} Photo by Marc Newberry on Unsplash
The vast waters surrounding the Philippines and the hundreds of thousands of people who depend on them for their livelihood are facing threats that are, in some ways, more serious than those posed by China and its maritime assertions. Those waters are constantly at risk of pollution from microplastics and the loss of various fish species. Recently, I joined a group of young people dedicated to protecting the environment on a beach cleanup project in Cebu. I was astounded by the massive volume of discarded plastic items we collected during the cleanup. Bottles, toys, shoes, shopping bags, and everything else made of plastic were there.
The microplastics released in those waters have been found in fish, human lungs, and blood. This is also the same around the world. Tons of tiny plastic particles and fibers are also floating in the air that we — especially children — breathe, and they are doing serious harm. They are likely to aggravate asthma, if not raise cancer risks. Tons of plastic waste are dumped in landfills, which leach plastic particles into rivers, streams, and lakes that flow into the oceans every year. They pollute our water supply and coastal waters and poison the fish.
Massive floating patches of plastic garbage three times the size of France cover an estimated 1.6 million square kilometers of the ocean. They contain billions of pieces of plastic, fishing nets, and other trash. One is the Great Eastern Patch, near Japan; another is the Great Western Patch, between Hawaii and California. The plastic made from chemicals releases microplastics into the oceans and atmosphere, and they are ingested by fish and humans who breathe the floating fibers and eat fish. They can seriously harm our bodies, especially our immune system. Microplastics have been found in many kinds of junk food that can kill us by causing various cancers. The human body has not evolved enough to survive the plastic revolution.
Research shows that there are an estimated 24.4 trillion microplastics in the world’s upper oceans. That is equivalent to 30 billion half-liter plastic water bottles that we throw away so carelessly. Know that there are 10,000 unique chemicals used to make plastics of all kinds, and 2,400 of them are toxic. The human species, with its supposed intelligence and rational thinking, is poisoning itself and most of the fish in the ocean, or what’s left of them, that is.
Not only are the oceans, fish, and humans threatened and damaged by human waste, greed, and irresponsibility, but corporate fishing fleets also trawl the ocean floor, dragging huge nets that destroy the ecosystems that support marine life. Ocean-bottom trawling churns up and releases tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) held in sediments on the ocean floor. Between 55 and 60 percent of this CO2 will eventually reach the atmosphere within nine years, causing global warming. This CO2 also causes severe ocean acidification, killing off some species of marine creatures and damaging biodiversity.
“The UN chief said there must be “bold pledges” made by nations and greater governance of the high seas, as well as addressing issues such as plastic pollution, overfishing, and environmental destruction through the rule of law.”
The largest ocean-bottom trawlers are those from China, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, Japan, South Korea, the United States, and Argentina, in that order. China trawls 4.1 million tons of sea life a year; the rest trawl 2 million tons on average.
China may be trawling the bottom of the Philippines’ waters, in addition to conducting massive commercial fishing operations and blocking Filipino fishermen from reaching their usual fishing grounds. Overfishing is endangering our oceans; large fishing fleets use huge purse nets to catch tons of fish at a time, then discard unwanted species, wasting marine life. Uncontrolled overfishing can inadvertently lead to various fish species becoming nearly extinct. Overfishing in the North Atlantic drove the cod to the brink of extinction and the near end of the United Kingdom’s national favorite dish — fish and chips. Tight restrictions on fishing quotas saved the cod from extinction.
Now, experts say the Atlantic bluefin tuna, sawfish, and various shark and ray species are on the edge of extinction due to overfishing. Extracting too many fish of one species disrupts the recovery of fish stocks. Overfishing depletes populations, driving species to the brink of extinction. The livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of poor people who depend on fishing are endangered, and a lack of high-protein food will result.
The Philippine fishing industry is threatened by dynamite fishing, the use of gill nets and traps, and spearfishing with “scuba” or “hookah” equipment, which utilizes an air compressor. These cause severe damage to coral reefs, which are the breeding grounds for fish. The practice of using groups of boys to go down to coral reefs and beat them to drive fish into nets is called “pa-aling” or “muro-ami.” This illegal method of using child labor to deplete marine resources should be banned outright.
Microplastic pollution, unregulated fishing, bottom trawling, blast fishing, and oil spills are among the numerous issues that the United Nations-sponsored High Seas Treaty, now in its final stages after 20 years of negotiations, aims to address. One measure is to create special marine protected areas. The treaty, signed in 2023 and requiring ratification by 60 nations, will protect these vast areas of ocean from the dangers above.
The Ocean Summit, held in Nice, France, saw UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres telling 60 world leaders that nations must move from “plunder to protection” to save the seas. The US did not attend this gathering, as President Donald Trump intends to mine the ocean floor anywhere in the world for rare minerals. The UN chief said there must be “bold pledges” made by nations and greater governance of the high seas, as well as addressing issues such as plastic pollution, overfishing, and environmental destruction through the rule of law. He received a standing ovation.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Shay Cullen is a Missionary priest from Ireland, a member of the Missionary Society of St. Columban and Founder and President of Preda Foundation since 1975.
