Small fish also at risk of collapse. Reporting on two recent studies, US-based environmental science publication Mongabay described how human activities are placing the survival of smaller marine fish such as anchovies, sardines, mackerel, and herring at risk. The first research, conducted by Australian scientists, found that even so-called sustainable fishing practices are actually pushing many of these species toward extinction.
They also noted that smaller fish currently comprise about 30% of all that are caught for either human consumption or use in livestock and farmed fish feed. The second study, conducted by US scientists, revealed that despite a greater resiliency, small fish are as vulnerable as their larger counterparts to population declines, with severe impact to marine ecosystems along the way.
Researcher and study co-author Dr. Malin Pinsky of Stanford University in California, USA, stated, "The important lesson is that all species of fishes can collapse once humans decide to eat or use them, from sardines to swordfish. You hear the old adage, 'Don't sweat the small stuff,' but for fisheries, we do have to care about the little (ones). "
We appreciate these insights, international scientists, alerting us to the threats imposed by human consumption of smaller fish. May we all quickly adopt life-embracing practices that protect these and all fellow inhabitants on Earth.
During an April 2011 videoconference in Mongolia, Supreme Master Ching Hai discussed the vital role of every species, including fish.
Supreme Master Ching Hai : The thousands of species of magnificent animals on our world, on our planet, are here, not to be consumed, not to be eaten, but to provide us and our Earth with a stabilizing, unconditional love, blessing and evolutionary help.
And as part of this love, they also maintain the delicate balance of all the ecosystems on land and in the seas, and in the atmosphere as well.
Like the little sardine fish that we should not remove from the sea, because this little fish serves a vital role in maintaining oxygen and avoiding the conditions for dead zones.
Every single being on this planet has a noble job to fulfill. So if we kill any of them, we are killing a part of ourselves, slowly or quickly.
Animals are here to live out their natural lives in freedom and dignity and peace, just like the way we want.
They are here for us to love, respect, and be loved.
Extra NewsMeeting on November 3, 2011, the 42-member Alliance of Small Island States calls for a new international climate pact to be signed before the Kyoto protocol expires in 2012 and a timetable to be agreed at the climate summit in Durban, South Africa, as island countries face increasingly more severe impacts from climate change.
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/vulnerable-islands-urge-climate-deal-before-end-2012/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/03/us-climate-aosis-idUSTRE7A23WR20111103 A November 3, 2011 report by the US Department of Energy states that the global output of greenhouse gases increased by its largest amount ever in 2010, as the gases also rose to levels more severe than a worst case scenario forecast four years ago by UN climate experts.
http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-11-biggest-global-gases.htmlhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/nov/17/global-temperature-risehttp://theenergycollective.com/tyhamilton/68503/global-co2-emissions-take-monster-jump-2010-due-largely-increases-china-us