Europe's seas face 'bleak future'

Europe's seas are in a "serious state of decline" as a result of coastal development, overfishing and pollution from agriculture, warn scientists.

The continent's regional seas will deteriorate even further unless action is taken to curb the threats, they add.

Economic growth and the expansion of the EU, the researchers suggested, had contributed to the state of the waters.

The findings were presented in an EU-funded report, involving more than 100 scientists from 15 nations.

The three-year project, European Lifestyles and Marine Ecosystems (ELME), examined the relationship between human activities and the impact on the region's marine ecosystems.

It focused on the continent's four regional seas: the North-East Atlantic Ocean, and the Black, Baltic and Mediterranean seas.

Human impacts on Europe's seas

"The objective was to look at the relationship between human lifestyles in a rapidly changing Europe and the marine environment," the project co-ordinator, Laurence Mee, told BBC News.

"In every sea, we found serious damage related to the accelerated pace of coastal development, transport and the way we produce our food," said Professor Mee, director of the Marine Institute at the University of Plymouth, UK.

"We thought it was important to really understand what these changes in lifestyle imply for our marine space, which is critically important for the future."

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