BES - Can we fish the ocean without destroying its riches?

	ABOUT THE BES \| CONTACT US \| HOW TO JOIN \| LOG IN \| SITE MAP \| HELP

AREA OF INTEREST:

Home > Education & Careers > resources > Curriculum material > Ecology Poster > Southern Ocean food webs

	Education & Careers Field Work New ETCC Chair index2 resources issue36 issue35 issue32 issue33 Issue 34 teg Curriculum material Brine Shrimp Ecology Ecology Poster wildlife.doc Impact of the Channel Tunnel Controlled atmosphere experiments Impact of introduced crayfish The return of the red kite Using microbes in sports Effects of acid rain on Arctic tundra Heathland Ecology Ecology in the home Monitoring road verge vegetation Integrated pest management Southern Ocean food webs Electrofishing to survey fish populations How will global warming affect rare plants? GM crop damage Foodchains & food webs pond poster Ecological Project Compendium Instructions for Authors Careers information Education grants Courses for the Student Teacher Keeping in Touch with Ecology

Can we fish the ocean without destroying its riches?

Southern Ocean food webs

Monitoring the numbers of humpback whales and Antarctic fur seals, both key top predators, is one way to assess the impacts of fishing

Monitoring the numbers of humpback whales and Antarctic fur seals, both key top predators, is one way to assess the impacts of fishing.

Southern Ocean food webs are dominated by krill (the shrimp-like animal eaten by birds, seals, whales and fish). Fishing takes place for krill, fish and squid. To ensure that fishing does not disrupt the food web and affect bird and seal populations, the marine ecosystem is managed as a whole under an international agreement to conserve living resources in the Antarctic. This makes it essential to understand marine communities and their interactions. Taking too many fish would affect albatross and penguin populations, whereas overfishing of krill could affect whales and seals, as well as some birds. International monitoring programmes keep a check on bird populations.