Who eats sea meat? Expanding human consumption of marine mammals
Abstract
The oceans are the last great hunting ground, and supply the greatest diversity of protein for human consumption. About 1400 marine species have catches reported to FAO, comprising 72% fish, 10% crustaceans, 8% molluscs, 6% mammals, 2% plants, and 2% other invertebrates. Many more species are killed and consumed locally without being reported at the species level to FAO. In this issue, Robards and Reeves (2011) reported that the human consumption of marine mammals, including cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises), pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, walruses) and sirenians (manatees, dugongs), has increased in recent decades. Although the hunting of large whales has decreased, in large part due to the international concern about the decline of these species and the 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling, the consumption of small cetaceans (all cetaceans except baleen and sperm whales) and other marine mammals has increased in some regions during the last two decades (Robards and Reeves, 2011). Considering the media attention given to stopping the hunting of whales (large cetaceans) for human consumption, it may come as a surprise that people are eating more marine mammal species than ever before. It may also be a surprise that this consumption includes people in many developed, as well as undeveloped, countries (Fig. 1). In fact, Robards and Reeves (2011) found that people in 98 countries have intentionally killed marine mammals for consumption. When the unintentional killing of marine mammals in the form of fisheries 'by-catch' is included, a total of 92 species of marine mammals have been eaten by humans in 125 countries. The minority of marine mammal species that have not been captured have escaped due to their rarity in coastal waters and absence from by-catch in oceanic fisheries.
- Publication:
-
Biological Conservation
- Pub Date:
- December 2011
- DOI:
- 10.1016/j.biocon.2011.10.015
- Bibcode:
- 2011BCons.144.2745C