@sealegacy

Flickers of silver dance off of the capelins’ scales across the waters, glittering from the sun’s radiance. The slender fish swerve in and out of the shadows below feeding on floating plankton. Nearby the behemoth humpback whales skim near the ocean’s surface to capture schools of the keystone forage species to satiate their immense appetite. At an average 36.3 metric tons (80,000 pounds), these whales need access to scores of capelin, one of their prey species.⁠ ⁠ Despite the collapsed capelin population from decades of overfishing, the fish remains an important part of this marine mammal’s diet. As the outlook for the stock is bleak, humpback whales risk losing access to a rich source of nutrients and energy. While forage fish populations can fluctuate because of environmental factors, they are also heavily influenced by fishing. Failing to reduce the pressure of commercial fishing when environmental conditions are already having an impact can result in dramatic population declines.⁠ ⁠ Capelin are incredibly important to humpback whales and the Atlantic Ocean ecosystem. Now is a critical time to take action and change the outlook of their future. Add your name at the link in our bio to demand that the government protects capelin from overfishing.⁠ ⁠ Photos by @paulnicklen and @rolfhickerphotography ⁠ ⁠ @onlyone@oceana_canada ⁠ ⁠ #SaveCapelin #TurnTheTide #impact #wildlife #nature

May 30, 2022