Claims of whale competition with fisheries rubbished
Posted by Dave (in Ireland)
At a symposium on whaling in New York, hosted by the UN Environment Program e New York, Daniel Pauly, a specialist in global fish stocks, has undermined Japan's motives for hunting humpback whales next year. The whaling industry had claimed that humpbacks are outcompeting Antarctic minke whales - a concept that Dr Pauly, from the University of British Columbia's Fisheries Centre, responded to, saying that "these whales compete within complex food webs, and not directly with each other".
One of the arguments often put forward by pro-whaling pundits is that the culling of whales is necessary to save fisheries and create an "ecosystem balance". The thing is, there's very little real overlap between the food that whales love, and the fish that we eat.
Although there was some local competition with fisheries, such as for herring off Iceland, in regions like Antarctica they ate shrimp-like krill almost exclusively.
"And therefore if we slaughtered all marine mammals now it would make no difference for the fishermen," Dr Pauly said.
Instead, having whales and seals in the marine ecosystem could enhance the strength of fisheries. "Marine mammals not only eat prey, they eat things that compete with that prey."
More about this from the Sydney Morning Herald's Andrew Darby here »
