'Integrated view' mooted for oil industry, fishing and humans

An "integrated view" has been recommended for the oil industry, fishing operators and humans working in other ways at sea, in order to preserve the oceanic climate for generations to come.

The Marine Board-European Science Foundation, established in 1995 to encourage collaboration between different maritime organisations, the European Fisheries and Aquaculture Research Organisation, and the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea met recently during EU Maritime Day 2010.

During their meeting, they claimed that a better understanding of how humans' use of the seas impacts on our own wellbeing and on the health of the oceanic climate could help to anticipate oil industry disasters such as the recent Gulf of Mexico spill.

Long-term management of fish stocks could also be improved through a greater understanding of the issues involved, they say.

However, this is only likely to become possible if humans begin to see themselves as a part of the ecosystem of the marine environment itself, as opposed to considering themselves to be outsiders to the process.