"The open oceans suffer some contamination and ecological damage, but compared to coastal areas they are still in a relatively healthy state. [...] It is the waters nearest to the shores - and particularly those in estuaries and in semi-enclosed seas and bays -- that have suffered the steepest decline over the last decade. [...] The pressures are particularly exacerbated along the coasts of many developing countries."
-- GESAMP70:1
GESAMP70: GESAMP (IMO/FAO/UNESCO-IOC/WMO/WHO/IAEA/UN/UNEP Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection). 2001. A sea of troubles. Rep. Stud. GESAMP No. 70, 35 pp. ISBN 82-7701-010-9.
Full quote from GESAMP