fish reserves by 2048. Human beings should stop hurting the marine and oceanic life because this will help to conserve the marine ecosystem.

Man is the main contributor of the death and destruction of marine habitats. He destroys the habitats and this destruction also affects him in a negative way. One disturbance in the food chain can affect many plants and animals. Man should conserve his environment and he should reduce pollution, global warming, over-fishing and transforming all beaches into tourist sites.

“It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the scale and complexity of the threats that currently face life on our planet, but I firmly believe that with enough passion, dedication, and cooperation, we really can make a difference.”

— Lucy Houliston, 21, UK | Youth Council Member