Fishing industry dismisses dead mutton birds theory, says its own research

Fishing industry dismisses dead mutton birds theory, says its own research

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A controversial “dead mutton bird” theory has emerged after a team of researchers found just how many birds actually live among fish.

The University of St Andrews researchers analysed the mortality rates of several species found living in freshwater along rivers in Europe and Asia. They found that about 90 per cent of the dead fish they looked at were either birds or porpoises, with the remainder comprising a variety of marine fish.

They say there is no evidence to support the ‘dead mutton bird’ theory, which claims the birds are responsible for killing fish that otherwise might have washed ashore. The team’s findings are published today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Dr Michael Mankiw, of the University of St Andrews, said the number of dead birds was not surprising, given the “culling system”.

“We can go on and on and on and on and on about this,” he said.

“This is 바카라사이트not a science-fiction subject, this is a serious scientific problem. And if we accept dead mutton bird theory it’s because we have these very real species of animals that are killing the very same species of birds that are actually eating us.”

He said dead mutton bird theories are often dismissed by the fishing industry, which said it believed they were wrong.

“When we look at the mortality rates and the environmental impacts associated with fishery management, and when we look at a species of predator that is killing that fish, it’s highly likely that it’s dead bird and not de바카라사이트ad fish.

“What happens is if we lose those dead birds we really have an ecological crisis.

“We’ve got to be very careful with th바카라is type of thinking. It is not a new concept.”

Prof Mark Serreze from The Australian Institute of Marine Science and Coral Reef Research said the fish mortality numbers suggested there was “no need for dead mutton birds”, adding that a high proportion of the dead fish could be a result of other creatures including sea turtles, dolphins and birds.

“It is also clear these species are unlikely to be the main killers of dead birds in these streams of dead fish,” he said.

“One is certainly less than 90 per cent of the fish dead in these streams.”

Дата публикации: 14-08-2020 Автор: Андрей Семенов