Picture the nature documentary scene. Vast schools of baitfish “miles long” being pursued by “thousands of seabirds”, “great shoals” of dolphins and porpoises, sharks and cod. Huge fish the size of a tree trunk (sturgeon) or a garage door (skate) cruise above the seabed. Catches of fish so big that boats nearly capsize, and the surplus is used to manure local fields.
Where do you think this might be? A remote and pristine corner of Canada, or Alaska perhaps?
Try Wales, where I live and work as a marine scientist. Specifically north Wales, on Liverpool’s doorstep and just across the Irish Sea from Dublin. The above are some of the more spectacular scenes you might have expected to see here – in the past. Someone in their 80s or 90s today might just about remember witnessing a huge herring catch, or a sturgeon on the fishmonger’s slab, when they were a child.
