|
Fishermen's cod claims backed by new research
Frank Urquhart - furquhart@scotsman.com
The Scotsman
24th October 2003
New scientific evidence, which appears to back fishermen’s claims that cod stocks have been brought to the brink of collapse because of global warming, was presented to the European Parliament yesterday by Scots Tory MEP Struan Stevenson.
Mr Stevenson, the president of the European Parliament’s fisheries committee, revealed that the latest research from the respected Sir Alistair Hardy Foundation for Ocean Sciences had shown that stocks of cold-water plankton, on which cod larvae feed, have been driven hundreds of miles to the north by a rise in water temperatures.
He said: "This report vindicates what fishermen have been saying all along. The cod have migrated northwards to where their larvae can feed, because of global warming, and there is little chance of them ever returning."
The Plymouth foundation operates the continuous plankton recorder survey, in operation since 1931, one of the largest marine biological data sets in the world.
The foundation’s latest report says: "Cold-water species of plankton that are an important food source for cod and salmon have been displaced rapidly north out of the North Sea. Their ecological niches are being slowly replaced by warmer-water species. However, these species are smaller and have a lower nutritional value.
"At the same time as plankton are moving north, many plankton species are beginning to appear earlier in the season. As a consequence, when many marine organisms, including fish, release their larvae and eggs, they find lower food availability and hence their survival and overall population success rate is reduced.
"These ecological changes in the North Sea have been related to climatic warming, which has been accelerating over the last decade; 2002 had the highest recorded temperature for the North Sea since records began, and in August temperatures were 3C above the normal average."
Mr Stevenson said the report proved that Scottish fishermen were suffering needless hardship because of the "King Canute-style" strategy of the European Fisheries Commission.
He said: "The commission can impose all the cuts they like, but they may never persuade the cod to return. They will simply destroy the fishing industry in the meantime."
Top
|
