Fisheries, not whales, to blame for shortage of fish

You knew that, didn't you? Japan, Norway, and Iceland are trying to tell it differently - that whales are to blame for the world's declining fish stocks. Not so.

“It is not the whales, it is over-fishing and excess fishing capacity that are responsible for diminishing supplies of fish in developing countries,” said fisheries biologist Dr. Daniel Pauly, director of the University of British Columbia Fisheries Centre.
“Making whales into scapegoats serves only to benefit wealthy whaling nations while harming developing nations by distracting any debate on the real causes of the declines of their fisheries.”

also

“The decline of the mean trophic levels of fisheries catch over the past 50 years is a signature of fishing down marine food webs and leaves marine mammals exonerated,” the report said.

You can read the full story here.

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Help Give Our Oceans a Break

Our oceans are in trouble. How about giving our President a hint about what can be done to keep them from further decline. Of course, much more than this needs to change, but starting here is progress.

From the Care2 Petition Site:

Our oceans are on the verge of collapse. Ninety percent of the "big" fish, such as tuna, marlin and swordfish, are gone. And now, scientists estimate that the world's commercial fisheries may collapse by the year 2048.

Already, 29 percent of fish and seafood species have collapsed, meaning their catch has declined by 90 percent. Time is running out for our oceans - but it's not too late, if we act now. And yet, the Bush Administration continues to under-fund critical ocean conservation, research and management programs.

Tell President Bush to protect our oceans so that the next generation can also enjoy their bounty. Please urge President Bush to fully fund ocean programs and make a commitment to protect and restore our endangered ocean ecosystems.

Take action here, please!