two-thirds of the uk 's fish stocks are on the verge of extinction and most of the country's coastal habitats have been destroyed. This was stated in a report of the World Wide Fund for Nature (wwf). The reason for this destruction is that for decades, sewage and chemical effluent have been discharged by various industries in uk 's seas.

The report says that there has been an alarming increase in the number of species of seaweeds such as the Pacific seaweed, which can grow 12 times bigger than their normal size and can force out other species by smothering them. At least 75 per cent of the country's saltmarshes have been destroyed. The report states that the marine mammals are at particular risk from pollution and fishing nets. wwf fears that many porpoises are being entangled in fishing nets in the Celtic sea and they will soon become extinct. "Rapid action should be taken by the government, otherwise recovery for many species may not be possible,' says Matthew Davis, director of wwf 's oceans campaign. wwf has suggested a few measures to curb the problem, such as establishing a network of marine protected areas.