Ocean Fish Populations Face Collapse
A recent study has found that the decline in ocean biodiversity may eventually lead to the collapse of wild fish populations within our lifetime and the degradation of ocean eco-systems in general. "It's a gloomy picture," says lead author, the unfortunately named, Boris Worm, of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada. There is hope. On a positive note, closing fisheries and establishing protected areas can boost the number of species in these protected waters by 23 percent on average and increase catch-per-unit effort four-fold in nearby waters, although overall yield does not increase significantly. The report was published on Science Express.
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posted by Galli Galli Sim Sim at
11:06 AM
2 Comments:
I find this one hard to believe. The ocean is awfully, awfully large.
By
Marie, at 1:05 AM
What do you mean by "this one"? The "environment is too big for us to screw-up" approach to managing our natural resources historically hasn't worked so well. There is no denying that fish populations are decreasing. In New England waters codfish and pollack catches are way off historical numbers. In New York Harbour and its estuaries shell fishing as a commercial enterprise is almost gone. Over fishing has reduced swordfish populations to an endangered level. Many fish spawn in estuaries that are polluted by sewage and agricultural run-off (see Chesapeake Bay) Pollution has destroyed countless rivers and lakes. It's all connected. When you take one component or species out of a food chain it has a ripple effect. Just because the world's ocean's are too large to accurately measure the damage doesn't mean it's not happening. Somebody passes gas in Ohio and a guy in the Adirondacks has to smell it. Get real.
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By
Galli Galli Sim Sim, at 10:09 AM
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