The seas that surround us are home to around half of Northern Irelands wildlife - yet 0% of our seas are fully protected! Native oysters as big as dinner plates were fished from Carrickfergus only a century ago. Today dredging, pollutants, land reclamation, aquaculture and unsustainable fishing have decreased their numbers and the biodiversity in Belfast Lough. A 1000km Northward shift of warmer-water plankton, with a similar retreat of colder water plankton has been observed over the last 50 years in the N E Atlantic due to increasing temperatures in the water (MCCIP). Increasing carbon dioxide (largely as a result of the burning of fossil fuels by man in the last 200 years) is turning the oceans and seas acidic. This is predicted to affect the shell building abilities of commercial and non-commercial species. Coastal erosion currently affects 20% of the Northern Irish coastline – this is expected to increase with rising sea levels and increase storm frequency as a result of effects of climate change (MCCIP). Rathlin Island has species of sponge found nowhere else in the globe! It also has over 50% of the UKs sponge species! The largest living structure on earth visible from space is the Great Barrier Reef off Australia. It is made from tiny marine animals called corals – Northern Ireland has coral species too! The Rise of Slime is predicted in the oceans as a result of mans impact on the seas through unsustainable fishing, destruction of seabed habitats, climate change and nutrient inputs. Jellyfish have got so common in parts of the ocean now they are being scooped up and used as fertilizer on land. Improved marine protection would help to reverse this trend. Marine sponges are the simplest of marine animals. Recently an anticancer drug was found from a deep sea sponge. Marine reserves (fully protected marine zones) have been known to increase commercial fish stocks by over 100%! Basking sharks found around Northern Ireland in the summer months are the second largest fish in the sea – they filter an Olympic swimming pool of water every hour!