Ailing oceans in state of 'emergency', says UN chief

LISBON: A long-delayed conference on how to restore the faltering health of global oceans kicked off in Lisbon on Monday , with the head of the United Nations saying the world's seas are in crisis.

And soaking up more than 90 per cent of the excess heat from global warming has spawned massive marine heatwaves that are killing off precious coral reefs and expanding dead zones bereft of oxygen. On current trends, yearly plastic waste will nearly triple to one billion tonnes by 2060, according to a recent report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development .Microplastics - now found inside Arctic ice and fish in the ocean's deepest trenches - are estimated to kill more than a million seabirds and over 100,000 marine mammals each year.

One culprit is nearly US$35 billion in subsidies. Baby steps taken last week by the World Trade Organization to reduce handouts to the industry will hardly make a dent, experts said. Another major focus will be"blue food", the new watchword for ensuring that marine harvests from all sources - wild caught and farmed - are sustainable and socially responsible.PROTECTED AREAS

But participants will push for a strong oceans agenda at two critical summits later this year - the COP27 UN climate talks in November, hosted by Egypt, followed by the long-delayed COP15 UN biodiversity negotiations, recently moved from China to Montreal.

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