TED2018
Enric Sala: Let's turn the high seas into the world's largest nature reserve
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What if we could save the fishing industry and protect the ocean at the same time? Marine ecologist Enric Sala shares his bold plan to safeguard the high seas -- some of the last wild places on earth, which fall outside the jurisdiction of any single country -- by creating a giant marine reserve that covers two-thirds of the world's ocean. By protecting the high seas, Sala believes we will restore the ecological, economic and social benefits of the ocean. "When we can align economic needs with conservation, miracles can happen," Sala says.
Enric Sala - Marine ecologist
Dr. Enric Sala is a former university professor who saw himself writing the obituary of ocean life and quit academia to become a full-time conservationist as a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence. Full bio
Dr. Enric Sala is a former university professor who saw himself writing the obituary of ocean life and quit academia to become a full-time conservationist as a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
If you were to jump
into any random spot in the ocean,
into any random spot in the ocean,
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you would probably see
something like this.
something like this.
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Empty of large animals.
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Because we have taken them
out of the water
out of the water
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faster than they can reproduce.
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Today I want to propose a strategy
to save ocean life,
to save ocean life,
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and the solution has
a lot to do with economics.
a lot to do with economics.
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In 1999, a little place
called Cabo Pulmo in Mexico
called Cabo Pulmo in Mexico
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was an underwater desert.
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The fishermen were so upset
not having enough fish to catch
not having enough fish to catch
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that they did something
that no one expected.
that no one expected.
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Instead of spending more time at sea,
trying to catch the few fish left,
trying to catch the few fish left,
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they stopped fishing completely.
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They created a national park in the sea.
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A no-take marine reserve.
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When we returned, 10 years later,
this is what we saw.
this is what we saw.
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What had been an underwater barren
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was now a kaleidoscope of life and color.
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We saw it back to pristine
in only 10 years.
in only 10 years.
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Including the return
of the large predators,
of the large predators,
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like the groupers, the sharks, the jacks.
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And those visionary fishermen
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are making much more money
now, from tourism.
now, from tourism.
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Now, when we can align
economic needs with conservation,
economic needs with conservation,
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miracles can happen.
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And we have seen similar recoveries
all over the world.
all over the world.
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I spent 20 years studying
human impacts in the ocean.
human impacts in the ocean.
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But when I saw firsthand the regeneration
of places like Cabo Pulmo,
of places like Cabo Pulmo,
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that gave me hope.
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So I decided to quit my job
as a university professor
as a university professor
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to dedicate my life to save
more ocean places like this.
more ocean places like this.
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In the last 10 years, our team
at National Geographic Pristine Seas
at National Geographic Pristine Seas
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has explored, surveyed and documented
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some of the wildest places
left in the ocean
left in the ocean
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and worked with governments
to protect them.
to protect them.
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These are all now protected, covering
a total area half the size of Canada.
a total area half the size of Canada.
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(Applause)
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These places are the Yellowstones
and the Serengetis of the sea.
and the Serengetis of the sea.
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These are places
where you jump in the water
where you jump in the water
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and are immediately surrounded by sharks.
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(Laughter)
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And this is good,
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because the sharks are a good indicator
of the health of the ecosystem.
of the health of the ecosystem.
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These places are time machines
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that take us to the ocean
of 1,000 years ago.
of 1,000 years ago.
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But they also show us
what the future ocean could be like.
what the future ocean could be like.
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Because the ocean has extraordinary
regenerative power,
regenerative power,
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we have seen great recovery
in just a few years.
in just a few years.
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We just need to protect
many more places at risk
many more places at risk
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so they can become wild
and full of life again.
and full of life again.
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But today, only two percent of the ocean
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is fully protected from fishing
and other activities.
and other activities.
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And that's not enough.
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Studies suggest that we need at least
30 percent of the ocean under protection
30 percent of the ocean under protection
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not just to save marine life,
but to save us, too.
but to save us, too.
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Because the ocean gives us more than half
of the oxygen we breathe, food,
of the oxygen we breathe, food,
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it absorbs much of the carbon pollution
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that we throw in the atmosphere.
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We need a healthy ocean to survive.
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Now, is there a way
to accelerate ocean protection?
to accelerate ocean protection?
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I think so.
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And it involves us looking
at the high seas.
at the high seas.
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Now, what are the high seas?
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Now coastal countries have authority
over 200 nautical miles from shore.
over 200 nautical miles from shore.
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Everything beyond those areas
are called the high seas.
are called the high seas.
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In dark blue on this map.
