OTHER VOICES
Fish Facts
I've often heard, “I don't eat meat. I just eat fish,” as if eating fish is not as bad as eating terrestrial animal products. Perhaps it's because humans don't interact with sea creatures in the way they do land animals; fish aren't soft with fur or feathers. Perhaps it's the emphasis from some health organizations to eat fish for the fatty acids, which can be found in sustainable plant foods, and the ensuing association of fish with being healthy. Consumption of sea animals is wreaking havoc on our oceans, and consequently, our planet.
All fishing methods have one thing in common: a lack of precision. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that one-third of what is caught is thrown back over the side as by-catch. Most of these animals won’t survive or are already dead when thrown over. In 2002, the United States had one of the highest discard-to-landing ratios in the world: 3.7 million tons of fish landed; 1.06 million tons discarded.
Bottom trawling, a common commercial fishing method, involves dragging nets larger than football fields along thousands of miles of ocean floor. Anything that can't squeeze through the mesh of the net gets scooped up. After scraping the ground clear of coral, ocean plants, and all the marine animals in their path, trawlers leave huge gashes in the ocean floor.
Considered a more efficient method of commercial fishing, long-line fishing uses up to thousands of baited hooks hanging from a single line. By-catch is still a problem, and often members of endangered species such as sea turtles, petrels and albatrosses are caught along with unwanted fish. The Atlantic pelagic long-line fishery caught approximately 2,100 endangered leatherback sea turtles from 2004 to 2006.
Fish farming, or aquaculture, is an intensive style of raising fish in netted areas or ponds. Fish require both land and water—two resources already in short supply in many areas. Water diversion for aquaculture has lowered groundwater levels noticeably in some coastal areas. When that water is flushed from the ponds into surrounding coastal or river waters in exchange for fresh supplies, its heavy concentrations of fish feces, uneaten food and other organic debris can lead to oxygen depletion and contribute to harmful algal blooms. Coastal Asian mangrove forests are being destroyed for aquaculture.
From 1987 to 1993 alone, Thailand’s shrimp farming was responsible for the destruction of more than 17% of its mangrove forests. Destruction of mangroves leaves coastal areas exposed to erosion and flooding, and alters natural drainage patterns, increases salt intrusion, and removes a critical habitat for many aquatic species. Raising carnivorous species of fish like salmon and shrimp puts more pressure on ocean fish stocks because these species depend on feed formulated from fishmeal―a blend of sardines, anchovies, pilchard and other fish, while grain is fed to the non-carnivorous species, continuing to burden the land.
Wild-Caught? Dolphin-Safe? What the Labels Mean
Let's look at how the patterns play out in the US, where shrimp are the most commonly consumed sea animal. The method for catching shrimp in the wild is trawling.
Think about the size of shrimp. Think about the net that is used to trawl for shrimp and how tight the mesh needs to be to capture them. Everything bigger than the shrimp that's in the area gets caught, too. This method results in by-catch levels of up to 85%; most of the by-catch is discarded. Few of these fish and other animals will survive, or they are already dead when thrown over.
What about dolphin-safe tuna? If you're like me, you might have thought this meant no dolphins were hurt or killed; that's not the case. Consider this: In 2004, the number of dolphins killed by workers attempting to allow dolphins to escape was 1,461. The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission says this is a sustainable number to kill and, therefore, dolphin-safe.
Sea turtles and birds are among the other by-catch species in tuna fishing. I'd like to see tuna-safe tuna; this way, nobody gets hurt.
Much like intensive animal agriculture depletes the land, fishing depletes the oceans. Today’s stocks of large fish are only 10% of what they were in 1950. The scientific journal Nature estimates that it only takes 10 to 15 years to deplete 90% of fisheries’ stocks. At current rates, stocks are expected to be completely depleted by 2048. With consumption expected to increase by 25% by 2015, this collapse could happen sooner.
What about certified sustainable fish? While the Marine Stewardship Council’s certification guidelines set some limitations on methods and numbers caught, by-catch is still prevalent. And there are no limits to the number of certifications that can be granted.
Perhaps it’s time governments stopped rewarding this destructive industry with subsidies. According to conservative estimates, global subsidies account for possibly more than 25% of the annual fish trade. This is about $10-15 billion in subsidies annually.
Better yet, leave the fish alone and eat your veggies.
