Given how universally revered dolphins are, and the fact that humans rarely eat their meat, you’d be forgiven for assuming that dolphins are largely spared by the fishing industry. Alas, that’s not the case. As a new report finds, fishers hunt and butcher over 100,000 cetaceans (a classification that includes dolphins, porpoises and tinier whales) […]
Tag: fishing
Amazing Discovery: Yucatan Bird’s IQ – Superior to Humans’
We have all heard or used the expression “Bird-Brain.” Birds have comparatively small brains, and because of that we humans place them at a very low level of intelligence. Yes, we recognize that we can train birds of certain species to react to a limited assortment of commands, but animal science has, until now, been […]
POLL: Should Norway be sanctioned for boosting its whaling quota?
Norway has announced a 28% increase of its annual whaling quota to 1,278 whales in a bid to revive the declining hunt amid international controversy. Whalers have for several years failed to meet the quotas set by Oslo and the number of whaling boats has plunged. “I hope the quota and the merging of fishing […]
POLL: Should “destructive” electric pulse fishing be banned?
Groups representing small-scale fishing fleets across Europe have called on the European Union to reinstate a ban on fishing using electrical pulses, which they say is a destructive method. However, others have called for the technique to continue, saying it causes less disturbance than methods such as trawling the bottom of the seabed. Electric pulses are […]
POLL: Should fishing with cyanide be banned?
Sodium cyanide is a highly toxic chemical compound that many fish collectors in the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia (the largest exporters of tropical fish) crush and dissolve in squirt bottles to spray on the fish—and the reef and all the other marine life in the vicinity. Stunned, the target fish can then easily be […]
We should be outraged by Europe slaughtering sea life in the name of ‘science’
One of the biggest jokes in conservation is the Japanese government’s claim to be engaged in “scientific whaling”. All the killing by its harpoon fleet takes place under the guise of “research”, as this is the only justification available, under international rules. According to Joji Morishita, a diplomat representing Japan at the whaling negotiations, this […]
Fishing ban proposed near Rockall after rare scientific finds
Fishing is expected to be banned near the Atlantic islet of Rockall after a rare methane gas vent in the seabed and two new shellfish species were discovered by British scientists. The methane, which leaks through a so-called “cold seep” vent in the ocean floor, was found last year by scientists working with the government […]
Conserving the long-neglected freshwater fish of Borneo
Borneo is a vast tropical island known for orangutans, rhinos, elephants, sun bears, proboscis monkeys, hornbills, and ubiquitous leeches. Conservationists have championed all of these species (aside from the leeches) in one way or another, but like many tropical regions Borneo’s freshwater species have long been neglected, despite their rich biodiversity and importance to local […]