Shedding Light On The Sea

Brian Skerry

National Geographic Magazine

Doomed by a gill net, a thresher shark in Mexico's Gulf of California is among an estimated 40 million sharks killed yearly for their fins. They add to the devastating global fish catch: nearly 100 million tons. The oceans are in deep trouble yet few grasp these complex issues since the sea seems vast and its resourses limitless. Unlike terrestrial agriculture, fish are wildlife and are dissapearing at alarming rates. This essay combines work from three NGM stories that celebrates the magnificent animals we are loosing, brings us to places where Edens still remain, shows the destruction taking place elsewhere and offers solutions such as a need for marine reserves and green forms of aquaculture.

Brian Skerry, "Shedding Light On The Sea," in POYi Archive, Item #41741, http://archive.poy.org/items/show/41741 (accessed April 24, 2024).