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Our Dying Seas
The marauder first appeared as a bright blip on a radar screen aboard a Canadian Forces Aurora surveillance aircraft. The plane had been in the air for three hours, patrolling the Pacific Ocean near the international date line northwest of Hawaii. As dawn broke on the June morning, the four-engine plane dropped down for a closer look. Recalls navigator Eric Johnstrudc: “We came in at about 200 feet on this guy and noticed a whole lot of floats in the water. The floats led us straight to a white vessel, about 150 feet long, which fit the description of a drift-net boat.”
Canadian authorities relayed that suspicion to the US Coast Guard, which dispatched a cutter to intercept the vessel. After a two-week chase, the cutter’s crew finally boarded the Cao Yu 6025, a stateless ship, south of Japan. In the hold, they found damning evidence: 110 tons of tuna and shark fins, and a drift gillnet almost 20 kilometres long — an indiscriminate killer of marine life banned on high seas under an international agreement.
Out of sight, and mostly out of mind, the oceans are under siege. Scientists from around the world are reporting global disturbances in the seas that threaten to bring Richard Cashin’s grim warning home to every Canadian household. From the polar seas to the tropics, fish populations have collapsed or teeter on the brink. In a third of the Pacific, plankton that form the foundation of the marine food chain are vanishing. In every comer of the planet, increasing temperatures are obliterating some species, while driving others into unfamiliar waters. As science scrambles to make sense of uneven data, evidence points to an alarming conclusion: the sea, the cradle of life, is dying.
The killers are numerous. The most obvious, global overfishing, harvests 70 per cent of the world’s species faster than they can reproduce themselves. But the scientific community is not even sure that is the worst menace to the seas. Other major threats: human pollution, including an estimated 700 million gallons of toxic chemicals dumped into the sea each year, and global warming, widely attributed to industrial production of so-called greenhouse gases, which appears to be affecting ocean temperatures.
Sharply pricier seafood is wily the mildest consequence; others are far more serious. In many parts of the world, fishing jobs have disappeared. On Canada’s East Coast, 26,000 unemployed former fish workers drew income from the federal government’s Atlantic Ground fish Strategy — 15,000 from Newfoundland alone — until its $1.9 billion in funding ran out in August. Far worse, developing countries dependent on marine protein confront the risk of mass starvation. In many regions, rival national claims to the seas’ diminishing harvest hold potential for armed conflict. More terrifying still is the specter of ecological Armageddon, as the oceans lose the capacity to generate the oxygen on which life itself depends.
For too many species, extinction has already come. Half a century ago, 600,000 barn door skate swam North America’s Atlantic seaboard. Never intentionally fished, they, nonetheless, frequently became ensnared in nets or on hooks. By the 1070s, scientists could find no more than 500 skate throughout its previous range. Now, they can’t find any. “If bald eagles were as common as robins and then disappeared, someone would notice,’’ says biologist Ransom Myers of Hallifax’s Dalhousie University. “In the ocean, no one knows. No one cares.”
Belatedly, a handful of governments and others have begun to notice, to care and to act, moving tentatively to rein in the worst abuses of the seas. 'His patrol that spotted the Cao Yu was one of six that Canada donates each year to enforce an international ban on drift nets, blamed for killing dolphins, sharks, turtles, and seabirds, in addition to their intended catch. On September 1, the federal government designated two protected marine habitats at Race Rocks and Gabriola Passage, British Columbia — the first in a preserves in Canadian waters where fishing will be banned. On the same day, an international commission concluded three years of study by urging coastal nations to bury their differences and form a world authority to regulate fishing beyond the 200-mile (370-kilomctre) economic zones of individual states.
Individuals and small groups are also taking action where they can. In Toronto, some chefs have agreed to remove swordfish from their menus out of concern for their rapidly declining numbers. In British Columbia, schoolchildren are "adopting’’ streams where salmon spawn, labouring to remove debris and restore the critical habitats. But such bright spots are few. “The sea is in real trouble,” says Elliot Norse, founder of the Redmond, Washington-based Marine Conservation Biology Institute, "much more than we previously thought. There is major disruption even in the deep ocean." In January, 1,600 marine scientists from 65 countries joined Norse in signing a joint appeal to governments “to take decisive action to stop further irreversible damage to the sea’s biological diversity and integrity."
Just how far, wide and deep the damage goes is a matter of speculation. The ocean is a big place, full of myriad creature, whose complex relationships mankind has barely begun to identify, let alone understand. To study it, scientists must look beneath its surface, which is expensive. In developing countries, which take three quarters of the world’s fish, science of any kind is a luxury. In Canada, which exports $3 billion worth of seafood a year, research until recently focused almost exclusively on ways to find, count and catch more fish. “In doing that,” acknowledges Richard Beamish, a leading researcher at the federal government’s Pacific Biological Station at Nanaimo, British Columbia, “we sacrificed the opportunity to understand the mechanisms in the ecosystem better."
