• trxxruraxvr@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    no one can agree why

    I think most people can agree it’s a combination of pollution, overfishing and climate change. Probably just unclear which one of those factors in the most.

    • enkers@sh.itjust.works
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      6 months ago

      Crazy idea, but what about fishing-driven evolutionary pressure. If all the biggest fish are getting caught and killed, won’t that give smaller fish an evolutionary advantage?

      • trxxruraxvr@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        Very possible, but with all things happening it’s pretty hard to be sure it’s that and not fish growing less because they’re being poisoned by microplastics.

      • shalafi@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        Nailed it. Exactly the answer I read in an article way back when. Commented on it above.

        Remove the big fish, only the smaller ones that came to maturity faster get to reproduce.

      • macniel@feddit.de
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        6 months ago

        Given nature’s survival of the fittest, you miiight be onto something.

        • john89@lemmy.ca
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          6 months ago

          He’s not. It’s the big fish that avoid getting caught.

      • john89@lemmy.ca
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        6 months ago

        If all the biggest fish are getting caught and killed, won’t that give smaller fish an evolutionary advantage?

        Fishing is a little bit different than that. It’s the big fish who are able to avoid getting caught, which is how they get to live to be so big.

        • enkers@sh.itjust.works
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          6 months ago

          Maybe if we’re talking line fishing, but I’m pretty sure most commercial fishing is done with trawling nets, where everything above a certain size is caught.

  • Plopp@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    Of course, spending so much time in the cold water. There will be significant shrinkage.

  • aeronmelon@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    I toured the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo, right before it moved to Toyosu. The guide mentioned that giant tuna being caught today, as big as they are, are smaller than they used to be.

    • shalafi@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      Nah, read about this in the 90’s (I think?). The article was about a specific Atlantic fish, I forget, been a long time. Scientists were puzzled as to why the fish were shrinking.

      Fisherman are only allowed to keep the big ones, throw the little 'uns back. This creates evolutionary pressure for younger/smaller fish to come to maturity and start reproducing sooner.

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldB
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    6 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    There’s something fishy going on in the water.

    Across Earth’s oceans, fish are shrinking — and no one can agree why.

    It’s happening with salmon near the Arctic Circle and skate in the Atlantic.

    Nearly three-fourths of marine fish populations sampled worldwide have seen their average body size dwindle between 1960 and 2020, according to a recent analysis.


    The original article contains 58 words, the summary contains 58 words. Saved 0%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!