Intensive fishing and human intervention are raising the risk of extinction of marine animals, especially for larger species.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himIntensive fishing and human intervention are raising the risk of extinction of sea animals, especially for larger species.
According to experts, the phenomenon ofextinction of marine animals it has far greater consequences than what happened millions of years ago due to natural causes. Now the fault lies entirely with human activities with particular reference to intensive fishing, not to mention the side effects of climate changes and global warming, such asocean acidification.
Stanford University researchers recently published a new study which raises the alarm about the risk of extinction for marine animals. The study in question was published in Science.
What's going on? Researchers have considered the situation of marine vertebrates and molluscs over the past 500 years. The presence and number of the various species today were compared with what happened in the five previous great extinctions which occurred only from natural causes.
The experts they studied fossils and they realized that what is happening today regarding the extinction of large marine animals is unprecedented in the history of our planet.
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The researchers' explanation is very simple. Today we humans have at our disposal the tools and technologies that allow us to fish intensively, something that did not happen in the past. Today, humanity can fish from the depths and reach large marine animals that were not previously threatened by human activities.
Read also: THE 10 RARE SHARKS THAT RISK EXTINCTION
Now the problem is that the very large marine species that are in danger of disappearing due to man play a fundamental role in ecosystems. The loss of large marine animals according to Jonathan Payne, author of the study, may have serious repercussions on the oceans and their ecosystems.
Read also: INTENSIVE FISHING IS SHRINKING FISH
Our Planet it is already losing its coral reefs and the great sea snails. Without the corals the starfish, which feed on it, cannot multiply. Tuna and cod are also at high risk of extinction due to intensive fishing. The time has therefore come for fishing activities to be truly regulated to protect marine animals, the planet, its precious ecosystems and consequently ourselves.
We are approaching the sixth mass extinction? Watch the video.
Marta Albè
Photo source: Stanford University