The limits of scientific knowledge leave some of the most critical questions without any answer. One of those is whether forces big enough to wipe out seven tenths of the zooplankton in the northeast Pacific are also affecting the ocean’s capacity to generate one half of the oxygen released into the biosphere each year. The crucial gas is freed from carbon dioxide as a by-product of the same process by which plants capture carbon for growth: photosynthesis. “We think that photosynthesis and the carbon system have been affected in the east one third of the Pacific,” says Scripps’ McGowan. “But we can’t say, because we don’t have the measurements.”
Knowledgeable assessments of the sea’s future often seem to have an apocalyptic air. Elisabeth Mann-Borgese, Hallifax-based chairwoman of the International Ocean Institute, lays most of the blame for the seals’ sickness on humans — who will ultimately pay the cost. “What we are doing is killing ourselves,” she says soberly. “It is the human race that will die out if we don’t do something.” Federal Fisheries and Oceans Minister David Anderson, under fire in the fishing community for the restrictions he has imposed on catches, also struck a dire note when interviewed by Maclean’s. “We have a major crisis in the oceans,” Anderson said. “If we don’t start undertaking effective measures, internationally, we are dead.’’
The oceans are dying. Throughout the world's seas, fish populations are on the verge of 1. The 2 the oceans face are numerous, including global overfishing, human pollution and global warming 3 by industrial production of greenhouse gases. The deterioration of the seas has led to serious 4 such as an 5 in the number of the unemployed, mass starvation in developing countries, and inability of the oceans to 6 oxygen. To avert the crisis, governments, groups and individuals are making 7 attempts to 8 the wrong uses of the seas. Despite their efforts, some of the critical problems still cannot be for they are beyond man's 9.
AI explanationShows the answer. Tap to open.
Question Focus: Paraphrase - 'fish populations have collapsed or teeter on the brink' = 'fish populations are on the verge of extinction'.
Why this is correct: The passage says fish populations have collapsed or teeter on the brink. 'On the brink' and 'on the verge' both mean very close to something bad. For a group of animals, that bad end is dying out completely. So the answer is extinction.
Passage Reference: From the polar seas to the tropics, fish populations have collapsed or teeter on the brink.
Tips: The summary and the passage often use different phrases with the same meaning. Read the words around the gap and look for the idea, not the same words.
Why the other options are wrong:
- limits: Students may pick this because 'on the brink' sounds like an edge or a limit. But 'on the verge of limits' has no clear meaning. The text is about fish dying out. This is a Paraphrase trap.
Key Vocabulary:
- on the brink = very close to something bad
- collapse = fall suddenly and badly
- extinction = when a kind of animal dies out completely
Question Focus: Synonym match - 'The killers are numerous' and 'Other major threats' = 'The threats the oceans face are numerous'.
Passage Reference: The killers are numerous. The most obvious, global overfishing, harvests 70 per cent of the world's species faster than they can reproduce themselves. But the scientific community is not even sure that is the worst menace to the seas. Other major threats: human pollution, including an estimated 700 million gallons of toxic chemicals dumped into the sea each year, and global warming, widely attributed to industrial production of so-called greenhouse gases, which appears to be affecting ocean temperatures.
Why this is correct: The paragraph begins The killers are numerous. It names overfishing, then says Other major threats are pollution and global warming. The summary lists the same three things. So the answer is threats.
Tips: Look at the list after the gap. Ask whether those things cause the harm or come from it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- consequences: Students may pick this because the next paragraph talks about serious results. But overfishing and pollution are causes of harm, not results of it. This is a Causation trap.
Key Vocabulary:
- numerous = many
- threat = something that may cause harm
- menace = a danger
Question Focus: Synonym match - 'global warming, widely attributed to industrial production' = 'global warming caused by industrial production'.
Passage Reference: Other major threats: human pollution, including an estimated 700 million gallons of toxic chemicals dumped into the sea each year, and global warming, widely attributed to industrial production of so-called greenhouse gases, which appears to be affecting ocean temperatures.
Why this is correct: The passage names global warming, widely attributed to industrial production of so-called greenhouse gases. If something is attributed to a cause, people say that cause made it happen. So global warming is caused by industrial production.
Tips: Read the words on both sides of the gap. Then find the same idea about global warming in the text and choose the box word with the same meaning.
Why the other options are wrong:
- increase: Students may pick this because global warming means rising heat. But 'global warming increase by industrial production' is not correct English. The gap needs a word that says what made global warming happen. This is a Paraphrase trap.
Key Vocabulary:
- attributed to = said to be caused by
- toxic = poisonous
- greenhouse gases = gases that trap heat around the Earth
Question Focus: Synonym match - 'the mildest consequence; others are far more serious' = 'serious consequences'.
Passage Reference: Sharply pricier seafood is wily the mildest consequence; others are far more serious.
Why this is correct: The paragraph says more expensive seafood is the mildest result. Then it adds others are far more serious. It goes on to list lost jobs, hunger and less oxygen. These results are serious consequences.
Tips: Read the linking words just before the gap to see what kind of idea is needed. Then check that the examples after the gap fit your word.
