4 ms·

What's concerning about that scenario per-se? A lot of wild animals (e.g. deer) are culled by man when they overpopulate in the wild with the same rationale, if

by avar 9y ago

What's concerning about that scenario per-se? A lot of wild animals (e.g. deer) are culled by man when they overpopulate in the wild with the same rationale, if it's done correctly it's a win-win, those animals would have starved anyway, and the hunters get the benefit of getting the animal before it becomes (in this case) crab food.

Balero 9y ago
My problem with it is the underlying ecological damage. There is a declining ecological space for these whales (due to krill fishing). OP was arguing that the argument for culling would be to keep them at this constantly declining number. To use your deer analogy, it would be like cutting down half a forest ("fishing" the deer food), then saying you need to cull half the deer herd to keep them from overpopulation. Then judging by history, the forest would be cut in half the following year. Before long you have no deer left.
- distances 9y ago
  > There is a declining ecological space for these whales (due to krill fishing). Is there any culture using krill for human food? As far as I'm concerned, fishing should be completely banned in international waters -- this would also help developing nations that currently greatly suffer from commercial fishing emptying the seas close to their exclusivity zones.
  - Balero 9y ago
    As far as I'm aware it is mainly used for feeding fish in fish farms. So farmed Salmon etc all rely on krill fishing. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krill_fishery https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krill_fishery)
sandworm101 9y ago
Deer culls rarely have anything to do with deer starving. They are culled when they become pests, when they start spreading disease or endangering humans. Deer populations are not limited by resources, rather by the number of predators. What causes deer populations to explode isn't food but human intolerance for bear/cougar/wolves.
- npongratz 9y ago
  > Deer populations are not limited by resources, rather by the number of predators. Harsh winters (extreme cold and/or sustained icy conditions) can definitely limit deer populations as well, both directly (starvation) and indirectly (weakened deer become ill or easier targets for predators).
- Spooky23 9y ago
  That's true in fully wild populations. Wildlife like deer attracts suburban crazy people just like pigeons in the city. Folks leave food for the "poor deer" and create local population booms. My parents neighbor probably drops 150-200 pounds of feed per day for this purpose.

by avar 9y ago

Balero 9y ago

My problem with it is the underlying ecological damage. There is a declining ecological space for these whales (due to krill fishing). OP was arguing that the argument for culling would be to keep them at this constantly declining number. To use your deer analogy, it would be like cutting down half a forest ("fishing" the deer food), then saying you need to cull half the deer herd to keep them from overpopulation. Then judging by history, the forest would be cut in half the following year. Before long you have no deer left.

distances 9y ago
> There is a declining ecological space for these whales (due to krill fishing). Is there any culture using krill for human food? As far as I'm concerned, fishing should be completely banned in international waters -- this would also help developing nations that currently greatly suffer from commercial fishing emptying the seas close to their exclusivity zones.
- Balero 9y ago
  As far as I'm aware it is mainly used for feeding fish in fish farms. So farmed Salmon etc all rely on krill fishing. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krill_fishery https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krill_fishery)

sandworm101 9y ago

Deer culls rarely have anything to do with deer starving. They are culled when they become pests, when they start spreading disease or endangering humans. Deer populations are not limited by resources, rather by the number of predators. What causes deer populations to explode isn't food but human intolerance for bear/cougar/wolves.

npongratz 9y ago
> Deer populations are not limited by resources, rather by the number of predators. Harsh winters (extreme cold and/or sustained icy conditions) can definitely limit deer populations as well, both directly (starvation) and indirectly (weakened deer become ill or easier targets for predators).
Spooky23 9y ago
That's true in fully wild populations. Wildlife like deer attracts suburban crazy people just like pigeons in the city. Folks leave food for the "poor deer" and create local population booms. My parents neighbor probably drops 150-200 pounds of feed per day for this purpose.