Loss Of Seaweed To Warming May Be Triggering Trophic Cascade In Japan

[hatrack]

TOKYO, Jan 31 (IPS) - Japan, a voracious consumer of marine resources, is now discovering that the drastic depletion of its own fish stocks is linked to the loss of underwater seaweed colonies -- caused, in turn, by rising sea temperatures.

''It's no exaggeration to say that Japan faces a critical situation when describing the rapid decline of marine supply in its domestic waters that is linked to seaweed loss. Tengusa (seaweed) provides food for marine species,'' says Tomohiro Takase, head of the fisheries department at the Hachijojima municipality. Hachijojima island, situated 300 miles (482 km) south of Tokyo, is now reporting the drastic decline of abalone, a marine resource that fetched high prices and provided a lucrative income for fishermen living on the island.

Takase says regular catches of around 20 tons per year have now dropped to less than one ton, leaving fishermen to face a gloomy future. ''The situation is alarming. Investigations have shown widespread seabed desertification or the surf burnout phenomenon, across Japan. In Hachijojima the loss of tengusa covers most of the waters surrounding the island,'' explained Takase.

Currently, scientists are working on finding the exact cause of seaweed depletion. A project covering Hachojijima, supported by the Tokyo prefecture government and now in its final stages, is expected to identify causes and point to scientific solutions by 2008.
Studies undertaken up to now, Takase says, have discovered that higher underwater temperatures may have led to the death of seaweed. In the past five years, very little tengusa has been harvested in Hachojijima that once had lush algae growth on its sea rocks.

EDIT

http://www.countercurrents.org/cc-kakuchi310106.htm

[tanyev]

1. Soylent Green....

[megatherium]

2. what's the soy and lentils production in Japan? nt

[Dogmudgeon]

3. Both excellent

But soy contains a lot of xenoestrogens that can potentiate the development of cancers, as well as desexualize both men and women. This mainly applies to the consumption of soy products in excess -- more than a kilogram or two a week -- but it is a known problematic factor. (Yes, soy also contains heart-healthy compounds, but they don't really "cancel out" the bad stuff.)

Desexualization, as you might suspect, is known to depress the production of biosynthetic Soylent Green.

--p!