Thanks for this series, Linda. Watching the comments on the suspension of the spring mackerel and herring fishery is so frustrating, if predictable. I picked up a fishing rod for the first time since childhood in the 1st pandemic summer. I was super keen to discover the food potential of the Northumberland shore and dismayed when I realised that most of the commercially harvested finfish end up as bait. Wtf?! So yeah, seals are the problem.... Smh.
Humans forget that once upon a time these waters literally had enough fish in them to slow schooners and that was in the presence of whales, seals, walrus, dolphins.....
It is terribly tragic, and yes, I was also surprised when writing about the lobster fishery a couple years ago how much is caught in the fishery as bait for the traps. According to a study: two pounds of fish are used to catch one pound of lobster in the Atlantic fishery, which amounts to roughly 400 million pounds of fish in lobster traps each year. Pointing a finger at grey seals or any seal population amid all this is obviously a smokescreen.
I can understand how it started, but in this day and age with what we know, it's unconscionable. Crab and lobster are scavengers afterall. Surely there's a byproduct of some kind that could be transformed into an appropriate bait. I know, I know, more expensive than the current model.... But only when the system doesn't adequately value those forage fish species and their incredible role in the ecosystem to start with. Happens everywhere and all the time in all things to do with our planet. Its nuts
The description of the cull, sounds like the horros of today's Ukraine. That of the modelling, reads like the lessons we are hopefully learning from Covid. I hope this series is required reading for aspiring ecosystem ecologists - and aspiring politicians too.
Thanks for this series, Linda. Watching the comments on the suspension of the spring mackerel and herring fishery is so frustrating, if predictable. I picked up a fishing rod for the first time since childhood in the 1st pandemic summer. I was super keen to discover the food potential of the Northumberland shore and dismayed when I realised that most of the commercially harvested finfish end up as bait. Wtf?! So yeah, seals are the problem.... Smh.
Humans forget that once upon a time these waters literally had enough fish in them to slow schooners and that was in the presence of whales, seals, walrus, dolphins.....
It is terribly tragic, and yes, I was also surprised when writing about the lobster fishery a couple years ago how much is caught in the fishery as bait for the traps. According to a study: two pounds of fish are used to catch one pound of lobster in the Atlantic fishery, which amounts to roughly 400 million pounds of fish in lobster traps each year. Pointing a finger at grey seals or any seal population amid all this is obviously a smokescreen.
I can understand how it started, but in this day and age with what we know, it's unconscionable. Crab and lobster are scavengers afterall. Surely there's a byproduct of some kind that could be transformed into an appropriate bait. I know, I know, more expensive than the current model.... But only when the system doesn't adequately value those forage fish species and their incredible role in the ecosystem to start with. Happens everywhere and all the time in all things to do with our planet. Its nuts
There is a new sausage-like bait for lobsters that's been developed by a PEI company to replace forage fish... it's supposed to be 65% fish by-product and 35% other "organic and natural" ingredients. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-bait-masters-alternate-bait-study-results-1.5788221
I remember hearing about that. There's gotta be something.....
It's going to be extremely relevant given the closure of the herring and mackerel fisheries that just got announced.
Yes, it absolutely will.
The description of the cull, sounds like the horros of today's Ukraine. That of the modelling, reads like the lessons we are hopefully learning from Covid. I hope this series is required reading for aspiring ecosystem ecologists - and aspiring politicians too.
Thank you for this insightful 3 parts series! I would love to hear your thoughts on that: https://www.parl.ca/LegisInfo/en/bill/44-1/C-251?view=progress
Thanks Val. I'm not familiar with the bill... will have to take a look at it. Thanks for sharing it.