Most comments on this thread will vehemently wish damnation visited upon the whalers.
My personal observations 30+ years making my living on the water here in S.E. Alaska have seen an exponential increase of all species on the endangered or protected list, as this Act was designed it has been successful. Too successful.
We now have a shortage of all prey upon which these species feed, again, my own observations and those who also make their living upon the water.
What is better I ask those of you who think these species deserve eternal protection;
5000 whales and no more krill, needlefish and herring? Or cull the herd and allow the food chain to replenish?
5000 sea otter and no more abalone, crab or scallops, or cull herd and allow these (also) valuable species to replenish?
5000 Stellar Sea Lions and no more salmon, and now halibut because these predators are now going after halibut, or cull the herd and allow these (very valuable) species to replenish?
Tough questions I know. While I don’t agree with wholesale slaughter of any species, we have to admit there comes a time when the over protection of any species leads to other problems as well.
Out of balance....not sure how to fix that problem...
[[We now have a shortage of all prey upon which these species feed,]]
Lol- noone is up in arms about the diminishing prey species the wales feed on- cuz krill, needlefish and herring aint cool i guess-
But i say protect hte krill, protect the needlefish! Dangit- they have feelings too lol
[[While I don’t agree with wholesale slaughter of any species,]]
I’ve always wondered What’s the difference between harvesting a herd of whales compared to harvesting a herd of cattle? (assuming the whales aren’t endangered of course) Food is food-
Reminds me of the classic “Kaibob Deer” where they were a protected species somewhere (Arizona? Teddy Roosevelt?) No hunting allowed. They soon over-ran the place, and weak from lack of food. But nature took care of it - some disease killed most of them off in their weakened state. I have no idea how long it took the land to recover.
You can thank the japs and the fukushima poison thst is kiiling the pacific ocean life before our eyes.
Whales and seals have become pests off the Oregon coast too. They need to start managing them here
Honestly, unless you’ve got some really stellar sea otter / sea lion recipes...
Thank you.
The article was designed specifically to generate emotional, not rational, response.
Most Freepers have so far obediently complied, some almost hysterically.
Not you two.
Thank you for that.
Last Saturday morning on ABC's Sea Rescues I think, they were helping save all these seal pups who were starving on the beaches around San Diego. According to the rescuers, they have never encountered such numbers before.
From my perspective, it was probably due to the growing and unsustainable numbers of adults since they are now protected all up and down the coast of California.......