Rhetoric vs Reality: The Global Ocean Movement & Mako Sharks

With the ocean under threat from multiple stressors, unprecedented attention from policy makers, the media, and the public is welcome and vital.

Recent years have seen huge advances in environmental law and international agreements covering marine issues. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted in 2015 by the United Nations (UN) commit countries to “conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources.”

The UN’s own global assessment, however, found that the dramatic 38-fold growth in environmental laws and agencies since 1972 has not led to an equally pronounced improvement in the enforcement of those laws. Failure to fully implement these laws is one of the greatest obstacles to preventing widespread loss of species and suitable habitat, including in the ocean.

Overfishing is recognized as a major threat to ocean and planetary health. The recent Global Assessment by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) states that fishing has had the greatest impact on marine biodiversity, with expanding global fisheries now operating in at least 55% of the ocean.

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