How many fish are there in the sea? We always seem to think that there are an endless number of them. Is this true? Will we run out of fish one day?

Humans began overfishing the world’s oceans in the 19th century. Today, there are enough fishing ships in the world to catch four earth’s worth of fish. In other words, we are taking away too many fish from the world’s oceans. The fish stock (鱼群) can’t grow back fast enough. So, the numbers of many kinds of fish are dropping sharply. Some kinds will soon be in great danger.

To save these fish kinds, many areas have started to do something. Near some rivers and lakes, you will see“No fishing”signs. The fish in these areas are probably under protection. Besides, there have been closed fishing periods (时期) at different times in different areas. When the fish in a certain area start to lay eggs, the closed season for that area begins. People can’t catch fish until the young fish grow up. This is also an important way to stop overfishing.

All life of the living things here depends on the sea. And fish are very important to the health of the sea. Let’s work together to protect our friends in the water.

A swan

A retired postman from Turkey and a beautiful white swan have been always together for nearly forty years, and the story of their friendship has warmed the hearts of millions.

In 1984 Recep Mirzan was in a car with a group of friends, when he saw a swan that appeared to have a broken wing in an empty field.

Mirzan quickly realized that leaving the bird there was the same as signing its death sentence, as meat-eating animals would have most likely eaten it, so he stopped the car and took the bird with him. He kept it in the car until evening, when he took it home and started nursing it back to health.

“Since I love animals, I said to myself that I should take her home instead of leaving her as dinner to foxes,” Mirzan said, “We got used to each other. We never separated.”

Even after the swan’s broken wing healed (痊愈), it didn’t try to fly away. Instead, it acted as a friend to the other animals on Recep’s farm, and decided to stick around. Recep named her Garip and now she has been with him ever since.

“She comes when I call. Since 1984, she has never left me, not even during the river floods,” the retired postman said. “She used to be stronger, but she has grown old now. If she dies, I will make her a nice grave (墓穴) here, but I hope we live more together.”

During the day, she is busy following her human friend around, either during his daily chores, or on his evening walks.

After his wife died a few years ago, Recep Mirzan started spending more time with his animals, and since he has no human children, he regards Garip as his child.

Many have heard of shark tin soup. This famous and expensive dish is especially popular in southern China. But do you realize that you’re killing a whole shark each time you enjoy a bowl of shark fin soup?

When people catch sharks, they cut off their fins and throw the sharks back into the ocean. This is not only cruel, but also harmful to the environment. Without a fin, a shark can no longer swim and slowly dies. Sharks are at the top of the food chain in the ocean’s ecosystem. If their numbers drop too low, it will bring danger to all ocean life. Many believe that sharks can never be endangered because they are the strongest in their food chain. But in fact, around 70 million sharks are caught and traded in this industry every year. The numbers of some kinds of sharks have fallen by over 90 percent in the last 20 to 30 years.

Environmental protection groups around the world, such as Wild-Aid and the WWF, are teaching the public about “finning”. They have even asked governments to develop laws to stop the sale of shark fins. So far, no scientific studies have shown that shark’s fins are good for health, so why eat them? Help save the sharks!