According to a recently released study by the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO), the world’s oceans are facing a tremendous triple threat from global warming, falling oxygen levels and increased acidifcation. These combined threats are much greater than scientists previously thought and have the potential to increase the rate of the extinction of ocean-dwelling mammals and numerous commercially important fish stocks.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) of which Nature Canada is a member, released this statement in response to the story, which broke on Reuters.

“The scale and rate of the present day carbon perturbation, and resulting ocean acidification, is unprecedented in Earth’s known history,” stated the IUCN, which participated in the publishing of the report.