The Shifting Baselines Ocean Media Campaign declares 2003 to have been "The Year of Ocean Decline." To give you a full appreciation of the breadth of ocean decline this year, we hereby announce our Rotten Jellyfish Awards for the ten worst ocean decline stories of the year.

	Actresses Jennifer Coolidge ("American Pie," "Best in Show," "Legally Blond") and Daniele Gaither (MAD TV) announce the 2003 Rotten Jellyfish Awards at a Hollywood press conference.

Click here for the full 3 minute video clip of all ten announcements, or click on the icons below for each individual item.

10) THE DEAD ZONE (in the Gulf of Mexico)
	Rotten Jellyfish Award winner number Ten goes to the Dead Zone which is not where fans of Jerry Garcia can be found, but is in fact what is created when all the fertilizers and pollution of the Midwest are flushed down the Mississippi River, out into the Gulf of Mexico, producing a large, lifeless region. It's the size of the state of New Jersey and is starting to smell like it, too.
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9) PROZAC IN FISH
	The number Nine Rotten Jellyfish goes to the discovery of trace amounts of the anti-depressant drug Prozac in fishes of the Gulf of Mexico . No wonder they aren't depressed at the destruction of their habitat.
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8) MERCURY IN FISH
	Rotten Jellyfish number Eight honors today's high levels of mercury in swordfish and tuna. They're so full of mercury these days you could use them as thermometers.
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7) PLASTICS IN THE SEA
	The number Seven Rotten Jellyfish Award goes to the Plastics Industry. In the classic movie, "The Graduate," Dustin Hoffman is told that there is one word he should think about in regard to his future, and the word is "Plastics." Well, somebody was listening because now there's a floating island of plastic trash in the North Pacific that's the size of Texas ! In fact, the ocean is so full of plastics its starting to feel like a kiddie pool.
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6) NEAR-EXTINCTION OF GROUPERS
	The number Six Rotten Jellyfish Award goes to Nassau Groupers who are nearly extinct because they are so easily caught when they "group." In much better shape is the "Loner" fish which keeps to itself and still lives with its parents.
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5) CORAL BLEACHING
	The number Five Rotten Jellyfish Award goes to the bleaching of corals on coral reefs, caused by the warming of the oceans. What's so bad about bleach?
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4) NEAR-EXTINCTION OF SEA TURTLES
	For the number Four Rotten Jellyfish Award we have species of sea turtles that are dying worldwide due to a virus and are approaching extinction. Actually, I think that might be a mistake, because I just saw a film on them, and there was a whole ocean full of happy turtles...no wait, I'm thinking of Finding Nemo.
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3) DYNAMITE FISHING OF CORAL REEFS
	The destruction of coral reefs gets the number Three Rotten Jellyfish Award. In the 70's when someone said, "Hey, I know a place where the fishing is dy-no-mite," they meant it in the Jimmy J.J. Walker sense. Nowadays dynamite fishing is a new and exciting way to make your own flying fish.
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2) BEACH CLOSURES
	The number Two Rotten Jellyfish Award goes to beach closures due to bacterial contamination, which really aren't a problem... unless you have a cut, or a scrape, or water gets in your mouth, or your ears, or your eyes, or you breathe near the ocean. Otherwise, enjoy your beautiful and safe oceans!
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1) SHARK FIN FISHING
	And the number One Rotten Jellyfish Award goes to shark fin fishing where the fins of sharks are removed to make soup. Shark fin soup. Shark fin soup. And we wonder why sharks attack surfers.
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CREDITS
Writers: Roy Jenkins, Fred Belford, Mike Loprete, Jeremy Rowley, Randy Olson
Director and Producer: Randy Olson
Camera: Peter Logreco
Animation: Rohini Montenegro
Editor: Christy Mahaffey
Sound: Tom Chan
Still Photography: Steve-o Polyi
Stock Footage: Feodor Pitcairn Productions, Miranda Smith Productions, Gary Burris and Public Eyes TV, Mark Erdmann (USAID's Indonesian Natural Resources Management Program), Habitat Media, Matt McClain and Surfrider Foundation, Stan Minasian, Bill Macdonald
Big Thanks to: Lawrance Bailey, Tom Dixon, Sheldon Englehorn, Ivan Gayler, Dick Hertzberg, Al Jaffe, Ed Scripps, Rob Harris, Jim Van Wyck, Mary Frye, Raleigh Studios