In the 1950s, there was a huge collapse of the West Coast sardine population as a result of intense overfishing that coincided with a natural down-cycle related to cooler water temperatures. That crash resulted in the virtual shutdown of the largest fishery in the Western Hemisphere, closing down the famed Cannery Row in Monterey, California.
It took nearly 40 years for sardine populations to recover, but they did and the West Coast sardine fishing industry became important again. However, history has a way of repeating itself and, amid another natural turndown in sardine populations, sardine stocks have declined by 90% since 2007. Consequently, as of July 1, the Pacific Fishery Management Council has decided to institute a moratorium on sardine fishing.
The impacts are huge for West Coast fishermen and seafood processors who have once again grown dependent upon sardines. But it is more than just human industry that is affected. Sardines, anchovies, herring and other forage fish play a huge role in the marine ecosystem. Sardines are exceptionally nutritious because they are so oily, and are vital to mother sea lions feeding their pups. Brown pelicans depend upon sardines to feed their chicks.
We hear a lot about sustainable fishing practices. They can be very complicated in the presence of natural boom and bust cycles for various fish species. On top of that is the presence of toxic algal blooms that have shown up in the Pacific, as well as changes due to global warming.
What is the prognosis for Pacific sardines? Will they rebound like they did last time? No one really knows.
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A Little Fish with Big Impact In Trouble on U.S. West Coast
Photo, posted May 1, 2011, courtesy of Andrea Nguyen via Flickr.
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Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.