While everyone is aware of the melting ice caps and the threat from rising oceans, there are other things that impact the life of sea creatures. Fishing vessels are used all around the world to fuel the booming sea-food industry. While it makes sense that these vessels would have an impact on the oceans they trawl, no one really understood how big that impact is. However, a new study from a group of researchers at the University of Exeter goes to prove that these commercial fishing vessels have a much larger impact that was originally thought.
The team of scientists found that northern gannets (a species of seabird that are the largest in the UK) drastically changed their behavior when the fishing vessels were near, showing that these large vessels clearly impact the foraging patterns and distribution of the gannets and other marine predators. Individual gannets were shown to adjust their behavior not only based on the boat, but also on whether it was actively fishing as well as what type of gear it had on board. Each vessel had an area of influence of about 22 km, much larger than previously thought.
The study was initially started because the findings are useful in terms of commercial fisheries and how much they space they need to be able to sustainably raise fish. However these findings also go to prove that seabirds and, potentially, other predators are far more in tune with the opportunities to eat that humans create.
If you’d like to read more, here is the article:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140602132222.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fearth_climate%2Foceanography+%28Oceanography+News+–+ScienceDaily%29
No comments:
Post a Comment