Marine Life Protection
Silent Spill
The links between healthy maritime ecosystems and cultures are irrevocable — as the oceanic commons is depleted, unique maritime cultures are lost.
During the winter and spring of 2008, I spent six months as a Fulbright Scholar in the Republic of Montenegro, along the Adriatic Sea. This coastal marine area is part of the Mediterranean Basin. I lived in an old coastal village, the City of Kotor, which is surrounded by the southern-most fjord of Europe.
The region’s coastal marine areas have a rich history of use and development. The loss of species associated with the Adriatic Sea is symptomatic of the changes that are occurring across the world’s oceans. The marine area is overfished and polluted, and the coast is developed and industrialized. The commercial fishes of the Mediterranean Basin are exploited by large industrial trawlers as marine resources are traded in global markets. The old maritime villages across the coastal Mediterranean Basin are fading away and are being replaced by a global tourism industry.
