Protecting the seas can benefit industries and businesses: UN

MANILA (AFP) - The worldwide fishing industry could benefit from a US$50 billion (S$63 billion) boost annually if stocks are allowed time to recover and farmers stop polluting the waters with excess fertiliser, the United Nations (UN) said on Wednesday.

Thirty-two per cent of the world's global fish stocks have been depleted by years of overfishing and poor coastal management, according to a UN Environment Programme report released in the Philippine capital, Manila.

'Cutting pollution will mean boosting efficiency and saving money while allowing fish stocks and fishermen's catches to rebound,' Ms Amina Mohammed, deputy executive director of the UN programme, told reporters at the release of the Green Economy in a Blue World report.

'Many ocean industries and businesses stand to benefit directly from cleaner, more ecologically robust marine ecosystems,' Ms Mohamed said.