State of the Oceans (broadcast Friday, February 15th, 2008)

Video feed from a robotic submersible used to explore the impacts of low oxygen along the Oregon coast. Depicted are scenes recorded before the on set of anoxia, or zero oxygen conditions of shallow rocky reefs showing diverse populations of rockfishes and large bottom-dwelling marine life. The onset of anoxia during the summer of 2006 resluted in the disapperarnce of all fishes and die-offs of most large bottom-dwelling marine animals including Dungeness crabs, marine worms, sea cucumbers and sea stars. (Credits: Video courtesy of Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife) See More Videos

With global warming, over-fishing and pollution, are the oceans doomed? Ira and guests discuss what can be done to turn the tides at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston, MA. (Credits: Photography by MA Shumin, Flora Lichtman. Produced by Flora Lichtman.) See More Videos

Around the world, the oceans are in trouble, with declining fish stocks, disappearing coral reefs, and changing water chemistry. This week, researchers published a new map highlighting the human impact on oceans worldwide from 17 different activities, such as fishing, climate change, and pollution. “Our results show that when these and other individual impacts are summed up, the big picture looks much worse than I imagine most people expected," said Ben Halpern, lead author of the paper published this week in the journal Science.

The map shows that the most heavily affected waters in the world include large areas of the North Sea, the South and East China Seas, the Caribbean Sea, the east coast of North America, the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Bering Sea, and several regions in the western Pacific. The least affected areas are largely near the poles. In this hour, Ira and guests take a look at the state of the world's ocean ecosystems -- and their inhabitants -- with some of the world's top ocean experts. The prognosis isn't good, but is it hopeless?

We're broadcasting live from Boston, Massachusetts, the site of this year's annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. If you're in Boston, stop by! Teachers, find more information about using Science Friday as a classroom resource in the Kids' Connection.

Guests

Larry Crowder
Stephen Toth Professor of Marine Biology
Director, Center for Marine Conservation
Duke University
Beaufort, North Carolina

Ben Halpern
Associate Research Biologist
University of California, Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California

Jane Lubchenco
Wayne and Gladys Valley Professor of Marine Biology
Distinguished Professor of Zoology
Oregon State University
Corvallis, Oregon

Carl Safina
Co-founder and President
Blue Ocean Institute
East Norwich, New York
Stony Brook University’s School of Marine And Atmospheric Sciences
Stony Brook, New York