Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY

A28 SCIENCE
Thursday 31 May 2018

Conservation groups' pact will help save Atlantic salmon

By PATRICK WHITTLE populations is due to of the initiative but said it
Associated Press factors such as overfishing, would be in line with the
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) habitat loss and pollution. market value of the salmon
— Two conservation U.S. and Canadian that the fishermen are
groups said Tuesday a environmentalists and agreeing not to harvest.
deal has been struck with marine managers have The agreement would last
commercial fishermen long sought cooperation 12 years. The groups said
in Greenland and the from Greenland, which has the money was raised from
Faroe Islands that will help a significant harvest of the private donors.
thousands of vulnerable fish. Tønnes Berthelsen, a
Atlantic salmon return to ___ financial consultant for
rivers in the United States, TERMS OF THE DEAL Association of Fishers and
Canada and Europe. ASF and NASF said Hunters in Greenland, said
Commercial fishing in a statement that the agreement can go into
for Atlantic salmon is Greenland and Faroe effect when Greenland’s
prohibited in the United Islands delegations to the government approves it.
States, where the fish's Gulf In this Oct. 12, 2008 file photo, farm-raised Atlantic salmon move North Atlantic Salmon HOPE FOR THE FUTURE
across a conveyor belt as they are brought aboard a harvesting
of Maine population is listed boat near Eastport, Maine. Conservation Organization In the meantime,
under the Endangered Associated Press will agree to a commercial conservationists in the U.S.
Species Act. But the salmon quota of zero at and Canada state that
Atlantic Salmon Federation populations elsewhere. trouble in some parts of the a summit meeting next the deal is an important
and North Atlantic Salmon The agreement places new world. The fish are born in month in Portland, Maine. step toward saving salmon.
Fund said their new deal limits on fishing, including freshwater streams, head Greenland will retain a The agreement will be a
with Greenland and Faroe ending the Faroe Islands to sea for one or more harvest of no more than major topic of discussion at
Island fishers is a major step fishery. years and return to their 20 metric tons for personal the North Atlantic Salmon
toward recovery because Here's a look at the natal streams to spawn. and family consumption, Conservation Organization
it will dramatically reduce agreement and the status The most productive river for the groups said. meeting scheduled for
fishing. of Atlantic salmon in the the salmon in the U.S. is the The two conservation June 12 to 15 in Portland.
Coastal Greenland and United States and Canada: Penobscot River in Maine, groups said they have “Any reduction in the
the waters off the Faroe ___ which is the only U.S. state pledged to “financially fishery is welcomed,” said
Islands are important FISH IN TROUBLE left with native Atlantic support alternative Tommi Linnansaari, Atlantic
feeding grounds for Atlantic salmon are well salmon populations. Less economic development, salmon research chair
salmon. Fishermen who known to seafood fans than 850 returned to the scientific research, and at the University of New
work those waters take because they are raised Penobscot in 2017. The education initiatives Brunswick. “The salmon
fish that originate in both extensively in aquaculture number was above 1,000 focused on conservation” population, especially here
jeopardized populations in — a controlled farming per year in the late 2000s in exchange. on the North Atlantic side,
Maine and New Brunswick, environment — but their and early 2010s. ASF President Bill Taylor is on its last legs and any
Canada, and healthy wild counterparts are in The decrease in the fish's declined to name the cost effort is welcome.”q

Polish zoo claims 1st birth

of rare mammal in captivity

Associated Press pouch in March. The baby the Indonesian island
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A bear cuscus mostly remains of Sulawesi in the upper
zoo in southwestern Poland in the pouch but sometimes canopies of the rainforest.
is celebrating the birth of a leaves to inspect the They use their claws to
bear cuscus, saying it's the surroundings. climb trees and their tails
first time the rare marsupial Kij said the mother is taking to swing from branch to
mammal has been born in very good care of her branch. They have not
captivity. offspring, which she said is been counted and little
Joanna Kij of the Wroclaw most likely male. The family, is known about them,
The May 9, 2018 photo taken at the zoo in Wroclaw, Poland, zoo said Tuesday including dad, is being kept but experts believe the
shows a tiny bear cuscus with its mother, very rare marsupial that keepers noticed in a secluded place so as bear cuscus population
mammals that live on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. "movement and a little one" to minimize stress. is shrinking rapidly as they
Associated Press in the female marsupial's Bear cuscuses live on lose habitats to farmland
and human settlements.
To preserve the species,
13 animals are held in four
zoos around the world, but
they have not reproduced
there previously.
Kij said experts at Wroclaw
zoo were taking detailed
notes of their observations
to share with other zoos in
the hope it may help them
breed the animals, too.q