Living Waters: Emphasising the need to protect life's breath on this planet
A virus has caused us to scramble for oxygen but our chokehold on the environment is slowly strangling the very waters that breathe life into us. The virus is a timely reminder: We are merely consumers, not producers of life's breath on this planet
Curated By: Madhu Kapparath
A fish farm in Maoer Lake, Jiangsu Province of China
The percent of seafood supplied by the aquaculture industry has risen from a mere 7 percent in 1974 to over 52 percent of all seafood consumed today. Dense aquaculture contributes to deoxygenation. Not only do densely kept animals use oxygen as they respire, but microbial decomposition of excess fish food and fish faeces also consumes oxygen. When this increased respiration and insufficient water flow occur at the same time in aquaculture pens, oxygen concentrations decline, leading to fish kills, a frequent occurrence in fish farms throughout East and Southeast Asia.
