Are we willing to watch the devastation of Pacific salmon runs, the disappearance of resident killer whale populations, and the general impoverishment of California’s riverine and marine ecosystems, just for the sake of inexpensive strawberries and salad greens in winter?
If a marine mammal is at a population level that is truly in line with its historically sustainable levels, then it can’t be to blame for the endangered status of their prey or competing species. After all, historically, those species fit together just fine, ecologically speaking. No marine mammal species, historically speaking, drove any other existing marine animal to the brink of extinction… unless you count human beings taking to the sea in their boats as a marine mammal. It’s human activity that has upset the ecological balance of the oceans, not wild marine mammals.
Legislative News