Animals in the Crosshairs
Hunters love the forest. Fishermen love the sea. These brave animals have shown a willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice in the cause of conserving habitat for their species.
Rocky Mountain Elk
It’s no small feat to bring down one of these beasts with a bow and arrow. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s mission is to ensure the future of elk, other wildlife and their habitat. They protect and enhance elk country, support conservation education and restore wild elk herds.
Bluefin Tuna
According to BigMarineFish.com, bluefin tuna are in fact the toughest of all big-game fish. Capt. Jack Cashman of Toms River, New Jersey - who’s probably caught more than anyone says, “It’s like hooking up to a car doing 50 miles an hour… Big marlin are spectacular, but their jumps and acrobatics wear them out. Giant bluefin have more power and stamina than any other species. And once you’ve caught one, it spoils you for other big-game fishing.”
However overfishing has endangered the bluefin.
The species in the greatest danger of slipping into extinction is the western north Atlantic population (stock) of bluefin tuna. Thanks to 4 decades of overfishing, it has been driven to just 3% of its 1960 or pre-longlining abundance - a decline of 97% - as shown in ICCAT’s figure at left. (ICCAT is the international commission that claims management authority over all tunas, marlin, swordfish and the other big fish of the Atlantic) In comparison to bluefin, Atlantic white marlin abundance has been driven to 6% of its pre-longlining abundance, and Atlantic blue marlin has been driven to 20% of its pre-longlining abundance.
Ducks
Ducks have a little bit of everything when it comes to public relations. Disney uses them in cartoons, but hunters like to blast them from the sky. Ducks survive by finding watering holes along the path of their annual migration. Now if they could only learn to avoid those clever little decoys…
The vision of Ducks Unlimited is wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever. Ducks Unlimited conserves, restores and manages wetlands and associated habitats for North America’s waterfowl. These habitats also benefit other wildlife and people.
hunting, fishing, rocky mountain elk, bluefin tuna, ducks
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