Most people accept that the North Sea has been subjected to the most appalling overfishing. Whitefish stocks have collapsed and the mackerel and herring fisheries are all but commercially extinct.
One of the long-established ecological principles is that large animals are less abundant than smaller ones. There are fewer elephants than antelope which are less numerous than rabbits. Because larger animals need more resources an ecosystem can support fewer of them.
Virtually every threat to life in the sea is attributable to our use of the ‘wait and see principle’, which allows overexploitation, ecosystem destruction or pollution so long as someone gains economically and the environmental consequences are uncertain.
Most people accept that the North Sea has been subjected to the most appalling overfishing. Whitefish stocks have collapsed and the mackerel and herring fisheries are all but commercially extinct.
One of the long-established ecological principles is that large animals are less abundant than smaller ones. There are fewer elephants than antelope which are less numerous than rabbits. Because larger animals need more resources an ecosystem can support fewer of them.
Virtually every threat to life in the sea is attributable to our use of the ‘wait and see principle’, which allows overexploitation, ecosystem destruction or pollution so long as someone gains economically and the environmental consequences are uncertain.
Blue Planet Society is a volunteer pressure group campaigning to protect the world’s ocean. You can help us by making a donation today.
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