In recent years, the oceans have faced
some of the most dramatic changes

in all of its history.

But to really begin understanding how
vital the oceans are for life on Earth,

and how we as humans are impacting it, we
have to start looking at

some of the smallest organisms
that live there: phytoplankton.

Phytoplankton are microscopic
marine plants

which produce up to 80%
of the world's oxygen.

That means, that for every ten breaths
that we take,

eight of them have come from the ocean.

In just one cup of seawater, there may be
up to 100 million individual phytoplankton.

Huge plumes of these microscopic plants
can even be seen from space,

as they divide, multiply, and move with
the currents around the globe.

These microscopic life forms are so
crucial to creating the necessary

conditions for other life to thrive, that
if they were to ever go extinct,

all other species would die with them.

Oceanic pH and flow of water are
essential for these invisible plants

to thrive and produce oxygen as well as
take in carbon, where they then sink to

the bottom of the sea for thousands
of years.

They also happen to be the primary food
source of small marine animals,

and form the base of the marine food
web, which has a knock-on effect on

larger predators.

In other words, the healthier the oceans,
the more phytoplankton there will be,

and the more phytoplankton there is, the
more sea animals there can be.

One example of a symbiotic relationship
is with whales.

Their diet consists of fish, krill,
plankton and other small marine animals,

and they often hunt in the dark depths
of the ocean.

Due to the fact they must return to the
top of the ocean to breathe in air again,

they end up bringing those nutrients back
to the vital topsoil-like layer of the sea

where phytoplankton can then utilize
the iron, nitrogen and sunlight again.

Blue whales, for example, defecate up to
three tons into the sea every single day.

Iron and nitrogen rich fertilizer which
provides food for the phytoplankton,

which then provides food for the
zooplankton, fish, and then ultimately,

the whales again.

This vertical movement of animals
up and down the oceans, which mixes up

the sea, is astonishingly roughly the same
amount of mixing caused by all the world's

winds, waves and tides.

Humans, on the other hand, take everything
from the ocean and give nothing back.

Fishermen claim that the whales and
the seals are eating all of THEIR fish,

and so they cull these animals, not
realizing that to have more fish in the sea,

the oceans need to have more whales,
more seals and other predators

to keep this symbiotic relationship
in balance.

Humans are the cause of this species
depletion.

Scientists have now estimated that as many
as 650,000 whales, dolphins and seals

are killed by fishing vessel per year,
and yet still most people will continue

to think that this will have little to no
impact on the marine ecosystem.

When really, they play a vital and
irreplaceable role

in the oceanic life cycle.

And those aren't the only animals we are
driving to extinction.

An estimated 200,000 sharks are killed
every day for the shark fin industry,

which equates to roughly 73 million
sharks every year.

All the while, 140 different species
are listed as endangered,

threatened, or near threatened by
extinction according to the

Oceanic Preservation Society.

Sharks are the apex predators of the ocean,

who have shaped the evolution of
thousands of marine species,

and have been around for 400 million
years.

Their extinction would, without doubt,
dismantle the entire ecosystem.

They have survived the previous five mass
extinctions, and are now going extinct,

thanks to humans.

But it's not only the Asian demand for
shark fins, that sell for $400 per pound,

that is to blame.

Around 50 million sharks are pulled out of
the ocean per year as bycatch

all around the globe, by accident.

Often by so-called "sustainable fishing"
methods.

So if people are to really be against the
killing of sharks, and want to protect

biodiversity in the oceans, we must stop
fishing altogether.

Another endangered species with
dwindling spawning numbers is

the Pacific bluefin tuna, which has had
a 96% reduction in global stock levels.

However, Mitsubishi, who in 2009 held
35-40% of the worldwide market for

bluefin tuna, is reported as having
a fifteen year supply of frozen

bluefin tuna in its warehouses, yet continues
to fish these threatened species regardless.

They could effectively stop fishing tuna
for the next fifteen years to give enough

time for some of the population to
replenish, yet refuse to take such action,

as the scarcity for bluefin tuna has driven
its cost up exponentially.

Approximately 2.7 trillion fish are taken
from the sea every year,

40% of which is discarded as bycatch,
and another third of which is often used

to feed the animals which people eat
for meat, dairy and eggs.

In fact, so much fish is ground up into
pellets and fed to livestock that

pigs, cows and chickens are now
the world's leading oceanic predators.

Whilst the sewage that these land animals
produce, have created over 500

nitrogen flooded dead zones
around the world in our oceans,

and comprise more than
95,000 square miles of

areas completely devoid of life.

So any meaningful discussion about
the state of the oceans

must always embrace as a priority
frank discussion about land-based

animal agriculture, which is the exact
opposite of what virtually every

conservation group, like WWF and
Oceana, are doing.

They are still hooked on the romantic
notion of promoting "sustainable fishing",

which although makes consumers
comfortably unaware about the true

exploitation and cost to the oceans
and the animals, can never take away

from the fact that leading environmental
researchers and scientists say that

"sustainable fishing" is virtually impossible
when keeping in mind the overwhelming

debt we already owe to the ocean.

Out of all the species that humans take
from the ocean, none is as devastating

on marine animal populations as shrimping.

Currently, shrimp make up about 2% by
weight of the animals taken from the sea,

yet make up for a third of global bycatch.

In some cases, for every one kilogram of
shrimp caught, up to 20 kilograms of other

animals can be caught as bycatch
in the process.

Not only that, but since land-based
fish farming has been on the rise in

recent years, many vessels at sea are
targeting so-called "trash fish", which

are made up from juvenile fish from
environmentally important species,

to then grind up into fish food.

In this way, almost four tons of
wild-caught fish can be used to produce

just half a ton of shrimp, which ends up
in supermarkets and restaurants

across the US, Europe, and Asia.

