Sam Waterston is a classically-trained and award-winning stage, film and television actor. He is best known for his long-running role as prosecutor Jack McCoy on "Law & Order." He is a member of the board of directors of Oceana. He studied French and History at Yale from which he graduated in 1962. According to IMDb he is a summer resident of Mattapoisett, Mass.
Until the recent unrelenting hammering by our technologically impressive, very efficient, very destructive commercial fishing fleets, the seas have seemed an inexhaustible cornucopia of sea life for our sustenance, delight and wonder.
Now, science tells us the global wild fish catch is, for the first time in history, declining. Fortunately, we also know what steps our governments need to take to reverse this trend — steps that can again return our seas to abundance.
But, along with the ravages of industrial-scale fishing, there is another even more troubling story to tell about our oceans. For centuries, our oceans have been an uncomplaining dump. They’ve absorbed our waste — from manufacturing, power generation, and oil spills, and our nuclear waste, our trash, and our sewage.