THE COMMERCIAL OVERFISHING OF CAPELIN
Like any good environmentalist, I try to believe in the experts, scientists, and Dolphin Dude when they tell us that there is something wrong that needs to be addressed or changed. One example of this, is scientists telling us that capelin stocks are declining, and that the commercial fishing of these species should be significantly decreased or temporarily halted in order to ensure the healthy management of the capelin population.
Capelin are small fish, which feed off plankton. However, their impact on the health of Atlantic Ocean ecosystems is HUGE. Capelin are the natural prey of whales, puffins, and several fish species such as cod. Atlantic cod is another species with an interesting past in Canada, but unfortunately, it’s not a positive one. Rather, the collapse of cod fisheries in Canada in 1993 was a tale of terrible mismanagement of cod stocks, which had devastating impacts to both ocean ecosystems and the well-being of local communities. Similarly, capelin are also an incredibly important species in their ecosystem, and they contribute to the well-being of local coastal communities and ocean ecosystems.
However, similar to many other environmental issues, the issues that capelin face make for a very complex situation. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) points to a 2023 stock assessment of the capelin population to claim that the capelin biomass is stable, and the population is mostly declining due to natural factors such as predation from other animals. But even if commercial fisheries aren’t responsible for the majority of the population decrease, they still play a significant role… and capelin numbers have surely been declining.
As Oceana scientist, Jack Daly, states, “Good fisheries management intends to maintain healthy populations, not manage them right at the threshold of disaster”. When a species as critical to ocean ecosystems (such as capelin) is struggling, it is absolutely imperative to do everything we can to ensure they recover. Even just a small window of time to halt commercial fishing would go a long way to supporting the recovery of capelin stocks. After all, they do that in many other countries - and with great success.
Essentially, marine scientists are against the overfishing of keystone species such as capelin. A “keystone species” is defined as a species which other living beings in an ecosystem depend on, and if it were removed, the ecosystem would change drastically. Similar to marine scientists, Dolphin Dude is also against the overfishing of keystone species. The ocean is Dolphin Dude’s home, after all. But the negative impacts don’t stop at the ocean. The overfishing of capelin directly affects the well-being of land-creatures (such as humans) since coastal communities also depend on a healthy capelin population for their well-being.
If capelin populations recover, then they can continue providing food for many other important species like whales, puffins, cod, and even people! It’s important that we support them to recover so we can continue to see our ocean ecosystems, and coastal communities, thrive.
Whether or not capelin stocks recover is yet to be seen. But I for one, hope that it ends up being a story of great resilience and recovery. After all, that is what Dolphin Dude would want… and it’s what our oceans need.
