🚀 go-pugleaf

"I R Canuck" <direct_your_NOSPAManger@NOSPAMpopstar.com> wrote in message
news:SjSgc.34826$mn3.9966@clgrps13...
> "pearl" <tea@signguestbook.ie> wrote in message news:c5uosa$g73$1@kermit.esat.net...
> > Harp seals and Cod
> > Questions and Answers
>
> <SNIP Answers to questions posed by those who've done no research
> and would like to pretend Canada is 'scapegoating' the seal>
>
> http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/media/backgrou/2003/hq-ac01b_e.htm
> __________________________________________________________
> Impact of Seal Predation on Cod
>
> The 2001 Report of the Eminent Panel on Seal Management concluded
> that seals consume large amounts of fish throughout Atlantic Canada,
> but there is much less evidence that this predation is having a major
> impact on the recovery of most commercial fish stocks.
>
> The findings of the report were not conclusive and many uncertainties
> were acknowledged in providing realistic predictions. The Panel
> acknowledged that gaining an understanding of the real impact of seals
> on the recovery of cod is extremely complex and requires an in-depth
> understanding of the marine ecosystem as well as additional research.
> Findings highlighted in the report include:
>
> The consumption of cod, and some other commercial species, by seals
> in Divisions 2J3KL and 4RS3Pn is so large that a reduction in seal
> predation could reasonably be expected to have a substantial effect on
> the size of these stocks. However, the extent of this reduction would
> have to be large in order for an impact to be observed.
>
> There is not a simple, straight-line relationship between seal predation
> and the state of fish populations. The interaction between seals,
> groundfish and other species is complex and variable. For instance,
> seals eat cod, but seals also eat other fish that prey on cod. Moreover,
> other factors such as environmental changes and fishing levels must be
> considered in trying to determine why cod stocks have not yet recovered.
>
> The harp seal population has grown to the highest level recorded.
> Coupled with the fact that the annual TAC has rarely been taken in full,
> the panel expects a gradual increase in seal numbers if the current
> management approach is maintained.
>
> The current scientific knowledge is insufficient to determine the impact
> of a seal cull on cod fisheries in the short, medium or long term. Science
> and resource managers question the value of a cull in a fishery driven by
> economic market conditions. More importantly, there is no way of
> knowing how other predators and prey might respond to a decrease in
> the seal population.
>
> Current estimates of cod consumption by seals vary greatly from less
> than one per cent to more than 20 per cent of diet, depending on the
> type of seal researched, the time of year and location of the studies.
> The panel concluded that more comprehensive research needs to be
> done to more accurately estimate the amount of cod that seals are
> consuming.
> __________________________________________________________
>
> I see no scapegoating.

'Canadian Natural Resources Minister John Efford said many
claims about the hunt were simply wrong. He argued that the
seal population was exploding - with an estimated 5.2 million
harp seals in the North Atlantic at present � and commercial
fish stocks were vanishing. '
http://www.indolink.com/displayArticleS.php?id=041304105510