Dangerous Catch/Dirty Secrets
Dangerous Catch – A series of strange, seemingly unrelated events is unfolding across the globe. In the West African nation of Ghana, olive baboons are ransacking crops and terrorizing villagers. Further down the coast in Namibia, a once-rich fishing ground is struggling to recover while putrid fumes are exploding from the ocean depths, spewing greenhouse gases into the air. Half a world away in Puerto Rico, space-age aquapods filled with fish are floating far out at sea while off the coast of New Brunswick, Canada, migratory salmon are settling into coastal life astride kelp and mussels in a radical new farming experiment. All these events are linked to one activity – over-fishing. Recent reports state that 90 percent of our most important commercial fish are gone and fisheries all over the world are in dire straits. It's become increasingly clear that our massive demands on the ocean are affecting life far beyond the shoreline, including Earth's own life support systems. Can we reduce fishing pressures, restore fish stocks and protect ocean habitats in time to safeguard the health of life in the sea and on land and ultimately our own?
Dirty Secrets – Scientists and citizens across the world are scrambling to solve a set of disturbing mysteries unfolding along the shores of rivers, estuaries, islands and the sea. Striped bass are succumbing to flesh-eating bacteria in the Chesapeake Bay. Majestic seabirds are starving in Hawai'i. Coral reefs are weakening under a growing assault of invisible contaminants. Meanwhile, a known hormone-disrupting chemical is showing up in streams, rivers and other bodies of water across the nation, potentially jeopardizing the health of animals – including humans. These mysteries share a similar culprit. Each is linked to insidious hitchhikers silently riding the currents of the world water system. Something is amiss in our water supply and experts are racing against the clock to find clues and devise lasting solutions.
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