We rounded the Cape of Good Hope and the seas were wild and beautiful.

I stood at the rail and looked into the blue depths and marveled at being near the bottom of the world, with Capetown off in the distance beneath Table Mountain.

The air was crisp and clear.

There were birds wheeling about and sightings of whales from the bridge later that day but I missed seeing them, being in the galley.

This area is rich in marine life with the merging of the cold water currents from the Southern Ocean and the Benguela and Agulhas currents.
I've been so fortunate to have been and seen so many beautiful places throughout the world.

Been snorkeling and SCUBA diving off reefs in Mexico, Panama, Guam and the Bahamas.

Swam with huge sea turtles that tolerated my presence while I talked excitedly to them underwater, asking them not to leave.

Watched porpoises gliding alongside the bows of ships.
Seen vast schools of fish in the deep clear water off the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
I have also seen huge fishing boats haul sharks out of the water, cut their fins off, and throw the carcasses back in the water.

I have seen shrimp boats bring up full nets and throw everything that wasn't shrimp back in the water, dead, including rare turtles.

Watched bluefin tuna hunters using airplanes and huge nets to catch the giants and ship them off to Japan for sushi that costs $15 per ounce.

There are not many of them left.

The first ocean going job I had was aboard a King Crab boat in Alaska, and that species has been vastly overfished as well.
The seas are dying and the fate of all the oceans and creatures within is in our hands.

We just haven't done a good job of protecting them and we take so much more than we give.

90 per cent of the world's large pelagic fishes like tuna, marlin and sharks are gone.

75 per cent of the world's fisheries are exploited, overfished or depleted.

The average size of a swordfish has gone from 224 lbs. down to 90 lbs. in the space of a few decades.

Enough oil goes into the oceans from U.S. cars to cause an Exxon Valdez sized spill every eight months.

Nearly 150 'dead zones' occur around the world, including one off the Oregon Coast that appeared in 2002 and has recurred twice since then.

Albatross chicks have been found dead on far Pacific islands with their bellies full of bits
of plastic that was fed to them inadvertently by their mothers.

Plastic washes up on shores worldwide and birds and fish routinely either eat it or get tangled up and die.

These things have happened for the most part during our lifetimes.

It was once thought that the fish in the oceans was a resource that could never be depleted.

Right now, thousands of boats worldwide are taking millions of tons of fish from the seas.

The good news is that the marine systems can recover if given the chance.

Some developed countries are working together to establish marine sanctuaries and protecting fisheries and are shutting down those hardest hit by overfishing.

Open ocean shrimping is being replaced by farming and devices are being created that release rays and turtles.

Fish farming and aquaculture is a growing business worldwide but is causing its own set of
environmental concerns.

Alaska has done an outstanding job of managing its salmon habitats.

The problem is that others are not.

Japan, Russia and China routinely send out fleets of super efficient killing machines that travel
across the world and they are taking every species they can catch in any place they can until they are forced to move elsewhere.

What they do not take is called 'bycatch' and is discarded.

They have no concern about treaties or boundaries and use big factory ships to process the fish and send them out frozen.

The Japanese still kill whales in the name of 'research', but the meat ends up sold in their markets, as does porpoise meat. (Yes, they eat 'Flipper').

Some islanders in the Philippines still use cyanide and even explosives to poison and stun the fish, and cause untold damage to other sea life.
The health of the seas is vital to the lives of all on earth.

Everything is connected and we have broken those connections on land and at sea at the peril of all life on earth.

We can help heal old Mother Earth if we work together and do our part.

Avoid ocean species such as Orange Roughy, swordfish, and of course, sharkfin soup.

Forget about that bluefin sushi.
Write to your representatives and tell them to put real pressure on those countries that violate fishing bans and treaties.

Eat fish that is sustainable such as salmon, catfish and trout.

Go online and research the various environmental groups that are working hard to save our oceans.

Learn something.

Do something, even if it's just watching the Discovery Channel.