Rivers of a Lost Coast

In a rather obvious line of reasoning, the environmental group Oceana’s new report, “Hungry Oceans: What happens when the prey is gone” points to dwindling prey fish such as krill, herring, pollock, mackerel as a reason for the collapse of larger species such as Seabirds, Tuna and Salmon.

Margot Stiles, lead author and Oceana marine biologist said Monday, the loss of food at the bottom of the ocean food chain harms a range of species, resulting in malnutrition, death of offspring or disruption in migration and breeding patterns.

“These fish may be small. They’re not glamorous. But they do all of the work in the ocean,” Stiles said. “They’re the foundation of the food web. Without them, we would lose the things we really care about - the seabirds, whales, tuna and salmon.”

The San Francisco Chronicle article on the report noted, Oceana and another group, Ocean Conservancy, are asking for catch limits that would protect existing fisheries. They also want prohibitions on starting new fisheries of prey species.

A ban on krill fishing adopted three years ago by the Pacific Fishery Management Council, which regulates federal waters off California, Oregon and Washington, has been held up by the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Scientific and environmental groups are asking officials in the Obama administration to approve the West Coast ban on krill fishing and to extend catch limits to other prey species.

You can learn more about the study’s concerns of over fishing, fish farming and warming ocean temperatures in Jane Kay’s SF Chronicle piece

SF Chronicle Oceana report