Our friends at Pew Charitable Trusts today highlight on their blog a potential decline in the population of anchovy that could mean real problems for the many Pacific seabirds that rely on them to live:

"Over the past few months, onlookers have flocked to California’s Monterey Bay to watch humpback whales gorge on thick schools of anchovies. Dolphins, seabirds, and bigger fish also congregated in the bay to feed on the large concentration of anchovies clustering near shore. It seems to be the very picture of a healthy ocean, right? In fact, leading scientists from California’s Farallon Institute tell us it’s a mirage."

Researchers note say that the anchovy are bunching up along coast in response to climate change and low numbers, and that a recent upsurge in anochovy fishing is coming at exactly the wrong time. Brown Pelican, for instance, and it is quite likely that their recent difficulties breeding in the Channel Islands can be linked to the decline in anchovy.

We'll be tracking this issue closely, and will have more news as it develops.