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No country owns the high seas,
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no country is responsible for them,
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but they all are, so it's a little
like the Wild West.
like the Wild West.
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And there are two main types
of fishing in the high seas.
of fishing in the high seas.
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At the bottom and near the surface.
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Bottom trawling is the most
destructive practice in the world.
destructive practice in the world.
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Super trawlers, the largest
fishing vessels in the ocean,
fishing vessels in the ocean,
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have nets so large
that they can hold a dozen 747 jets.
that they can hold a dozen 747 jets.
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These huge nets destroy
everything in their paths --
everything in their paths --
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including deep corals
that grow on sea mounds,
that grow on sea mounds,
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which can be thousands of years old.
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And fishing near the surface
targets mostly species
targets mostly species
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that migrate between
the high seas and country's waters,
the high seas and country's waters,
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like tuna and sharks.
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And many of these species are threatened
because of too much fishing
because of too much fishing
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and bad management.
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Now, who fishes in the high seas?
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Until now, it was difficult
to know exactly,
to know exactly,
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because countries have been very secretive
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about the long-distance fishing.
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But now, satellite technology
allows us to track individual boats.
allows us to track individual boats.
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This is a game-changer.
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And this is the first time
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we are presenting the data
that you are going to see.
that you are going to see.
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I'm going to show you
the tracks of two boats
the tracks of two boats
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over the course of a year,
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using a satellite automated
identification system.
identification system.
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This is a long-liner, fishing
around the southern coast of Africa.
around the southern coast of Africa.
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After a few months fishing there,
the boat goes to Japan to resupply,
the boat goes to Japan to resupply,
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and shortly after, here it is,
fishing around Madagascar.
fishing around Madagascar.
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This is a Russian trawler
fishing, probably, for cod,
fishing, probably, for cod,
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in Russian waters,
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and then across the high seas
of the north Atlantic.
of the north Atlantic.
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Thanks to Global Fishing Watch,
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we have been able to track
over 3,600 boats
over 3,600 boats
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from more than 20 countries,
fishing in the high seas.
fishing in the high seas.
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They use satellite positioning
and machine-learning technology
and machine-learning technology
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to automatically identify
if a boat is just sailing or fishing,
if a boat is just sailing or fishing,
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which are the white spots here.
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So with an international
group of colleagues,
group of colleagues,
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we decided to investigate
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not only who fishes in the high seas,
but who benefits from it.
but who benefits from it.
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My colleague, Juan Mayorga,
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at the University of California,
Santa Barbara,
Santa Barbara,
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has produced detailed
maps of fishing effort,
maps of fishing effort,
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which means how much time
and fuel is spent fishing
and fuel is spent fishing
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in every pixel in the ocean.
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We have a map for every country.
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China, Taiwan, Japan,
Korea and Spain alone
Korea and Spain alone
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account for almost 80 percent
of the fishing in the high seas.
of the fishing in the high seas.
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When we put all of the countries together,
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this is what we get.
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Because we know the identity
of every boat in the database,
of every boat in the database,
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we know its size, its tonnage,
the power of its engines,
the power of its engines,
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how many crew are on board.
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With this information, we can calculate
fuel costs, labor costs, etc.
fuel costs, labor costs, etc.
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So for the first time,
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we have been able to map
the costs of fishing in the high seas.
the costs of fishing in the high seas.
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The darker the red, the higher the costs.
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Thanks to our colleagues
at the University of British Columbia,
at the University of British Columbia,
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we know how much every country
is actually fishing.
is actually fishing.
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And we know the price of the fish
as it comes off the vessel.
as it comes off the vessel.
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Combined with the data on effort,
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we have been able to map
the revenue of fishing the high seas.
the revenue of fishing the high seas.
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The darker the blue,
the higher the revenue.
the higher the revenue.
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We have costs, and we have revenue.
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So for the first time,
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we have been able to map the profitability
of fishing in the high seas.
of fishing in the high seas.
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Now I'm going to show you a map.
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Red colors mean we are losing money
by fishing in that part of the ocean.
by fishing in that part of the ocean.
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Blue colors mean it's profitable.
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Here it is.
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It seems mostly profitable.
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But there are two more factors
we have to take into account.
we have to take into account.
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First, recent investigations reveal
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the use of forced labor, or slave labor,
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in high seas fishing.
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Companies use it to cut costs,
to generate profits.
to generate profits.
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And second, every year,
governments subsidize high seas fishing
governments subsidize high seas fishing
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with more than four billion dollars.
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Let's go back to the map of profits.
