Krill harvesting adds to global warming
- by: Save the Planet Earth
- recipient: Schiff, Source Naturals, Vitamin Shoppe Now Foods, Arctic Gold, Mercola,Jarrow,Nature's Way, Twin Labs,
Thousands of whales lethally "researched" by the Japanese has allowed them to draw the most startling conclusion; that "Antarctic minke whales are fast growing thinner"!
The massive exploitation of krill as a protein source and as an animal-feed additive may now be jeopardizing recovering whale populations dependent on krill as a food supply. Since the 1970s the numbers of krill have declined by 80 percent, largely due to global warming. Fishing operations are adding to the depletion.
These tiny crustaceans eat carbon-rich phytoplankton near the surface of the water, and thereby help remove carbon dioxide. After dark these amazing little animals send waste - which includes large amounts of carbon dioxide from the Earth's atmosphere - toward the sea floor and thereby removing the equivalent annual carbon dioxide emissions of 35 million cars!
If krill are essential to a healthy ocean ecosystem and the processing of greenhouse gases, the Japanese should cut back on harvesting krill instead of killing the victims of their decline - the whales!
Any Japanese criminal whaling fleet entering the Australian Antarctic Territory should be arrested, and their fleet impounded.
WHOLE FOODS says ":Krill are an important source of food for marine animals including penguins, seals, and whales in the Antarctic.
Declines of some predator populations in the areas where the krill fishery operates suggest that fishery management needs to better understand how to evaluate the prey requirements of other marine species in order to set sustainable catch levels for krill.
Consequently, at present we are choosing to discontinue the sale of krill supplements as we continue to evaluate this emerging research. Please consider alternatives to krill oil supplements such as fish oil or astaxanthin supplements.”
Krill fishing threatens the Antarctic
Intensive harvesting of the tiny crustaceans for fish food and Omega 3 puts ecosystem at risk
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* Juliette Jowit, environment editor
* The Observer, Sunday 23 March 2008
* Article history
Penguins on an iceberg in Antarctica Penguins on an iceberg in Antarctica. Photograph: Corbis
The Antarctic, one of the planet's last unspoilt ecosystems, is under threat from mankind's insatiable appetite for harvesting the seas.
The population of krill, a tiny crustacean, is in danger from the growing demand for health supplements and food for fish farms. Global warming has already been blamed for a dramatic fall in numbers because the ice that is home to the algae and plankton they feed on is melting. Now 'suction' harvesting which gathers up vast quantities has been introduced to meet the increased demand. It threatens not just krill, but the entire ecosystem that depends on them, say environmental campaigners. Krill are also believed to be important in removing the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide by eating carbon-rich food near the surface and excreting it when they sink to lower, colder water to escape predators.
'Whales, penguins, seals, albatrosses and petrels - all those creatures we think are absolute icons of Antarctica - depend on krill,' said Richard Page, a marine reserves expert with Greenpeace International. 'It's part of the global commons, and one of the most pristine environments on Earth. That's why we should treat it with the greatest of respect.'
However, scientists say they are monitoring the fishing but so far the total catch is a small proportion of the population.
'We're aware of this fishing effort gearing up and we're not particularly concerned at the moment,' said Dr Geraint Tarling, head of ecosystem dynamics at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). 'When people get close to the allowable catches we'd be concerned, but at the moment it's nowhere near.'
The eerie-looking Antarctic krill, with their translucent reddish bodies and black eyes, are thought to be one of the largest aggregations of marine life on the planet. Each creature weighs little more than a large paperclip; but taken together teeming shoals, which can measure kilometres across, are thought to weigh more than the human population.
Scientists believe krill have declined by 80 per cent since the 1970s, and the most likely cause is global warming. There is uncertainty, though, about the remaining population: the BAS estimates 100 million tonnes; krill harvesting companies claim about 400-500 million tonnes. Under the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, the annual allowed krill catch in the Southern Ocean is 4 million tonnes. But until now there has been 'huge under-fishing', usually less than 20 per cent of that quota, said Tarling.
But there is growing interest and new products being developed. Most krill fished are used as fish-farm feed and to produce Omega 3 oil and other health supplements. Last month alone, the Antarctic Krill Conservation Project reported four firms planning to expand operations. New on-board processing and fast-freezing technology are enabling ships to take bigger catches.
However, Helge Midttun, chief executive of Norwegian-based processor Aker BioMarine, said they were careful not to damage krill stocks, including developing a net around their suction system to stop other species being harvested. 'It's in our interests that these fisheries are taking place in a way that's not destroying the environment,' said Midttun.
But Page warns: 'What we don't want to do is what we have done in pretty much every fishery in the world. We thought the natural resources of the sea were unlimited; we have proved time and time again that's not the case.'
The massive exploitation of krill as a protein source and as an animal-feed additive may now be jeopardizing recovering whale populations dependent on krill as a food supply. Since the 1970s the numbers of krill have declined by 80 percent, largely due to global warming. Fishing operations are adding to the depletion.
These tiny crustaceans eat carbon-rich phytoplankton near the surface of the water, and thereby help remove carbon dioxide. After dark these amazing little animals send waste - which includes large amounts of carbon dioxide from the Earth's atmosphere - toward the sea floor and thereby removing the equivalent annual carbon dioxide emissions of 35 million cars!
