The biggest threats are the direct assaults on the oceans that occur every day out of sight and unabated. The ocean's resources and being consumed at an unsustainable rate. Commercial trawlers and purse seine dredges are destroying everything they pass over. All so we can have $9.99 all you can eat shrimp buffets and sushi in every supermarket in america. Commercial fish farming pollutes vast areas of open ocean and as aquaculturists destroy one area they just move to another. Corporate farmers are using marker genes to track their stock, as these fish escape their holding pens and breed with native species the genetic private property markers are spread. The Chinese have entire reef harvesting/mining ships that have been caught removing entire reefs from remote unprotected areas. What we haven't destroyed by taking from the oceans we destroy by putting things in the oceans. Trash, hazardous waste, chemical and agricultural runoff, free flowing oil well blowouts, chemicals to disperse the blowouts and the occasional nuclear power plant and atomic bomb to name a few. Did anyone read about the guy who dumped tons and tons of iron particles in the oceans to stimulate algal growth, which consumes carbon dioxide in hopes of making money from carbon credits? He tricked some small island nation into granting permission by telling them he had a plan to restore their depleted fish stocks. Other island nations sell their votes on whaling to the japanese. Honduran lobster harvesting is done by hand, using what is essentially slave labor of the moskito locals under horrible conditions. Etc.......The common thread of all these issues is commerce and private profits.
I am not a pessimist, I am a realist. Programs to make divers more AWARE or a program to save a REEF are feel good attempts to do something. The ocean resources are no different than those on land. Long ago we hunted the land for food, as the resources were depleted we switched to small scale farming. Then we moved to the agribusiness we see today, chickens in cages being fed a mix of pharmaceuticals, GMO corn, etc. The oceans will follow the same path. That is if it is not too toxic to sustain life.
The problems are not caused by divers and they will not be solved by divers. We will need strong international cooperation, as the earths oceans are one. Cultures will have to change, nations will need to change their diets to land based protein and agree to sustainable harvests and quit screwing with GMO's and frankenfish.
Did I mention the rising water temperatures, melting glaciers and rising sea levels?
Perhaps we need divers to go to their nearest Red Lobster and smack the fork out of people.
Plastic is a big problem, but the bags are cheaper than paper ones and we are too lazy to change. A recent study showed that a cloth grocery bag must be used 156 times to be better for the environment than a plastic one. The typical cloth bag is used 52 times before being discarded.
A new sushi restaurant opened near me with a sustainable menu. No bluefin and such, mackerel, breem, bass, albacore, norwegian salmon, sardines,etc are featured. This is a step in the right direction.
I feel lucky to live during such a transitional time. We still have a few remainders of original "old growth" earth, such as rain forests, fish, birds, bees, flowers etc. Enjoy them while you can and take lots of pictures to show the grandkids.
