As the beach-going season comes around with the summer heat, it's a good time for everyone to reflect on the importance of the sea. The ocean environment, which brings a variety of benefits to humankind, is facing a serious crisis.
One vivid manifestation is in a decline in fishery resources caused by overfishing. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's report "The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2016," production from the world's marine fisheries fell to 80.9 million tons in 2013 from a peak of 86.4 million in 1996.
The share of fish stocks within biologically sustainable levels declined from 90 percent in 1974 to 68.6 percent in 2013. The percentage of stocks fished at biologically unsustainable levels increased from 10 percent in 1974 to 26 percent in 1989 and 31.4 percent in 2013.