Whales, dolphins and porpoises

Fishing for facts - Are whales threatening fish stocks?

Brochure and fact sheets
Department of the Environment and Water Resources, March 2007

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About this document

Some countries claim that recovering whale populations are to blame for the decline in the amount of fish being caught worldwide. The Australian Government went fishing for the facts about these claims. To learn about what was discovered download the brochure and fact sheets.

As the world struggles to protect fish stocks and maintain the health and diversity of marine ecosystems for future generations, it is more important than ever to understand the role of whales in the ecology of our oceans — and how protecting them makes more ecological and economic sense than hunting.

The relationships between marine species are complex and we are only just beginning to understand how human activities, like large-scale fishing, can affect ocean ecosystems in major and unpredictable ways.

Learn more about the science behind these facts you can read the following scientific papers on whales and fisheries:

  1. Constable, A and Gales, N (June 2002) 'Evaluating the strength of interactions between predators and prey species in food webs: an Index of Predator Influence (IPI) on controlling available production of prey ', presented to Intersessional Workshop on Modelling Cetacean-Fishery Interactions (La Jolla).
  2. Kaschner, K. and Pauly, D. (2004) Competition between marine mammals and fisheries: food for thought . Report to the Humane Society International. HSI, Washington , D.C. 28pp.
  3. Plaganyi, E. E and Butterworth, D.S (2002) 'Competition with Fisheries ' in Perrin, W.F. Wursig, B and Thewissen, J.G.M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, San Diego.
  4. Yodzis, P (2001) 'Must top predators be culled for the sake of fisheries? ' in Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 16 (2).
  5. Young, J. W (2000) Do Large Whales Have an Impact on Commercial Fishing in the South Pacific Ocean? Journal of International Wildlife Law and Policy 3(3).

Further reading: Interactions between baleen whales and fisheries 

See also

Fishing for facts brochure

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