The Global Ocean Commission has made headlines this week with a report stating that our oceans are in decline and that “anarchy rules the waves.”

However, the report is not all doom and gloom.  The commission have come up with a rescue package, entitled “Mission Ocean”.

The commission, made up of former heads of state, government officials and business leaders was established in February 2013.  It has spent the past year investigating the decline of global oceans and developed an eight point rescue strategy:

• A UN sustainable goal
• Proper high seas governance
• The halting of over fishing
• The elimination of illegal an unregulated fishing
• The adoption of international binding protocols for safety and environmental standards
• The establishment of a global ocean accountability board
• Making the high seas a no-go area for industrial fishing and
• Coordinated action by governments.

The commission has also called on the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to ask  member states to urgently adopt a three-step approach to get rid of  fisheries subsidies.  These subsidies are one of the main driving forces behind over-fishing and are being linked to the decline and collapse of fish stocks worldwide.

According to former minister Trevor Manuel, one of the three chairman of the commission, the plan will require political will and extremely bold leadership.