One reason it's taken so long is that people can't see that the oceans are filling up, said Sandra Whitehouse, a marine biologist and senior adviser at the Ocean Conservancy, an environmental group.

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The oceans can't keep up with demand for fish, which has been climbing 3.6% a year (twice the growth in population) since the 1960s.

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Satellite-based systems, such as service offered by Row 44, offer faster speeds, more bandwidth and global coverage over oceans, but aren't as developed yet.

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