Commercial Fishing
Traditionally they have been little exploited for human food, but are a major target of "industrial fishing" for animal feed and fertilizer. Increasing fishing of them is thought to be causing problems for some of their natural predators, especially the auks which take them in deeper water.
An instance of this was the RSPB linking a population crash of sea birds in the North Sea to fishing for sand eels. This led to political pressure for the closure of this fishery; the seabird populations subsequently improved. However, a second population crash of seabirds which occurred with no effect on the stocks of sand eel, cast doubt on this link.
Read more about this topic: Sand Eel
Famous quotes containing the words commercial and/or fishing:
“A commercial society whose members are essentially ascetic and indifferent in social ritual has to be provided with blueprints and specifications for evoking the right tone for every occasion.”
—Marshall McLuhan (1911–1980)
“The wildness and adventure that are in fishing still recommended it to me.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)