The U.S. Pacific sardine population is plunging – down 90 percent since 2007, says Yale e360. A moratorium on fishing takes effect on July 1 to allow the tiny forage fish to recover. “Many fisheries experts, including some scientists working for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), think the fishery closure has come too late,” writes Elizabeth Grossman. The drop in population appears to be part of the natural cycle for sardines. A University of Washington professor, Tim Essington, says, “Fishing makes the troughs worse” by removing more fish.
“The impacts of the current Pacific sardine collapse are rippling through the marine ecosystem,” says the story, which was produced in partnership with FERN. Sardines and anchovies are essential food for salmon, tuna, whales, dolphins, sea turtles and other species. NOAA scientists estimate more than 70 percent of all sea lion pups born this year may perish because of a lack of sardines. A conservation group, Oceana, says brown pelicans are abandoning nests because they can’t find enough food for their chicks.
Forage fish, such as sardines and anchovies, are under intense pressure from fishing. As aquaculture has blossomed, it has required larger amounts of fishmeal. The demands may be larger than the fish populations can sustain. Scientists say sardines prosper when ocean temperatures warm. “But scientists are stumped as to why recent warmer temperatures have not led to an upturn in sardine numbers.”