Blue Planet Links does not guarantee the accuracy or objectivity of the information presented on listed websites or publications. We have attempted to present a variety of perspectives on the issues in the hope that the more you know, the more likely you are to influence and make wise public and personal decisions to promote healthy oceans and fresh water.
© 2012 Blue Planet Links
Aquaculture & fishing
Links to a zillion things you can learn about H2O
Amazing water! It's probably our most valuable natural resource. Nothing can live without it. As the world's population grows, we use more, poison more, and waste more H20 every day. Learn more:
FishBase
http://www.fishbase.org
Global database of fish, fishing and aqualculture statistics, by University of British Columbia prof, Daniel Pauly, recently named one of the 50 most influential scientists in the world by Scientific American magazine, and an authority on how declining fish stocks respond to environmental pressures, ecosystem fluctuations and commercial fishing. His Ecopath modeling program also predicts how fish may respond to changes in their environment.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Search AQUACULTURE & FISHING MANAGEMENT, as well as Overfishing and International Fisheries Governance, and PUBLICATIONS for interesting statistics and the latest reports on water-related environmental issues in Canada from federal government agency. Also check regional pages for pollution stats, to research on your own area.
Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council
http://www.fish.bc.ca
An independent body appointed by Canadian federal and British Columbia governments to report and advise Canadians on the status of B.C.'s salmon stocks, their habitat and ecosystems. See web site for their annual report on salmon stock, plus other advisories and news.
Pure Salmon campaign
Although the campaign by mostly environmentalists is inactive, Pure Salmon's website remains, offering problems and solutions "for raising the standards for farm-raised salmon".
The End of the Line: How Over-fishing is Changing the World and What We Eat
By Charles Clover (Ebury Press, 2004) Fewer and smaller fish, and sometimes no fish at all - fish "mining", by-catch losses, pollution and lack of regulation and political will all contribute to declining stocks the world over. Clover proposes some reasonable solutions.
World Rainforest Movement
http://wrm.org.uy/
Click SHRIMP FARMING in About WRM Home Page text for articles, "Our View" and "Unsustainable vs. Sustainable Shrimp Production", which provide background on the effects of aquaculture on tropical coastal mangrove ecosystems.
Quick Facts About Water
- Water covers 70% of Earth's surface. (That's why astronauts in space dubbed it "The Blue Planet".)
- Only 1% of this resource is drinkable. About 97% is ocean water: salty, unpotable and not usable for irrigation. The other 3% is fresh water, but nearly one-third of that is locked up in the form of glaciers and ice fields.
- The world's population more than tripled in the last century, but during the same time, our consumption of water increased six times. The U.S.A. and Canada, in that order, use the most water per capita.
- Agriculture is the largest user of water world-wide, consuming about 68%. Industry uses 22%.
- Water is life: we might survive a month without food, but less than a week without water.
- Water is weather: rain, snow, ice - and drought. It determines what we eat, what we grow, and what plants, animals and water life thrive.