Humans are pushing marine life to the brink of extinction

Ending unnecessary hunting and overfishing are the key to stopping the extinction of marine life.

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A shiny tool approached the creature, and the creature swam as fast as it could. A chill swept across its neck. It was too late. The creature groaned feebly, followed by hundreds of keen tools piercing into the sea. Soon, a vague maroon colour rose from the bottom of the water, covering the entire seashore.

This is not a fictional story, but what happens every year in the water near Faroe Island. The Faroese government says that approximately 600 pilot whales are captured on Faroe Island annually. However, the slaughter on September 12, 2021, has attracted worldwide attention. An estimate of 1428 pilot whales and white-sided dolphins were killed in one day, as reported by CBC News on Sep 17, 2021. These unnecessary slaughter that happen around the world will lead to the current extinction of marine life.

Whaling has been a tradition on Faroe Island since the Viking era and is considered a sustainable way of collecting food from natural resources. Despite this, many islanders on Faroe Island oppose whaling. According to The Washington Post, a survey reported by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals stated that only “17 percent of respondents consumed pilot whale meat and blubber regularly, with almost half (47 percent) admitting they rarely or never ate them.” Large amounts of mammals are killed only because of the greed of humans, not for the long-gone tradition of the island.

The chairman of the Faroese Whalers Association, Olavur Sjurdarberg, also admits that the slaughter that happened this September was excessive; in an interview with BBC News. Sjurdarberg said, “When the pod was found, they estimated it to be only 200 dolphins.” As the killing continued, they discovered the actual size of the pod. Mammals were brutally killed because people did not think critically before acting and had no clue about the impact their attitudes and actions would bring, neither does the government have the proper regulation to control the number of mammals being killed.

This tragic demonstration of greed is similar to the overfishing crisis that occurred in BC. The Canadian government provides harmful subsidies to Canada’s fisheries, which mainly benefit large corporations and promote them to fish more than the actual demand for food, said Rashid Sumaila, senior author and professor at UBC’s Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries. This means local fishers are affected, excess seafood is wasted, and the fish population is depleted. The depletion of fish stocks not only affects those who depend on the sea (such as indigenous populations, local fisheries, etc.) for their livelihoods and protein resources but also deeply impacts the ecosystem.

The Canadian government often claims that it cannot afford to repair depleted fish stocks. But by ending harmful fisheries subsidies, the Canadian government “can free up funds that could be better spent to protect our ocean and support fishing communities,” said Alexandra Cousteau, Oceana Senior Advisor. However, considering that the economy is a top priority compared to the environment and animals, the Canadian government has not acted effectively and speedily.

Many understand that due to human activities, oceans and marine species have been severely damaged. Even so, people are not willing to sacrifice their greed and economy to make better changes for the ocean when the extinction of sea life seems to be the problem of the future. As the world continues to ignore the consequences of human activities, the extinction of all marine species is, sadly, not far away.

Photo courtesy to Samuel Joensen-Mikines
Photo courtesy to Sea Shepherd – Faroe Islands
Photo courtesy to Reuters