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Since we had such fun talking about seals, here's something on krill :)
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MEDIA RELEASE - Immediate - May 6, 1998
Sierra Club Concerned Over Krill Fisheries Proposal
Ottawa / Halifax - The Sierra Club of Canada and its Chebucto Group are
deeply concerned about a proposal to catch 1000 tons of krill annually off
the East Coast. There are many problems with the scheme and they all
point to an activity which is seriously ecologically unsound.
"With the depletion of fish stocks that occurred in the early '90s on
Canada's East Coast, we need to be wary of any efforts that will stress
the coastal ecosystem," said Arciris Garay, chair of the Sierra Club's
Chebucto Group. Krill are among the lowest organisms in the marine food
chain, and changes in their population structure will be widely felt.
Many marine species are dependent upon the krill, including commercial
fishes such as haddock, and pollock.
The Atlantic cod, recently designated as "vulnerable" by the Committee on
the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, also feeds on krill, as do
endangered right whales. Cod stocks haven't significantly recovered
despite a fishing moratorium for the past six years. The Sierra Club,
along with other environmental and fishing groups, fears that damage to
the krill populations will jeopardize the East Coast marine ecology
further and prevent recovery of the ecosystem.
"We're going through the food web, species by species, instead of
respecting the balance of nature," says Elizabeth May, Executive Director
of the Sierra Club of Canada. "We still haven't learned the lessons of
the East Coast cod tragedy."
"It's a gamble we can't afford to take" says Paul Falvo, newly elected
chair of the Sierra Club's Eastern Canada Chapter; he questions whether
DFO and the proponent have the capacity to assess the impact of this
fishery on dependent species.
The Sierra Club urges the Honourable David Anderson, federal Minister of
Fisheries and Oceans to heed the call of reason and put conservation of
the East Coast above short-term, quick fix schemes, which in the end, do
nothing other than exacerbate the problem.
-30-
For more information, contact:
Elizabeth May, Sierra Club of Canada, (613) 241-4611
or Arciris Garay, Chebucto Group, (902) 445-3799, sierra@chebucto.ns.ca
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