How Does Feeding Marine Life Effect the Ecosystem

[danvolker]

This is a bit different than what you ask in your original post. The other day I was walking down our Front Street with a Mexican pastry in my hand (to add extra buoyancy and bioprene). A seagull swopped down, flapped its wings all over my head and grabbed 1/2 of the pastry before flying off. Why did this happen? Because visitors and some locals here on the island feed the darned rats of the sea despite the fact it is against city ordinance. They have trained seagulls to expect food from humans. I just hope the darned seagull can't descend to get its own food due to its increased buoyancy and bioprene! I've also had one grab a bagel out of my hand as I was sitting.

DR Bill, I would imagine this behavior makes you very nervous, that if the gulls get too reliant on being fed Mexican pastries, that they may no longer be able to survive if you were not eating outside on a regular basis.

What the OP is not considering, is that 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, the tarpon and other fish species are immersed in a world where they are always either eating, or being eaten....and even if for 5 minutes, one day per week or so, people give the fish food and remove the NEED to hunt down prey during those 5 minutes, the impact on the whole 25/7 thing is not measurable. While with some species it may cause fisherman to gain more access to the fish--the fisherman can bait, and chum all they want, legally.

 

[diver 85]

This is a bit different than what you ask in your original post. The other day I was walking down our Front Street with a Mexican pastry in my hand (to add extra buoyancy and bioprene). A seagull swopped down, flapped its wings all over my head and grabbed 1/2 of the pastry before flying off. Why did this happen? Because visitors and some locals here on the island feed the darned rats of the sea despite the fact it is against city ordinance. They have trained seagulls to expect food from humans. I just hope the darned seagull can't descend to get its own food due to its increased buoyancy and bioprene! I've also had one grab a bagel out of my hand as I was sitting.[/QU

Reason(s) enuff to carry a concealed hand gun......no???........