This has severely impacted the ability for
many species to replenish,

mature and mulitply. The knock-on effect
of this devastation is almost never-ending.

In some regions of the world, such as
Southeast Asia, the oceans are so exploited

that although fishermen are working
several times harder than in the past,

they are catching fewer and fewer fish.

This is especially the case in Thailand,
where fishermen are catching 14%

of what they used to 50 years ago.

This has led to a loss of profits, increase
in illegal fishing in marine sanctuaries,

persistent fishing methods that allow no
time for spawning, and also resulted in

large rates of slave labour, as young men
and women are kidnapped on land,

drugged, beaten unconscious, and taken
on ships where they may be forced to work

relentlessly for years, so as to reduce
the cost of the operations for the criminal

ship owners.

This is shocking to know, seeing as around
33% of fish are coming from

developing countries, where not only is
regulation of fishing practices and

working standards almost non-existent,
but also happen to be in regions

of the planet where endangered species
reside or migrate to.

Large-scale commercial fishing 
kills vast amounts of fish,

and also destroys many ocean habitats.

Bottom trawling has been linked to mass
deforestation,

as marine research of Brien Brett states.

Imagine if you used a fleet of tractors 
to drag 30 tons of gear over a 150 meter

wide swath of land for most days 
of the year, you would wipe out

the New Forest in a few months, 
and the rest of the countryside

not long after that.

Yet that is what we are doing to the
seabed around Britain, even worse,

the boats keep going over
the same key areas.

The seafloor gets no chance to 
recuperate. It is tragic.

Before being slaughtered, fish 
are sometimes stunned.

One of the following methods are used:
a blow to the head,

electrical stunning, cold water 
immersion, and carbon dioxide gassing.

Carbon dioxide gassing is where 
the fish enter water that has been

saturated with carbon dioxide. 
This rapid change in their environment

irritates their gills. 
Fish struggle for several minutes

before they become immobile from
exaustion and lack of oxygen.

There is no evidence that the fish 
are anaesthetised at this stage,

so they are not unconcious when
their gills are cut.

There are a number of different methods
used to slaughter fish,

whether from farms or caught in the wild.

These include asphyxiation, where 
the fish are removed from the water

so that their gills collapse,
and they suffocate to death.

It can take some fish, 
such as trout, ten minutes

to die from this method.
Tearing of the gill arches

so that fish bleed to death 
is another method.

It can take up to 4 minutes 
for the fish to die.

Hoisting the fish from the water
with the hook, and then

forcing a spike through their
brain is often used on tuna.

Decapitation is another method, 
while some fish are even sold alive

and killed by the user, such as
a restaurant or a consumer.

Some will try to justify the 
consumption of fish, based on their

apparent lack of intelligence, 
memory, and ability to feel pain.

Research has shown that several
fish species have accurate memories

that can last several days, 
or even years in the case of

migrating salmon. 
Some fish will migrate across

thousands of miles of ocean, 
returning to spawn at the location

where they themselves were spawned.

Fish respond to threats and stress 
through changes in their colour,

or in their movement, such as 
swimming more rapidly,

becoming immobile, or even 
swimming at different depths.

Research has shown that some fish,
particulary trout, show fear

and avoidance behavior towards
unknown or unfamiliar objects,

and have been found to take 
their time before approaching

these objects, sometimes even 
avoiding them altogether.

Because fish and shellfish live in
increasingly polluted environments,

toxins from the water
accumulate in their bodies.

Studies have shown that most 
of the fish throughout the world

contain dangerously high
levels of mercury.

In the Faroe islands, 
where the local population

frequently slaughter and consume 
pilot whales, which there is

little to no data for to see
if they're endangered or not,

body mercury levels are sky-high.

Researchers had also found 
that for every one gram of whale meat,

there was 2 micrograms of methylmercury, 
the most toxic form of mercury.

Exposure to this metal has 
serious health consequences,

including increased risk of cancer,
heart disease, and even death.

Fish also contain unsafe levels 
of polychlorinated biphenyls,

which are danregous chemicals that 
have been linked to neurological problems,

and birth defects in babies 
who have been exposed.

A plant-based diet automatically reduces
your exposure to these chemicals.

Touted as a health food, fish has
a reputation for being heart-healthy.

People who opt for fish to try and 
protect their hearts may not realize

that fish is often high in cholesterol. 
While an three ounce T-bone steak

contains 70 miligrams of 
cholesterol, just three ounces

of shrimp contain a 161 milligrams.

Numerous studies have shown
that dietary cholesterol consumption

corresponds with an increased 
risk of artery blockage.

While fish contain omega 3 fats, 
most of the fat in fish is not healthy.

Between 15 and 30% of the fat 
in fish is actually saturated fat,

which stimulates the liver to 
produce more cholesterol.

High fat foods are associated 
with poor heart health outcomes.

The good news is, that by eliminating 
foods that contain cholesterol, like fish,

and opting for more naturally
cholesterol-free plant foods,

people can reduce both their cholesterol
levels and their risk of heart disease,

because research has shown that
every one percent reduction

in cholesterol means a reduction
in heart disease risk by two percent.

Fish is not a sustainable, kind or healthy 
food source for today or the future.

There's no reason for us to continue
in this destructive way of

animal farming for the sake 
of our nourishment.

The science has proven, without doubt, 
that it is not necessary to our survival

to consume animals, and in fact,
it is quite the opposite.

Not only is the elimination of 
animal products healthy for us,

but it is hugely beneficial for
the planet, and for the other animals

that inhabit the sea and the earth with us.

Becoming vegan and reducing your body count
and environmental footprint is easy.

For more help in progressing 
to a vegan diet and making

the transition you can visit
these websites for more information,

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