1. We've already pushed the world oceans close to--and in some cases, past--their natural limits, according to a recently released report on the state of our oceans by the Worldwatch Institute.

2. The increasing number of citizen groups, business and governments taking an active interest in slowing down the destruction and pollution of the ocean is encouraging, says senior researcher and author Anne Platt McGinn, siting a host of efforts already under way: Unilever, which controls 20 percent of the whitefish market in Europe and the U.S., has agreed to buy only fish caught and produced in an environmentally sustainable manner. Volunteers in the Philippines, Thailand, India, and Ecuador are replanting mangrove¹ areas to repair earlier damage from shrimp² farming. In northern Sulawesi, citizens have cleared coral reefs of harmful invasive species. The United States and Canada have banned oil drilling on large portions of their continental³ shelves.

3. On the downside, Safeguarding the Health of Ocean says that seven out of 10 commercial fish species are fully⁴ or over-exploited, and even worse, many of their spawning⁵ grounds have been cleared to make room for shrimp ponds, golf courses and beach resorts.

4. Habitat degradation⁶, resulting from development, agricultural run off, sewage pollution and destructive fishing practices has led to a tripling in the number of poisonous algal species identified by scientists, increasing fish kills, beach closures, and economic losses.

5. The impact on the economy is significant. People obtain an average of 16 percent of their animal protein from fish, and people in developing countries are extremely dependent on reef fisheries for both food and income. Tourism accounts for a large piece of coastline economies and medicines are being found in reef ecosystems⁷ everyday. Even toothpaste and ice-cream depend on the gel-forming properties of brown algae⁸.

6. The problem facing the oceans are legion: the marine⁹ conservation community is fragmented, bans on destructive activities are routinely ignored, too many regulatory organizations have a development-first mindset and enforcement and oversight¹⁰ are ineffective, if not altogether lacking.

7. Oceans need to be protected locally, nationally and internationally. Right now, the United Nations General Assembly spends just one day a year covering issues that affect more than half of the planet.

8. The report suggests that a tax of one-tenth of one percent on industrial and recreational ocean activities would generate $500 million a year, more than five times the annual budgets the International Maritime¹¹ Organization and the Fisheries Department of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.

9. However, the most productive areas of the ocean are under national jurisdiction¹² and 80 percent of oceanic pollution originates on land. This means that addressing global marine issues requires strong national and local policies.

10. New Zealand and Iceland charge fishers user fees and Mozambique and Bonaire charge tourists diving fees. The United Kingdom, Norway and Denmark all tax offshore¹³ oil and gas production in their waters.

11. In addition, several international institutions are today adopting policies that emphasize more stewardship¹⁴ and conservation. The International Maritime Organization, for example, has overseen¹⁵ the tightening¹⁶ of regulations on oil transportation. Since 1981, the occurrence of oil spills has been reduced by 60 percent, even though the volume of oil transport has doubled. The IMO is now trying to extend this success to deal with threats from ship paints and ballast water discharge.

12. Problems at the international level continue to be difficult to resolve. Five years after the Law of the Sea entered into force, the United States is one of only eight countries worldwide that still has not ratified¹⁷ it. Also, the international convention addressing fish that swim across political boundaries is not yet in force and lacks support from key fishing nations. After nearly a decade of political wrangling¹⁸, voluntary guidelines to address land-based pollution still have not won the support of national leaders. And while a global ban on a dozen long-lived synthetic¹⁹ chemicals that threaten ocean life is close to becoming reality, industry introduces hundreds of new ones that quickly become part of marine food chains each year.

1．根据世界观察研究所最近公布的一篇有关海洋状况的报告，我们已经 把世界海洋推向了自然极限，在某些方面，甚至已经超越了自然界限。

2．高级研究员、作家安妮·普拉特·麦克金说，越来越多的民间组织、 工商企业和政府开始积极关注有关减缓海洋毁坏和污染的问题；这是很令人 鼓舞的。她列举了许多积极努力的例子： 控制欧洲及美国20％白鱼市场的联合利华公司已经同意只购买那些 以环境可承受方式捕获的鱼。 菲律宾、泰国、印度和厄瓜多尔的志愿者正重新种植红树区，以弥补 原先由于养虾造成损害。 在北苏拉威西岛，居民们已清理了有害的蔓延类珊瑚礁。 美国和加拿大已在其大部分大陆架禁止进行石油钻探。

3．但另一方面，保护海洋健康组织指出，海洋资源日益枯竭，十种商业 鱼类中有七种捕捞量已达饱和或过度捕捞，更有甚者，这些鱼类的产卵区很 多已被清理出来用作养虾池塘、高尔夫球场和海滨度假区。

4．由于开发、农业减产、废水污染和毁灭性的捕鱼作业而引起的生物栖 息地毁坏，科学家们能够确认的各种毒藻的数量增至原来的三倍之多，并使 得鱼类死亡、海滨浴场关闭以及经济损失事件日益增多。

5．海洋状况对经济的影响十分显著。人类所摄取的动物蛋白质中平均有 16％来自鱼类，发展中国家的居民更是依靠沿礁渔业来获取食物及收入。旅 游业是沿海经济的一大组成部分，而且每天都会在沿礁生态系统中发现药品。 甚至牙膏和冰淇淋的生产也有赖于利用褐藻的成胶特性。

6．海洋面临的问题很多：海洋自然资源保护团体四分五裂，对毁坏性活 动的禁令照例遭到忽视，太多的管理机构的思路都是发展第一，如果不能说 根本没有进行实施和监督的话，至少也可以说是收效甚微。

7．根据麦克金的报告，地区、国家和国际都需保护海洋。而现在，联合 国大会每年只有一天用来讨论这些影响到大半个地球的问题。

8．报告建议对涉及海洋利用的工业和娱乐活动征收千分之一收税，这样 每年即可创收五亿美元，超过国际海洋组织和联合国粮食及农业组织渔业委 员会年度预算的五倍。

9．然而，海洋资源最为丰富的海域都由各国自行管辖，且80％的海洋污 染来自于陆地。这表明要解决全球海洋问题就要制定强有力的国家及地方政 策。

10．新西兰和冰岛向渔民征收海洋使用费，莫桑比克和博奈尔向游客收取 潜水费。英国、挪威和丹麦都在其水域内对近海的石油天然气生产征税。

11．此外，若干国际组织如今也都采取了注重服务和资源保护的政策。例 如，国际海洋组织已开始对于严格执行石油运输的管理规定实行监督。自从 1981年以来，虽然石油运输总量增加了一倍，但是石油泄漏的发生减少了60 ％。国际海洋组织如今正设法扩大成果，以处理由于船漆和压舱水排放而造 成的威胁。

12．国际范围内的问题仍难以解决。海洋法已实施五年，世界上只有八个 国家没有批准该法，而美国就是其中之一。另外，有关游过政治边界的鱼类 的国际公约尚未付诸实施，而且也没有得到主要渔业国的支持。经过近十年 的政治争论，有关处理来自陆地污染的非官方指导原则仍然没有获得各国领 导人的支持。一项全球性禁止十几种危害海洋生物的耐久性合成化学品的法 令即将出台，工业领域每年又生产出数以百计的新产品——它们很快会变成 海洋食物链的一部分。