Human vs. Environment
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
I must ask what must occur for people to understand that the environment cannot always bounce back from over-use. When will all realize that their are limitations to everything as well as a fine balance in nature that cannot be swayed too much in one direction?
I am saddened by the state of the oceans and the results of over fishing. We (all countries) imagine the ocean to be an endless supply of food. There have been so many times in the past that environmentalists and scientists have warned about the consequences of actions only to be proven right while those opposed scratch their heads. We are on the verge of this same situation again. Overfishing around the world is a large concern. It affects every country and most individuals, especially when a fundamental food source is no longer available. For this reason, I am concerned about a recent article in New Scientist magazine, "North Sea cod quotas raised against scienctists advice". For a few years we have seen a decline in North Sea cod. Due to so many environmental factors, many juveniles were not making it to the adult stage where reproduction occurs.
However, this past year the numbers have slightly increased. While this is a good sign, the excitement is premature. There are often years where there is an increase that does not correlate to actual numbers of the species increasing. The increase needs to be consistent across years not in single years. Thus, the area of concern comes from the North Sea fishing quotas being raised by 11% this year biased solely on a fluctuation not consistently seen. It has been advised by scientists to reduce quotas for the past years to allow this species to recover. No one would listen. Ignorance like this leads to major problems and possibility of the most severe of consequences: extinction.
When will business learn to listen to those that understand the environment. You can't maintain a fishing business without fish!
posted by Sonya @ 12/19/2007 10:32:00 AM,
