Tag Archives: unintended consequences
Unintended Consequences – Protecting wild predators can lead to problems
That is, a recovering predator population can increase competition with humans for the same prey; it can start eating individuals of a protected prey species; or it can pit multiple predator populations in competition for the same limited prey. Or it can do all three. In the northeastern Pacific Ocean, for example, commercial harvests of king salmon have declined from historic levels, in part to protect declining wild-salmon populations, seven of which have Endangered Species Act protection. Meanwhile, the ecosystem’s seals and sea lions, which were once killed commercially, are now protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. Read the rest here 20:48
Canada Plan to cull 70,000 grey seals gets Senate panel’s approval.
The Senate’s fisheries committee has endorsed a contentious cull of 70,000 grey seals in the Gulf of St. Lawrence over a four-year period, in a bid to conserve cod stocks. But critics say that plans for a cull have been driven by politics, not science.
A group of marine biologists at Dalhousie University in Halifax issued an open letter last fall that said a cull could produce unintended consequences, including further depletion of the cod. (now THAT makes alotta sense!!!) One cannot credibly predict from a science perspective whether a cull of grey seals would have a positive impact on cod or negative impact on cod … or no impact whatsoever,” he said. (I’m thinkin’ outside the box. It’ll help the cod!)
