Skate-ing to Extinction?
Some long-lived fish are facing accidental annihilation
The unintentional catch of slow-to-reproduce
skates in fishing nets threatens their survival and has prompted petitions
to protect at least one species.
References:
Casey, J.M., and R.A. Myers. 1998. Near extinction of a large, widely
distributed fish. Science 281(July 31):690.
Jennings, S., J.D. Reynolds, and S.C. Mills. 1998. Life history correlates
of responses to fisheries exploitation. Proceedings of the Royal
Society of London B 265:333.
Further Readings:
Allen, S. 1999. Return to Georges Bank. Boston Globe (April
5):C1.
Bigelow, H.B., and W.C. Schroeder. 1953. Fishes of the Gulf of
Maine. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office.
Raloff, J. 1998. Year of the troubled oceans. Science News
153(Jan. 17):45.
______. 1997. Overfishing imperils cod reproduction. Science News
151(Feb. 22):124.
______. 1996. Fishing for answers.
Science News 150(Oct. 26):268.
______. 1996. Fishing: Out of control? Science News 149(June
8):367.
______. 1995. Fishing: What we don't keep. Science News 148(Dec.
16):415.
______. 1995. Reproductive changes from overfishing. Science News
148(Dec. 16):415.
______. 1995. U.N. treaty to aid 'international' fish. Science
News 148(Dec. 9):389.
Sources:
Peter J. Auster
University of Connecticut
National Undersea Research Center
1084 Shennecossett Road
Groton, CT 06340
Sonja Fordham
Center for Marine Conservation
1725 DeSales Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20036
Les Kaufman
Boston University
Marine Program
5 Cummington Street
Boston, MA 02125
John A. Musick
College of William and Mary
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Head, Vertebrate Ecology & Systematics Programs
Gloucester Point, VA 23062
Ransom Myers
Dalhousie University
Department of Biology
Killam Chair of Ocean Studies
Halifax, NS B3H 4J1
Canada
Elliott A. Norse
Marine Conservation Biology Institute
15806 NE 47th Court
Redmond, WA 98052
John D. Reynolds
University of East Anglia
School of Biological Sciences
Norwich NR4 7TJ
United Kingdom
Fred M. Serchuk
National Marine Fisheries Service
Northeast Fisheries Science Center
Woods Hole, MA 02543
Kathy Sosebee
National Marine Fisheries Service
166 Water Street
Woods Hole, MA 02543-1026
Richard Max
Strahan Greenworld
1770 Massachusetts Avenue
Suite 274
Cambridge, MA 02140
From Science
News, Vol. 155, No. 18, May 1, 1999, p. 280.
Copyright © 1999, Science Service.
