Ocean life 'facing mass extinction'

[Moshiach] Ben David will not come until they will seek fish for a sick person and not find it - [the rivers will be as thick as oil, fish cannot live in them]-  Talmud Sanhedrin 98a

Pollution, global warming and other man-made problems are pushing the world's oceans to the brink of a mass extinction of marine life unprecedented in tens of millions of years, a consortium of scientists has warned.

Dying coral reefs, biodiversity ravaged by invasive species, expanding open-water "dead zones," toxic algae blooms, and the massive depletion of big fish stocks are all accelerating, according to the report, which is due to be presented at the United Nations on Tuesday.

"We now face losing marine species and entire marine ecosystems, such as coral reefs, within a single generation,'' the report said.

The rate at which carbon is being absorbed by the ocean is already far greater than at the time of the last globally significant extinctions, which wiped out up to 50 per cent of some deep-sea animals, the report said.

Overfishing has also reduced some commercial fish stocks by more than 90 per cent.

"We are looking at consequences for humankind that will impact in our lifetime."

Sources: CNN and Aljazeera