HALIFAX–Almost 30,000 right whales cruised the coasts of New
Zealand while sharks were so plentiful they darkened waters off England
200 years ago, according to an ambitious project that has traced the
history and worrisome decline of several marine species.
For the
first time, scientists from around the world have developed a picture
of what oceans looked like centuries ago, showing how most species
started to decline in abundance as fisheries took hold.
The
research, which took 10 years and is part of the Census of Marine
Life's animal population project, gives a distressing look at how fish
stocks began dropping off when fishing pressures intensified as early
as 1000 AD and moved offshore.
Where 27,000 southern right
whales plied New Zealand waters before whaling began in the early
1800s, only 25 females were left in 1925.
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