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FlamesAddiction · 11-30-2009, 05:07 PM

I'm trying to recall this discussion from my ecology classes in university. the details are a little bit fuzzy, but the low-down of it was that after the collapse of the cod fishery, some type of smaller fish (I'm thinking oolichans, but that may not be right) has been flourishing because cod used to keep their numbers down. The seals have benefited because they eat those fish, and the unnaturally high amount of food has created a seal boom in parts of the NE coast. Some ecologists said that the high number of seals makes it hard for the cod fishery to recover because the seals also eat young cod, therefore, the only way to keep the ecosystem somewhat in balance is to kill a lot of the seals.

It's kind of sad that the seals have to pay the price for what humans messed up, but assuming that argument is correct (and I can't say one way or the other), it would justify the seal hunt.

The only real problem with it is that they are pretty much helpless and they leave a bloody mess in the snow which creates bad optics.

11-30-2009, 05:07 PM	#45
FlamesAddiction Franchise Player Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Vancouver Exp:	I'm trying to recall this discussion from my ecology classes in university. the details are a little bit fuzzy, but the low-down of it was that after the collapse of the cod fishery, some type of smaller fish (I'm thinking oolichans, but that may not be right) has been flourishing because cod used to keep their numbers down. The seals have benefited because they eat those fish, and the unnaturally high amount of food has created a seal boom in parts of the NE coast. Some ecologists said that the high number of seals makes it hard for the cod fishery to recover because the seals also eat young cod, therefore, the only way to keep the ecosystem somewhat in balance is to kill a lot of the seals. It's kind of sad that the seals have to pay the price for what humans messed up, but assuming that argument is correct (and I can't say one way or the other), it would justify the seal hunt. The only real problem with it is that they are pretty much helpless and they leave a bloody mess in the snow which creates bad optics. __________________ "A pessimist thinks things can't get any worse. An optimist knows they can."