Sea Lions and Drops in Salmon Numbers

Biz Buz Blog 5

The National Marine fisheries Service is saying that the Sea Lions are endangering the salmon population at Bonneville Dam, their appeal at the 9^th circuit of court of appeals was over turned because they had not properly justified the killings, they stated that the salmon population is in a higher risk from overfishing and dam operations than by the native sea lions. Over the last 3 years it has been found that 2.5% of the salmon have been consumed by the sea lions, at the same time the fisheries on the Columbia River have harvested a record 17% of the population.

“The National Marine Fisheries Service’s decision to kill hundreds of native marine mammals to reduce salmon losses by a couple of percentage points, while simultaneously authorizing much larger man-made sources of endangered salmon mortality, is both outrageous and patently illegal.” -Jonathan R. Lovvorn

“Blaming sea lions is nothing but a distraction,” said Kurt Beardslee, executive director of Wild Fish Conservancy. “The National Marine Fisheries Service needs to look objectively at dam operation and over-harvest, hatchery practices and the stocking of non-native fish which together kill significantly more salmon and prevent them from reaching high-quality spawning habitat.”

The truth behind the loss of salmon shows how we destructive we are on the environment, studies have shown that, Columbia River power system kills 16.8 percent of steelhead and 59.9% of juveniles (sect 7). Wild life does also factor into the loss of salmon and other fish, an estimated 5-17% are consumed by birds, but when we factor in our damage from invading their territory, and out over fishing which accounts for an upwards of 17% onto of what dams do, we should not be looking at seals when we are the major factor in their loss in numbers (sect 7).

When we see a drop in salmon population we need not to find something to blame. I found that the Bible says it better than I can, “3 Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:3-5). We must remove the problem that lies within ourselves and see how we are contributing to the world rather than try to go looking for someone else to carry the burden that is rightfully ours.

Marine life, De-Finning Sharks

The endangerment of marine species is something that most people do not consider a relevant part of nature life. Most do not realize the catastrophic events that can occur if something is thrown out of order in the ecosystem. In recent news the finning of sharks has become a larger issue.

In local news, Washington gov. Chris Gregorie is sponsoring a bill that prohibits the selling, trading, and distribution of shark fins. Every year more than 73,000,000 sharks are killed primarily for their fins. Finning is the practice of slicing the fin off a shark, then throwing the de finned shark back into the water to drown/bleed to death. This unsustainable method of finishing has diminished the once flourishing population of sharks, by 99%.

This bill was passed in Washington, as well as Hawaii, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and is currently being passed in Oregon and California. “The signing of SB 5688 sends a strong message that the Evergreen State will not tolerate the cruel and wasteful practice of shark finning,” said Dan Paul, state director for The HSUS in Washington. “We commend Washington’s lawmakers for standing up for the world’s top oceanic predators.” Humane Society. ‘

Even though the Shark fin is the most expensive item on the menu, it holds the least in nutritional value; the most common use is for stature purposes. The soup is the main driver behind the shark fin trade business, even though there already is a diminishing number of sharks, and in the horrific way that they are harvested.

Dog Fighting

Animal fighting has been a form of entertainment across the world, in Spain and Rome its bull fighting and cock fighting in Mexico and other Latin countries and. In more recent news other forms of fighting have come across the United States. Dog fighting (which originated in China), these brutal fights usually end in the death or sever injury of the dogs. Such barbaric activities seem to have infiltrated even the most prominent figures in society. NFL quarterback Michael Vick was arrested for dog fighting in 2008.

The work of the humane society is to increase to effectiveness of the laws that already in place, and to increase the penalties. In the United States, there is no legal refuge for organized animal fighting, and that’s as it should be. Dog fighting is a felony in every state now.

The humane society has a series of systems in place for the public to raise awareness to the situations. They have such things as rewards programs up to $5,000 for the help in arrest of dog/cock fighters and tip lines to call about information. So far they have just reached their 90-arrest tip off mark, proving that such programs really do make a difference.

The overall goal of such programs is to denote the negative image that pit bulls have around them because of these acts. They are beautiful fun loving dogs that they are. A dog must be trained extensively and forced to be of the fighting nature, it does not come natural to these or any other breed. Dogs get the short end of the stick, lets enlighten the public so they can continue to be mans best friend.