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Posted on 02/23/2008 7:13:43 PM PST by JACKRUSSELL
(BEIJING) -- China's State Oceanic Administration has issued a report saying the country's offshore sea area suffering from serious pollution now exceeds 160,000 square km, almost doubling in size over the past decade.
The report outlining China's oceanic development strategy issued on Friday reveals that high levels of chemical nutrients in the sea water of some bays and sea areas near cities have led to deterioration in water quality.
Red tides now occur an average of 60 times each year and pose a grave threat to the quality of marine products and can even lead to poisoning and death from eating the contaminated sea food, according to the official Xinhua news agency quote from the report.
Desertification remains a great threat to the country's maritime environment although extensive rehabilitation efforts have been taken. The report notes that the percentage of unsalvageable eco-systems stands at 73 percent for mangroves, 80 percent for coral reefs and 57 percent for wetlands.
Over-fishing and frequent red tides have continually reduced the fish catches since 1999, leaving some areas totally depleted of fish. Oil spills caused by shipping and drilling have also contributed to the deterioration.
Inorganic nitrogen was the main pollutant found in most of the country's offshore sea areas, especially in Shanghai and Zhejiang Province, where the quality of seawater has been below the lowest fourth level for years.
In a related development, Xinhua reports China will spend around 40 billion yuan, or about 5.6 billion U.S. dollars, on ecological rehabilitation projects and on protecting the Bohai Sea which experts have warned could become a "dead sea" if urgent action is not taken.
The State Oceanic Administration report on Friday shows that while the Bohai Sea accounts for only 2.6 percent of China's sovereign sea area, about 40 percent of the country's untreated waste water is emptied into it every year.
The general plan for environmental protection of the Bohai Sea includes new monitoring and emergency response systems, urban water treatment plants and garbage disposal facilities as well as rectification of industrial pollution sources.
Is there anything China isn’t wrecking? Food? Toys? Oceans?
I’m waiting for major environmentalist spokesmen and groups to speak out on this.
:::::crickets chirping:::::
I saw some Chinese canned clams that had the statement wild harvested on them. So much for that angle.
I have noticed an effort by American sea food processors to make made in American a bit larger on the cans.
Next time you’re in the grocery store, spend 20 minutes looking at the labels of all the frozen seafood packages.
You will want to barf at the number that say “Wild Caught, China”. 90% of the frozen fish I see at Kroger is sourced from China. Any bets on the water quality where this fish was caught?
The People’s Republic of Effluent
If I don’t kill it personally, I don’t eat it.
You kill hamburgers? ;-)
Ice cream?
China’s State Oceanic Administration.....?
What the hell is that? Three guys on a barge?
As a hunter … great picture!
That's an area between the size of the states of Georgia and Wisconsin!
And all the liberal, Bash-America-First, PETA, Save-the- World, environmental whackos bitch and moan every time a cow farts on American soil.
Israeli chicks packing heat are so cool.
That picture would stop most liberal hearts, but not in the good way like it does mine!
spot u a bear sausage(mixed with venison) on my aboot page
Congrats. Never used anything besides a recurve myself also.
What is that in yer picture?
Can you imagine how filthy their “farmed” fish is?
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