If krill are essential to a healthy ocean ecosystem and the processing of greenhouse gases, the Japanese should cut back on harvesting krill instead of killing the victims of their decline - the whales!
Any Japanese criminal whaling fleet entering the Australian Antarctic Territory should be arrested, and their fleet impounded.
WHOLE FOODS says ":Krill are an important source of food for marine animals including penguins, seals, and whales in the Antarctic.
Declines of some predator populations in the areas where the krill fishery operates suggest that fishery management needs to better understand how to evaluate the prey requirements of other marine species in order to set sustainable catch levels for krill.
Consequently, at present we are choosing to discontinue the sale of krill supplements as we continue to evaluate this emerging research. Please consider alternatives to krill oil supplements such as fish oil or astaxanthin supplements.”
Krill fishing threatens the Antarctic
Intensive harvesting of the tiny crustaceans for fish food and Omega 3 puts ecosystem at risk
*
o
o Share38
o Reddit
o Buzz up
* Juliette Jowit, environment editor
* The Observer, Sunday 23 March 2008
* Article history
Penguins on an iceberg in Antarctica Penguins on an iceberg in Antarctica. Photograph: Corbis
The Antarctic, one of the planet's last unspoilt ecosystems, is under threat from mankind's insatiable appetite for harvesting the seas.
The population of krill, a tiny crustacean, is in danger from the growing demand for health supplements and food for fish farms. Global warming has already been blamed for a dramatic fall in numbers because the ice that is home to the algae and plankton they feed on is melting. Now 'suction' harvesting which gathers up vast quantities has been introduced to meet the increased demand. It threatens not just krill, but the entire ecosystem that depends on them, say environmental campaigners. Krill are also believed to be important in removing the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide by eating carbon-rich food near the surface and excreting it when they sink to lower, colder water to escape predators.
'Whales, penguins, seals, albatrosses and petrels - all those creatures we think are absolute icons of Antarctica - depend on krill,' said Richard Page, a marine reserves expert with Greenpeace International. 'It's part of the global commons, and one of the most pristine environments on Earth. That's why we should treat it with the greatest of respect.'
However, scientists say they are monitoring the fishing but so far the total catch is a small proportion of the population.
'We're aware of this fishing effort gearing up and we're not particularly concerned at the moment,' said Dr Geraint Tarling, head of ecosystem dynamics at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). 'When people get close to the allowable catches we'd be concerned, but at the moment it's nowhere near.'
The eerie-looking Antarctic krill, with their translucent reddish bodies and black eyes, are thought to be one of the largest aggregations of marine life on the planet. Each creature weighs little more than a large paperclip; but taken together teeming shoals, which can measure kilometres across, are thought to weigh more than the human population.
Scientists believe krill have declined by 80 per cent since the 1970s, and the most likely cause is global warming. There is uncertainty, though, about the remaining population: the BAS estimates 100 million tonnes; krill harvesting companies claim about 400-500 million tonnes. Under the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, the annual allowed krill catch in the Southern Ocean is 4 million tonnes. But until now there has been 'huge under-fishing', usually less than 20 per cent of that quota, said Tarling.
But there is growing interest and new products being developed. Most krill fished are used as fish-farm feed and to produce Omega 3 oil and other health supplements. Last month alone, the Antarctic Krill Conservation Project reported four firms planning to expand operations. New on-board processing and fast-freezing technology are enabling ships to take bigger catches.
However, Helge Midttun, chief executive of Norwegian-based processor Aker BioMarine, said they were careful not to damage krill stocks, including developing a net around their suction system to stop other species being harvested. 'It's in our interests that these fisheries are taking place in a way that's not destroying the environment,' said Midttun.
But Page warns: 'What we don't want to do is what we have done in pretty much every fishery in the world. We thought the natural resources of the sea were unlimited; we have proved time and time again that's not the case.'
We, the undersigned,
Believe that there should be much more awareness and responsibility of all nations to preserve the health and sustainability of the planet Earth.
There are many ways we could/can do this. There are organizations trying desperately to educate people on how they can be part of this. It needs to be on the front page of the newspapers, yahoo website, whatever it takes to allow the average man speak up for the welfare of future generations.
Harvesting krill is a death sentence for the oceans, for the whales and who knows what else needs them to survive.
To kill the ocean is suicide. The ocean is the foundation for the planet.
We all need to face the facts. Somethings we as humans have already done to the planet cannot be changed. But we can still stop this behavior and suicide that is in our hands to prevent.
Thank you for reading this letter. We hope you will sign this petition to be distributed to every leader of every nation until we band together to take the responsibility. Please forward it to all your friends and relatives.
Sign PetitionSign PetitionBelieve that there should be much more awareness and responsibility of all nations to preserve the health and sustainability of the planet Earth.
There are many ways we could/can do this. There are organizations trying desperately to educate people on how they can be part of this. It needs to be on the front page of the newspapers, yahoo website, whatever it takes to allow the average man speak up for the welfare of future generations.
Harvesting krill is a death sentence for the oceans, for the whales and who knows what else needs them to survive.
To kill the ocean is suicide. The ocean is the foundation for the planet.
We all need to face the facts. Somethings we as humans have already done to the planet cannot be changed. But we can still stop this behavior and suicide that is in our hands to prevent.
Thank you for reading this letter. We hope you will sign this petition to be distributed to every leader of every nation until we band together to take the responsibility. Please forward it to all your friends and relatives.
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