Prince Charles warns ‘plastic on the menu’ in world’s fish

VALLETTA: Britain’s Prince Charles said that plastic is now “on the menu” in the fish we eat and called for decisive action as he opened a conference on Thursday on protecting the world’s oceans.

The heir to the British throne, a long-time champion of environmental causes, told the European Union-backed conference in Malta that ferocious hurricanes and coral reef loss are “wakeup” calls in the fight against climate change.

With eight million tonnes of plastic waste entering the oceans annually, the world must switch from “throw-away, convenience lifestyles” to a recycling economy, he said.

“We are very close to reaching the point when whatever wild-caught fish you eat will contain plastic. Plastic is indeed now on the menu,” he said.

The prince pushed for a stop to overfishing by ending “perverse” government subsidies and promoting investments in sustainable ocean economies.

“The problems we face are not only enormous, they are also systemic and interrelated,” he said.

These problems, he added, can only be solved through cooperation among governments, big business, multilateral agencies, scientists and non-governmental organisations. “Decisive action is required,” he said. He expressed particular concern about warming oceans that he said have helped spawn monster hurricanes and damage coral reefs that host twofifths of all marine species.

The prince suggested that we are no longer part of a rational civilisation “if the unprecedented ferocity of catastrophic hurricanes is not the supreme wake-up call” for fighting climate change. — AFP