Why the other options are wrong:
- threats: Students may pick this because lost jobs and hunger are bad. But the summary says 'has led to', so it needs results, not causes. The causes came earlier, in gap 2. This is a Causation trap.
Key Vocabulary:
- consequence = a result of something
- mild = not strong or serious
- deterioration = getting worse
Question Focus: Paraphrase - 'fishing jobs have disappeared' and '26,000 unemployed former fish workers' = 'an increase in the number of the unemployed'.
Passage Reference: In many parts of the world, fishing jobs have disappeared.
Why this is correct: The passage says fishing jobs have disappeared in many parts of the world. When jobs disappear, more people have no work. The next sentence names 26,000 unemployed fish workers. So there is an increase in the unemployed.
Tips: Use the words after the gap to find the right part of the text. Then read what the text says about those people, and pick the box word that matches.
Why the other options are wrong:
- amount: Students may pick this because it is about numbers. But 'an amount in the number' does not make sense. The gap needs a word for a change. This is a Paraphrase trap.
Key Vocabulary:
- unemployed = without a job
- disappear = go away completely
- income = money you get
Question Focus: Synonym match - 'lose the capacity to generate the oxygen' = 'inability of the oceans to produce oxygen'.
Passage Reference: More terrifying still is the specter of ecological Armageddon, as the oceans lose the capacity to generate the oxygen on which life itself depends.
Why this is correct: The passage warns that the oceans lose the capacity to generate the oxygen that life needs. 'Lose the capacity' means become unable. 'Generate' means make. So the oceans may be unable to produce oxygen.
Tips: The gap needs a base verb after 'to'. Find what the text says the oceans may not be able to do, then choose a box verb with the same meaning.
Why the other options are wrong:
- stop: Students may pick this because it is a verb that fits after 'to'. But the danger is that oceans stop making oxygen, so 'stop oxygen' gives the wrong meaning. This is a Reverse meaning trap.
Key Vocabulary:
- capacity = the ability to do something
- generate = make or produce
- depend on = need
Question Focus: Word form - 'Belatedly, a handful of governments and others have begun to notice ... and to act' = 'making belated attempts'.
Passage Reference: Belatedly, a handful of governments and others have begun to notice, to care and to act, moving tentatively to rein in the worst abuses of the seas.
Why this is correct: The passage says Belatedly, a handful of governments and others have begun to notice, to care and to act. 'Belatedly' means late, after a long delay. The summary needs an adjective before 'attempts'. So the answer is belated.
Tips: Use the words 'governments, groups and individuals' to find the right part of the text. Then choose the box word with the same meaning as the text's word.
Why the other options are wrong:
- scientific knowledge: Students may pick this because scientists also act later in the passage. But it is a noun, and the gap needs a word to describe the attempts. This is a Context shift trap.
Key Vocabulary:
- belated = coming late
- a handful = a small number
- tentatively = carefully and not very strongly
Question Focus: Paraphrase - 'to rein in the worst abuses of the seas' = 'to stop the wrong uses of the seas'.
Passage Reference: Belatedly, a handful of governments and others have begun to notice, to care and to act, moving tentatively to rein in the worst abuses of the seas.
Why this is correct: The governments are moving to rein in the worst abuses of the seas. To rein in means to control and hold back. Abuses are wrong uses. The only box verb with this meaning is stop.
Tips: After 'attempts to' you need a base verb. Check the form of each box word before you choose.
Why the other options are wrong:
- limits: Students may pick this because reining in is a kind of limiting. But 'limits' is a noun here, so 'attempts to limits' is wrong grammar. This is a Paraphrase trap that fails on grammar.
Key Vocabulary:
- rein in = control or hold back
- abuse = wrong or harmful use
- enforce = make people obey a rule
Question Focus: Paraphrase - 'The limits of scientific knowledge leave some of the most critical questions without any answer' = 'beyond man's scientific knowledge'.
Passage Reference: The limits of scientific knowledge leave some of the most critical questions without any answer.
Why this is correct: The passage says The limits of scientific knowledge leave some of the most critical questions without any answer. If something is past the limits of what we know, it is beyond our knowledge. So the answer is scientific knowledge.
Tips: Read the whole summary sentence first. Find where the text gives the same idea, and choose the box word that fits the meaning and the grammar.
Why the other options are wrong:
- limits: Students may pick this because 'limits' is the first word of the sentence. But 'beyond' already means past the limits. 'Beyond man's limits' does not say what kind of limit. This is a Paraphrase trap.
Key Vocabulary:
- beyond = past the limit of
- critical = very important
- measurement = a number found by measuring
General Tips:
- Read the whole summary first, then decide what kind of word each gap needs.
- There are more words than gaps, so some words are not used.
- The summary follows the order of the text. Move forward as you fill each gap.
- Check the grammar: a noun after 'the', a base verb after 'to', an adjective before a noun.
- Some gaps need a cause and some need a result. Read the small linking words around each gap to see which one you need.
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