You may know the Monterey Bay Aquarium for its famous Seafood Watch pocket guides to sustainable seafood. The pocket guide has gained such notoriety that its even got its own iPhone app, which enables you to make humane seafood decisions based on the region in which you live. But the aquarium is also esteemed for its ocean research, and this month it released a report called Turning the Tide: the State of Seafood.

Here is some news that may shock you: the human appetite is the primary cause of damage to the world’s oceans. Not even the various man-made pollutants or climate change can outweigh how our voracious cravings for seafood have put oceans in peril.

The human appetite for seafood has grown over the last few decades as more people switch to fish as their source of protein. And, according to the report, demand for seafood is expected to grow by as much as 10 percent annually for the foreseeable future.

Industrial-scale fisheries have responded to demand with overfishing–so much so that wild-caught fish stocks have declined or collapsed over the last two decades. In fact, by 2010, humans will eat more seafood grown via aquaculture–that is the practice of farm-raising fish and shellfish–than they will wild-caught fish for the first time in history. (China alone produces two-thirds of global farmed fish.)

Some key findings from the report include:

• -Most regions of the world lack effective fisheries management
• -Overfishing remains a serious problem
• -Many marine species, such a sea turtles, sharks, marine mammals, rays and others, are now endangered or threatened by industrial fishing gear
• -After decades of overexploitation, nearly two-thirds of fish stocks worldwide need rebuilding

However, there is also good news, some of which is:

• -People, and an increasing number of companies, are willing to pay more for sustainable seafood
• -Fishery eco-certification is on the rise
• -Sustainable seafood issues are increasingly making the news

And while it remains true that fishing puts the greatest strain on the ocean, the report recognizes compounding stressors like pollution, climate change, invasive species, and other factors. Coastal development and industrial activity that runs off of land and into the ocean adds up to a lot of pollution. Even simple daily occurrences, it cites, of motor oil spilling onto streets and driveways and ultimately landing in the ocean is equal to one ExxonValdez spill every eight months.

Other types of pollution that threaten the ocean’s fish and shellfish are agricultural fertilizer and the burning of fossil fuels. Both add nitrogen** to the water, which at polluting levels leads to “dead zones” in coastal waters, where oxygen is depleted and fish and shellfish cannot survive. There are 400 identified dead zones worldwide (including the Gulf of Mexico).

Turning the Tides points out that climate change is another compounding stressor on ocean ecosystems. Both the warming and the acidifying of the oceans (from dissolved carbon dioxide) are making the water inhospitable for some species. Finally, a lesser known stressor, invasive species, also impacts the health of oceans. Animals and plants introduced into waters that are outside of their natural range can displace native species and can be impossible to remove.

To find out how you can help by making ocean-friendly seafood choices, click the “Act” link below.

*As the report notes: While fish is touted for its health benefits, it is also the primary source of mercury in the human diet.

**In addition to nitrogen, phosphorus pollution, from sources such as sewage treatment, also contributes to dead zones