In Dead Water

Damage to ocean beds from bottom trawling

Habitat loss related to coastal development

Overharvest from fisheries

Coastal pollution and dead zones, disrupted food chains

Increased vulnerability of infestations by invasive species

Climate change

Less cold-water driven flushing and reduced nutrient flows

Die-off of cold water corals with acidification

80-100% tropical coral reef die-off from bleaching

Further increase in dead zones

Shifts in marine life distributions and reduced ocean productivity

Further infestations on dead corals and in fishing grounds, breakdown by wave activity and storms

Concentrated cumulative impacts in the primary fishing grounds resulting in collapse or greatly reduced recovery rates

Figure 31. Climate change may, inter alia through effects on ocean currents, elevated sea temperatures, coral bleaching, shifts in marine life, ocean acidification, severely exacerbate the combined impacts of accelerating coastal development and pollution, dead zones, invasive species, bottom trawling and over-harvest. These impacts will be the strongest in 10–15% of the World’s oceans, which harbour the most productive fishing grounds today, responsible for more than half of the marine landings globally.

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