"Death Nail In the Coffin of World Fisheries"

The head of the United Nations Environment Program made a startling prediction Friday: Between overfishing, pollution and above all rising ocean temperatures from global warming, we are "potentially putting a death nail in the coffin of the world fisheries."

Scientists have already predicted dire consequences from overfishing alone, with up to 50% of major fish stocks reaching commercial extinction by mid-Century. With coral reefs bleaching and plankton threatened by acidifying oceans, the nurseries and lowest levels of the oceanic food chain are in peril.

Not only is this a reminder of how pervasive an effect we can have on a system that is awe-inspiring in its vastness, but also that the effects have real consequences. More than 2.6 billion people get most of their protein from fish.

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