Rannsóknir Hafrannsóknastofnunar benda til þess að hvalir á Íslandsmiðum éti um 6 milljónir tonna af bráð árlega, þar á meðal tegundir sem skipta máli fyrir atvinnuveiðar eins og loðnu, síld og sandsíli. Vistfræðilegt samband hvala og nytjafiskstofna er þó flókið — hvalir veiða einnig rándýr nytjafiska, og einfaldaðir neysluútreikningar spá ekki áreiðanlega fyrir um áhrif á fiskstofna.
Enska frumtextinn
The question of whale consumption of commercially important fish stocks near Iceland has been studied by the Marine and Freshwater Research Institute (Hafrannsóknastofnun). Estimates of total cetacean consumption in Icelandic waters are inherently uncertain but studies have suggested that whales in the Iceland–East Greenland area consume several million tonnes of marine organisms annually. A 2019 study by Víkingsson et al. estimated that common minke whales, fin whales, and other cetacean species in Icelandic waters consume approximately 6 million tonnes of prey annually, including significant quantities of species important to commercial fisheries (capelin, sandeel, herring, and krill — the latter being forage for commercial fish stocks). However, the ecological relationship is complex: whale predation also targets predators of commercial fish species, and the net effect on harvestable fish populations is debated among marine scientists. The IWC Scientific Committee has noted that simple consumption calculations do not reliably predict what would happen to fish stocks if whale populations were reduced, because of complex trophic interactions.
Heimild
Hafrannsóknastofnun — Cetacean consumption estimates; Víkingsson et al., NAMMCO Scientific Publications (2019)
Hafrannsóknastofnun er íslensk rannsóknastofnun sem sinnir vöktun og rannsóknum á hafinu, sjávarauðlindum og lífríki í kringum Ísland.
Skoða heimild ↗Fyrirvarar
Whale consumption estimates are highly uncertain and depend on population size estimates, prey composition models, and seasonal distribution assumptions. The claim that whales 'eat millions of tonnes from commercial stocks' oversimplifies the ecology — not all prey consumed by whales is from species or age classes targeted by fisheries. Many marine ecologists argue that whales play a net positive role in marine ecosystem productivity through nutrient cycling. Iceland's whaling policy is politically sensitive both domestically and internationally.
Notuð í greiningum (1)
ESB og sjávarútvegurinn: Hver á að ráða hafinu við Ísland? Vísir
- Að hluta staðfest Styður Hvalir við Ísland éta milljónir tonna af fæðu og stór hluti þess er úr nytjastofnum eða úr fæðu nytjastofna.
- Að hluta staðfest Styður Vaxandi alþjóðlegur þrýstingur frá Evrópu er um aukna vernd hvala og friðun hafsvæða.