UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday urged countries to put aside national gain to save the oceans and avert a "global catastrophe" as he opened the first UN ocean conference. The five-day meeting is the first bid by the United Nations to address the toughest problems facing our oceans, from coral bleaching and plastic pollution to overfishing and rising seas due to climate change. Guterres raised alarm over the state of the world’s oceans, saying pollution, overfishing and climate change are causing severe damage and that “the situation is getting worse.”

UN chief: save the oceans to avert 'global catastrophe'. (2017, June 16-17). BusinessWorld, p. S1/6.