07
JAMES FRYER
In my opinion , there are many challenges to be faced in marine biology over the next ten years . The main challenge , as I see it , is keeping the relative numbers of the various species in a natural balance . A good example is the case of the king crab . I would like to tell you a little more about this problem and what is being done to try to resolve it .
In the 1960 ' s , a Russian scientist introduced red king crabs into the Murmansk Fjord , in the Barents Sea , without Norway ' s permission . Without a natural predator , they quickly multiplied and became out of control , spreading around northern Scandinavia . As Jan Sundet of Norway ' s Institute of Marine Research told me , the red king crabs were migrating due to limited food resources and trying to find more preferable environmental conditions .
The presence of the king crabs is helpful to many people . According to Ginny Eckert , Director of the Alaska Sea Grant Programme , it supports fishermen and local people due to the fact that king crabs sell for a high price . As Bartal Dulavik of the Norwegian company Hordafor told me , fishing villages in Finnmark in Northern Norway have profited hugely from king crab . Prior to their release , people had been starting to leave as there were few opportunities available .
King crabs play an important ecological role , as they support the ecosystem by scavenging dead creatures and serve as prey to predators . King crabs have also created lots of new jobs as incomes and tourism have shot up . David Tallmon of the University of Alaska Fairbanks , told me " There are no negatives of king crabs in their native range ".
Personally , I think that king crabs outside their native ranges can be harmful , because they have serious effects on ecosystems . They eat almost everything on the sea floor and under it . Because of this , sea creatures such as starfish have suffered a marked decline in their populations . As king crabs eat lots of the creatures that live in and on the seabed , other predators will find it increasingly hard to find food and also have a decline in population .
When king crabs dig the seabed in search of food , they also destroy the habitats for other marine creatures . Although king crabs are making large profits for those that fish them now , that could all change and , as their population is growing and spreading , the king crab could end up causing more problems than it solves . As Antarctic waters begin to warm due to global warming , king crabs have managed to travel down to part of the Antarctic , south of New Zealand and scientists fear that they could begin wiping out all the unique seabed creatures that live there as well .
Norway ' s reaction to the red king crabs was to have large fishing quotas , as that would slow the spread of the red king crab , as well as boosting the economy . However , Ginny Eckert told me that it wouldn ' t really stop the spread of red king crab , because their larvae are so lightweight that they could easily be transported by ocean currents . David Tallmon recommended Norway to look into a massive harvest of king crab and to explore possible population control measures such as the release of sterile individuals .
In conclusion , the case of the king crab shows the dangers of introducing a species to places outside of its native territory . Any introduced species will become invasive when they no longer have natural predators or diseases to keep them in check . I think that it is vital that we keep the relative numbers of the various species in a natural balance . This will continue to be a challenge for marine biology for the next ten years and even decades to come .