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If we assume fair wages,
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which means not slave labor,
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and we remove the subsidies
from our calculation,
from our calculation,
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the map turns into this.
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Fishing is truly profitable in only half
of the high seas fishing grounds.
of the high seas fishing grounds.
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In fact, on aggregate,
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subsidies are four times
larger than the profits.
larger than the profits.
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So we have five countries doing
most of the fishing in the high seas
most of the fishing in the high seas
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and the economics are dependent
on huge government subsidies,
on huge government subsidies,
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and for some countries,
on human rights violations.
on human rights violations.
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What this economic analysis reveals,
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is that practically the entire high seas
fishing proposition is misguided.
fishing proposition is misguided.
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What sane government
would subsidize an industry
would subsidize an industry
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anchored in exploitation
and fundamentally destructive?
and fundamentally destructive?
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And not so profitable, anyway.
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So, why don't we close
all of the high seas to fishing?
all of the high seas to fishing?
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Let's create a giant high seas reserve,
two-thirds of the ocean.
two-thirds of the ocean.
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A modeling study from --
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(Applause)
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A modeling study from colleagues
at UC Santa Barbara,
at UC Santa Barbara,
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suggests that such reserve
would help migratory species like tuna
would help migratory species like tuna
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recover in the high seas.
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And part of that increased abundance would
spill over into the countries' waters,
spill over into the countries' waters,
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helping to replenish them.
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That would also increase
the catch in these waters,
the catch in these waters,
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and so would the profits,
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because the cost of fishing
would be lowered.
would be lowered.
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And the ecological benefits would be huge,
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because these species of large predators,
like tuna and sharks,
like tuna and sharks,
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are key to the health
of the entire ecosystem.
of the entire ecosystem.
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Therefore, protecting the high seas
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would have ecological, economic
and social benefits.
and social benefits.
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But the truth is that most
fishing companies
fishing companies
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don't care about the environment.
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But they would make more money
by not fishing in the high seas.
by not fishing in the high seas.
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And this would not affect our ability
to feed our growing population,
to feed our growing population,
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because the high seas provide only
five percent of the global marine catch,
five percent of the global marine catch,
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because the high seas are not
as productive as near-shore waters.
as productive as near-shore waters.
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And most of the catch of the high seas
is sold as upscale food items,
is sold as upscale food items,
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like tuna sashimi or shark fin soup.
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The high seas catch does not contribute
to global food security.
to global food security.
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So how are we going to do it?
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How are we going to protect the high seas?
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As we speak, negotiators
at the United Nations
at the United Nations
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are beginning discussions
on a new agreement to do just that.
on a new agreement to do just that.
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But this cannot happen
behind closed doors.
behind closed doors.
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This is our greatest opportunity.
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And we all should ensure
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that our countries will support
the protection of the high seas
the protection of the high seas
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and get rid of subsidies
to industrial fishing.
to industrial fishing.
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In 2016, 24 countries
and the European Union
and the European Union
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agreed to protect the Ross Sea,
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the wildest places in Antarctica,
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full of wildlife like killer whales,
leopard seals, penguins.
leopard seals, penguins.
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And this included fishing nations,
like China, Japan, Spain, Russia.
like China, Japan, Spain, Russia.
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But they decided that protecting
such a unique environment
such a unique environment
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would be worth more than exploiting it
for relatively little benefit.
for relatively little benefit.
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And this is exactly
the type of cooperation
the type of cooperation
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and willingness to set aside differences
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that we are going to need.
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We can do it again.
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If 20 years from now,
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our children were to jump
into any random spot in the ocean,
into any random spot in the ocean,
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what would they see?
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A barren landscape,
like much of our seas today,
like much of our seas today,
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or an abundance of life,
our legacy to the future?
our legacy to the future?
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Thank you very much.
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(Applause)
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Enric Sala - Marine ecologistDr. Enric Sala is a former university professor who saw himself writing the obituary of ocean life and quit academia to become a full-time conservationist as a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence.
Why you should listen
Dr. Enric Sala founded and leads Pristine Seas, a project that combines exploration, research and media to inspire country leaders to protect the last wild places in the ocean. To date, Pristine Seas has helped to create 18 of the largest marine reserves on the planet, covering an area of more than five million square km (half the size of Canada).
Sala has received many honors, including 2008 World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leader, 2013 Explorers Club Lowell Thomas Award, 2013 Environmental Media Association Hero Award, 2016 Russian Geographical Society Award, and he's a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He serves on the boards of the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, Global Fishing Watch and the National Aquarium, and he advises international organizations and governments.
Enric Sala | Speaker | TED.com