Human Influences on Marine Ecosystems

Study Shows Extent of Human Influences on Marine Ecosystems
02/26/2008

More than 40 percent of the world’s oceans are heavily impacted by human activities, including overfishing and pollution, according to a new study that was scheduled to appear in the peer-reviewed journal Science.
Dr. Kenneth Casey, with NOAA’s National Oceanographic Data Center in Silver Spring, Md., and co-author of the study “A Global Map of Human Impact on Marine Ecosystems,” joined a team of researchers that combined 17 data sets of different human activities – from fishing and fertilizer run-off, to commercial shipping and pollution – and analyzed their effects on marine ecosystems, continental shelves and the deep ocean.
The results, highlighted on a map, revealed the most heavily affected waters include the East Coast of North America, North Sea, South and East China Seas, Caribbean Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Bering Sea and areas off the western Pacific Ocean. Least affected areas are near the poles.