Page 83 - Oceans
P. 83
.
81
FISH Under THreaT
Cod Tuna SharkS
This favorite target of the fishing industry has been As oceanic predators, tuna are much rarer than the Vast number of sharks are caught so their fins can be
virtually fished out from the two main fisheries—the fish that they prey upon. Pulling them out of the sea cut off for sharks’ fin soup. They are then dumped back
North Sea and the Grand Banks. A female produces to be canned in huge numbers is destroying their small in the water—often while still alive. This cruel trade is
millions of eggs when she spawns, but many never populations, and some species are now in serious danger. making these slow breeders a rare species.
get the chance.
fishing
< WhaliNg
We know how
destructive overfishing
can be, considering
the fate of the world’s
whales. By the time
whaling was virtually
banned in 1986,
intensive hunting
had almost wiped out
species like the giant
blue whale. Even today, it
is very rare because the few
survivors breed slowly.
< dolPhiN bYCatCh < loNgliNiNg for seabirds
All kinds of marine animals are Some fish are caught on lines
accidentally caught by fishing with thousands of baited
fleets. Many are fish of the hooks. As each line streams
wrong type, while others are from the boat into the water,
air-breathing animals that get birds like this gannet swoop
trapped in fishing nets and down to seize the bait. They
drown. Dolphins often follow get hooked, dragged under,
tuna shoals, and if the tuna and drowned. Up to 100,000
are netted, the dolphins may albatrosses die like this each
be caught, too. Despite various year. Many people are trying
systems designed to prevent to stop the slaughter before
this, many thousands of most of the 21 species of
dolphins still die every year. albatrosses become extinct.
