Following on from his very direct – angry –  warning video on the threat of Climate Change the links to his speech at the World Economic Forum are set out below.

World Economic Forum ‘David Attenborough’s worried about this ocean threat – and it’s not plastic

If the ocean was an economy, it would be the seventh largest in the world.

But instead of fostering it as a resource, humans are jeopardising its future – using it as a garbage dump and fishing it dry. Broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough has warned our waters are facing the biggest threat in their history, with industrial overfishing putting the entire ecosystem at risk. Seafood is a key source of protein for people around the world, but nearly 90% of the world’s marine fish stocks are now fully exploited, overexploited or depleted, according to Friends of Ocean Action, a group of more than 50 global leaders, convened by the World Economic Forum and World Resources Institute.

The impact of overfishing is wide-ranging. It’s a cause of degraded ecosystems, according to the WWF, and affects the size of the fish left behind, as well as how they reproduce and the speed at which they mature. When too many fish are removed from one particular spot, the resulting imbalances can kill off other marine life, including sea turtles and corals.  There’s also an economic aspect, with many businesses and jobs reliant on the fish industry. When fish are under threat, the coastal economies that depend on them are also put at risk.’

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