White Marlin, Contaminated Dolphins

The White Marlin looks like the next addition on the Endangered Species list, thanks to longline fishing. Say goodbye.

A study published in the journal Nature in 2003 documented the decline of large predatory fish by 90 percent over the world's oceans as a result of overfishing. Of all these species, the White Marlin is perhaps the closest to actual extinction, and continues to be caught at levels that will cause further declines. While purse seining and recreational fisheries catch significant numbers of White Marlin, the biggest threat to the species comes from longline fishing.

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In a bit of good news, a Japanese supermarket chain has dropped dolphin meat from its stocks. Not, mind you, out of a general concern for the global good or even that of the dolphins, but because dolphins caught by the Japanese have high level of mercury, thus endangering human health. Link.