alt Hacker NewsMy understanding is that the cod fishery decline in Atlantic waters has had limited recovery because the ecological niche that the cod fish occupied has been taken over to some extent by a small shark species. The wikipedia page mentions 'trophic cascade' so larger populations of prey species but does not mention the shark takeover. Either way cutting the harvesting won't bring the fish back.
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To be fair, we used to catch decades-old (and probably centuries-old) gigantic cod. There hasn't been enough time to rebuild those giant predators back into the system, which has broad effects.
It's like clear-cutting an old-growth forest, and then replanting acorns. The forest simply won't return to anything like its original state for many decades - if ever.
> because the ecological niche that the cod fish occupied has been taken over to some extent by a small shark species.
That is very interesting, I wish this kind of things were taught in school. Too many people think that animals just exists in the current state for ever. When in reality it is a dynamic system that once changed cannot be brought back.