Two years ago, scientists announced that 90% of the world’s large fish had disappeared from the oceans in only 50 years. Now, according to the
Voice of America, half the big fish
species have disappeared from the oceans during that time.
Dalhousie University biologist Ransom Myers claims the areas where big fish species congregate – the hotspots of Florida, Indonesia, and Hawaii, for example – are shrinking rapidly, due largely to over-fishing. Myers points out that when predator species are eliminated, the ripple effect can be catastrophic: animals previously not known for predation wipe out other species, which in turn destroys the reef systems, ruins the oceans, screws up the scuba diving… You get the idea.
Read this interesting piece to see what Myers proposes as a solution to declining species populations. Alternatively, if you’ve already read enough for today, you can listen to the report (via Real Player).
1. This is completely wrong! The fish are simply "moving elsewhere" so they're harder to find. Come on, fish and marine life can't possibly be decreasing in numbers because they taken with the utmost of care and responsibility. Very little by-catch, no poaching, and certainly only taken for food, not needlessly killed for aphrodesiacs in the Eastern world.
This is what the fishing industry tells me so it must be true.
I can't wait to hear who the fishing industry blames when there's nothing left to catch. I'm sure they're already working on a good scapegoat.
Posted at 8:44PM on Aug 17th 2005 by Eric Brodeur