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Overfishing threatens S. California kelp forest ecosystems

fish in kelp forest

Kelp forest ecosystems – they skirt the West Coast, stretching from Alaska to the Baja Peninsula of Mexico. Kelp are giant algae – they reach up to 120 feet in height. More importantly, they support diverse ecosytems The whole stretch is facing a greater threat.

The threat is not from the effects of fertilizer run-offs, or from the on-shore sewage. The ecosystem is at great risk from overfishing. Scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara’s, National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis conducted the study and the National Science Foundation funuded it. These findings wuill pay a vital role in designing the Marine Protected Areas of California.

first author Ben Halpern, project director at NCEAS said,

This study shows that California is on the right track by limiting fishing in certain areas in an effort to comply with the Marine Life Protection Act.

Via: Biology News

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