The Pacific Ocean Essay Sample

About 70% of our planet’s surface is salt water, comprising five oceans. Of these oceans, the Pacific is the deepest; at its deepest spot almost 36,000 feet deep. It is also the largest, covering about a third of the earth’s entire surface, more than all five continents combined. As an important part of the world’s ecosystems, it has a surprisingly delicate balance, easily disturbed by man’s interference (intentional or otherwise) with the normal harmony of nature.
For example, global warming and the consequent increases in temperature and CO2 levels are threatening marine life there. Many of the Pacific’s marine species are endangered and some at risk of becoming extinct. In addition, corals and mangroves are threatened. In some regions of the Pacific oil pollution causes serious problems, but perhaps the single most serious threat to the ocean’s ecology and future wellbeing comes from overfishing of its fish stocks.
These threats to the indigenous species of the Pacific are, or should be, of great concern to all of us. If the overfished species become extinct, predator species will also be stressed, and the marine environment itself is endangered. Plant-eating species of fish curb algae and seaweed growth. If those grow unchecked, species living on the bottom like corals can be killed off. The overall effect of these combined changes to the marine ecosystem, including the disappearance of commonly-fished species, can devastate coastal communities where fishing is their living, as my uncle found, when he had to give up his fishing boat based on Florida’s west coast. In recent years the fishing fleet there steadily shrunk as catches dwindled, putting many out of work.