Our Seas Are Being Over-fished!

You guys beat me to it, here’s your article of how we are destroying the ocean!

Have you been wondering why fish is so expensive? Why fish like Tilapia are being raised in unregulated Chinese hatcheries? Why it is illegal to fish for Salmon in certain rivers? Like the title depicts, we are being over-fished. American fish staples like Atlantic Cod and Salmon are almost completely depleted.

How does this happen, do you ask? Well, America likes fish, a lot. So, fishermen go out into the ocean on their boats all the while dragging huge nets behind them that pick up everything in it’s path, but this happens in different ways:

Purse Seining:
This is when a boat drags a gigantic net that looks kind of like a drawstring purse behind them trying to catch a particular school of fish; but this tends to pick up anything in the way of the net as well.

Gillnetting:
This is when a fisherman will set up an almost invisible wall of net that fish swim into. While this is meant to catch Sardines, Salmon, and Cod; sharks and sea turtles can accidentally become entangled in the net and drown/suffocate.

Trawls and Dredges:
These work kind of like purse seining, but are often dragged along the sea floor to pick up fish and shellfish like pollock, cod, flounder, shrimp, scallops, clams and oysters. The nets can be as large as a football field, and can harm the sea floor when the net is dragged around.

Traps and pots:
These are submerged wire or wood cages that attract fish with bait and hold them alive until fishermen return to haul in the catch. Traps and pots are usually placed on the ocean bottom, often to catch lobsters, crabs, shrimp, sablefish and Pacific cod. They generally have lower unintended catch and less sea floor impact than mobile gear like trawls do.

So what do we do? How can we enjoy our fish responsibly? Well, here’s a list of “safe” fish and capturing methods.

Go lake fishing! There are many American fisheries that stock local reservoirs and lakes with sustainable fish that were meant for us to catch! Some include Rainbow and Brook trout.

Eat more squid! These slimy creatures breed quick, die quick, and are just begging us to eat them up! (responsibly of course)

Eat from American fisheries! Unlike China, America has extremely stringent (but not perfect) rules and regulations that try to keep us and the environment safe.

Lay of the big fish! Fish like tuna and swordfish have a knack for having high levels of toxic metals.

All in all, eat fish responsibly and we will all be happy!

-Jane

Sources:

http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/sfw_gear.aspx

This site goes into great detail on how fish are caught and farmed!