krill

Thousands of whales lethally "researched" by the Japanese has allowed them to draw the most startling conclusion; that "Antarctic minke whales are fast growing thinner"! The massive exploitation of krill as a protein source and as an animal-feed additive may now be jeopardizing recovering whale populations dependent on krill as a food supply. Since the 1970s the numbers of krill have declined by 80 percent, largely due to global warming. Fishing operations are adding to the depletion. These tiny crustaceans eat carbon-rich phytoplankton near the surface of the water, and thereby help remove carbon dioxide. After dark these amazing little animals send waste - which includes large amounts of carbon dioxide from the Earth's atmosphere - toward the sea floor and thereby removing the equivalent annual carbon dioxide emissions of 35 million cars! If krill are essential to a healthy ocean ecosystem and the processing of greenhouse gases, the Japanese should cut back on harvesting krill instead of killing the victims of their decline - the whales! Any Japanese criminal whaling fleet entering the Australian Antarctic Territory should be arrested, and their fleet impounded.