Here Fishy Fishy Fishy

Glenn McAgee from The Scientist is warning of an iminent fish apocalypse.

"Boris Worm of Dalhousie University predicts [the "fish apocalypse" of 2048 will occur] in the November 3rd issue of Science. As far as fish are concerned, we appear to be eating not only first, but without forethought, and we never get around to the ethics.

...

Both large commercial fisheries and small immigrant families with one boat in places like New Bedford, Mass., find themselves unable to eke out a living from tuna and swordfish and scallops. Fishing doesn't really make much money even for those who have become adept at vacuuming fish from the sea. In response, governments provide subsidies"

I've already posted how whaling seems to be a defunct industry. And that even keeping it alive for the sake of tradition seems really pointless and a waste of better expended resources. Is it too bold to suggest that with data like this coming from the UN and environmental watchdogs that the entire fishing industry might well become defunct.

I don't like fish. I don't eat seafood. You can live without it. It seems a pretty costly, and in a great number of places in the world, dangerous operation.

Another point I'd like to make where are vegetarians on all this. You do get lots of vegie hippies upset about Dolphin deaths, but noone cares for smelly slimy fishes. Commercial fishing operations on any scale do serious damage to the environment by disrupting the physical environment, biodiversity and affecting eco-systems. It's a far more damning impact on the natural order of the world than say factory style farming (which basically fails on ethics alone, because there is no natural ecosystem being tampered with).

I know way to many vegetarians who still eat fish. Like they aren't living, or somehow they are infinite in number so damaging their stocks doesn't matter. Want to eat something that won't matter - start eating insects (but only the common ones like grasshoppers, bees, ants and mosquitos).

The ironic thing is anyone wanting to save fish stocks, and still eat fish, will have to support active sustainable fish farming and aquaculture - which is not without its own issues. But by creating a non-natural stock from which to deplete, natural stocks can regenerate and continue to play their useful role in their ecosystems.

(NOTE: I tried so hard to find the Calvin and Hobbes "Domestic Parent Slaughter Ichthythoid in Kitchen, Family Feasts on Remains..." strip, no avail, if only my scanner was working - might be soon with the move).

(NOTE 2: I originally targetted PETA, but research shows PETA's ocean stance is actually about more than saving dolphins, but they are against aquaculture, mainly cos they are hippie fuckjobs)

*biodiversity*fish*commercial fishing*future*ecology*ecosystems*PETA*hippies*glen mcagee*scientist*science*environment*fishing industry*dolphins*whaling*aquaculture*oceans*apocalypse*