꿀벌 보호. 벌의 중요성. 캘리포니아 '호박벌', 물고기와 같은 법적 보호 받아.

꿀벌, 벌이 생태계와 인간사회에서 얼마나 중요한가를 사람들이 깨닫게 되었다.

수분 주체, 꽃가루 매개자 (pollinator)를 보호하자.

 

척추동물 이외에도, 벌과 같은 곤충과 무척추동물 (invertebrate)도 종 소멸을 우려해 보호종 법률 제정.

이전에도 몇 차례 법률제정 운동이 있었지만, 캘리포니아 호박벌은 '보호종'으로 채택되지 않았다.

이번에는 과거 법률 판정을 번복해, 호박벌이 보호종 소속이 되었다.

 

* 기존 법률. 새, 포유류, 물고기, 양서류, 파충류, 혹은 식물)

무척추동물은 보호종이 아니었다.

 

 

벌과 연관된 핵심어: Pollen, Pollinate. Pollinator (벌이나 나비 같은 꽃가루 매개자, 또는 꽃가루 공급원이 되는 식물)

 

 

pollen 파우더... 꽃가루. 화분 (花粉), 수분하다, 꽃가루받이하다 (pollinate)

 

 a powder produced by flowers. It is carried by the wind or insects to other flowers so that they can produce new seeds.

 

 

invertebrate -무척추, 힘이나 생기가 부족한, 약한 

 

lacking a spinal column also : of, relating to, or concerned with invertebrate animals 

 

: lacking in strength or vitality : WEAK

 

 

관련 글. https://bit.ly/3GVbj6E

벌 개체수 감소 이유들. 벌집 붕괴 증후군.(Colony Collapse Disorder)

 

연관 글. https://bit.ly/3HTsILX

 

California bees can legally be fish and have the same protections, a court has ruled

By Zoe Sottile, CNN

 

Updated 12:05 PM ET, Mon June 6, 2022

A bumblebee pollinates a California Poppy, San Jose, California.

 

 

(CNN)A fishy ruling from California: A California court has ruled bees can legally be considered fish under specific circumstances.

 

The ruling, released May 31, reversed an earlier judgment which found bumblebees could not be considered "fish" under the California Endangered Species Act.

 

"The issue presented here is whether the bumblebee, a terrestrial invertebrate, falls within the definition of fish, as that term is used in the definitions of endangered species in section 2062, threatened species in section 2067, and candidate species (i.e., species being considered for listing as endangered or threatened species) in section 2068 of the Act," wrote California's Third District Court of Appeal in its ruling.

 

The California Endangered Species Act was designed to protect "native species or subspecies of a bird, mammal, fish, amphibian, reptile, or plant."

 (과거 법률. 새, 포유류, 물고기, 양서류, 파충류, 혹은 식물)

무척추동물은 보호종이 아니었다.

 

Notably, invertebrates are absent from the list of protected species.

 

Federal officials agree to update Florida manatees' protected habitat for the first time in 50 years

 

Federal officials agree to update Florida manatees' protected habitat for the first time in 50 years

 

But in a lucky loophole for insects, mollusks, and other spineless creatures falling under the umbrella term "invertebrate," the act itself defines a "fish" as "a wild fish, mollusk, crustacean, invertebrate, amphibian, or part, spawn, or ovum of any of those animals."

 

Expanding the definition of fish to include invertebrates makes them eligible for greater protection from the Fish and Game Commission, wrote the court.

 

In 2018, several public interest groups petitioned to list four species of bumblebee as endangered species under the California Endangered Species Act: the Crotch bumblebee, the Franklin bumblebee, the Suckley cuckoo bumblebee, and the Western bumblebee.

 

In 2020, the Sacramento County Superior Court found the "invertebrates" listed in the definition of fish referred only to marine invertebrates -- not insects like bumblebees -- and the California Fish and Game Commission lacked authority to list invertebrates under the act.

 

 

Tuesday's ruling overruled the decision, finding "fish" can indeed include bumblebees, at least for the sake of the California Endangered Species Act.

 

"Although the term fish is colloquially and commonly understood to refer to aquatic species, the term of art employed by the Legislature in the definition of fish in section 45 is not so limited," said the court in its ruling.

 

 

The reversal means bumblebees can now be eligible for listing under the California Endangered Species Act. The conservation win comes as bumblebees have faced serious decline throughout the United States due to climate change.

 

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, one of several nonprofits petitioning California to protect the bees, celebrated the legal victory in a news release.

 

"We are celebrating today's decision that insects and other invertebrates are eligible for protection under CESA," said Sarina Jepsen, the Xerces Society's director of endangered species, in the release.

 

 

"The Court's decision allows California to protect some of its most endangered pollinators, a step which will contribute to the resilience of the state's native ecosystems and farms."