Fish & Other Sea Animals

[Guest guest]

Given Mark Morford's recent article in the /SF Chronicle/ about sushi's

relations to fish depletion and ocean destruction, I thought I'd share

the relevant section from my Eco-Eating web page. Please feel free to

share with whomever might be interested in or benefit from this

material.---Peace, Dan

 

From *Eco-Eating at www.brook.com/veg*:

 

• 8. *Fish & Other Sea Animals*:

 

“Seafood is simply a socially acceptable form of bush meat”, according

to Paul Watson, a founder of Greenpeace <http://www.greenpeace.org/> and

the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society <http://www.seashepherd.org/>. “We

condemn Africans for hunting monkeys and mammalian and bird species from

the jungle, yet the developed world thinks nothing of hauling in

magnificent wild creatures like swordfish, tuna, halibut, shark and

salmon for our meals. The fact is that the global slaughter of marine

wildlife is simply the largest massacre of wildlife on the planet.”

 

Commercial fishing is causing the *collapse of the world’s fisheries*,

having likely passed “peak fish”

<http://www.indybay.org/news/2006/02/1804015.php>, destroying marine

ecosystems, heavily polluting our oceans, and, along with climate

change, contributing to “dead zones”

<http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1019-09.htm>. In effect, we are

clear cutting our underwater rainforests, including the coral reefs

<http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/students/coral/> and mangroves

<http://www.zmag.org/sustainers/content/2005-01/10sharma.cfm> that

support a rich array of biodiversity, as well as providing coastal

protection, leading to the endangerment and extinction of many species

employing “the factory trawler’s wet version of a scorched-earth policy”

(Curtis White). To catch wild fish, entire schools of fish

<http://archive.greenpeace.org/comms/fish/amaze.html> are netted

<http://www.botany.uwc.ac.za/Envfacts/facts/gill_nets.htm> along with

turtles <http://www.seaturtles.org/>, dolphins

<http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/oceans/media/pressrelease.cfm?ucidparam=2004012010\

5542>,

whales

<http://www.eurocbc.org/bycatch_death_toll_may_exceed_1000_cetaceans_daily_15jun\

e2003page1156.html>,

sharks

<http://sacoast.uwc.ac.za/education/resources/envirofacts/sharks.htm>,

seals <http://nmml.afsc.noaa.gov/education/pinnipeds/seals.htm>, birds

<http://www.abcbirds.org/policy/fishing_nets.htm>, and others as

“by-catch”, or “collateral damage”, leaving a destructive and deadly

wake. In fact, over 1/5 (about 22%) of fish caught by U.S. commercial

operations is “by-catch”

<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/30/AR2005113001948\

..html>

(fish that is caught, but discarded), topping more than a million tons

per year.

 

Aquaculture, or the factory farming of fish

<http://factoryfarming.org/fish.htm>, is also massively eco-destructive,

often leading to over-fishing of wild fish for feed, de-oxygenation of

the water, disease amongst fish and other marine animals, and the

(over)use of antibiotics, hormones, chemicals, and

genetically-engineered additives.

 

Further, underwater “forests” of coral reefs

<http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/students/coral/> and mangroves

<http://www.zmag.org/sustainers/content/2005-01/10sharma.cfm> are being

decimated by “rape-and-run” shrimp farming (exploiting and polluting

coastal communities for 2 to 5 years before abandoning them), commercial

overfishing and trawling, inefficient industrial shipping, and other

fish-related mega-activities with no regard for the natural world,

whether underwater or above.

 

Fish

<http://www.earthsave.bc.ca/materials/articles/articles/ethics/fish.html>

often contain mercury

<http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FDE/is_2_22/ai_100961707>,

arsenic <http://www.lenntech.com/Periodic-chart-elements/As-en.htm>,

lead <http://www.lead.org.au/lanv7n1/L71-13.html>, cadmium

<http://www.e-b-i.net/ebi/contaminants/cadmium.html> as well as toxic

POPs <http://www.chem.unep.ch/pops/>, including PCBs

<http://www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/factsheets/polychlorinatedbiphenyls.htm>,

DDT <http://www.the-piedpiper.co.uk/th13%28l%29.htm>, and dioxin

<http://www.european-vegetarian.org/evu/english/news/news974/dioxin.html>,

which can’t be removed from the fish <http://www.nofishing.net/> and

which bio-accumulate

<http://drake.marin.k12.ca.us/stuwork/rockwater/hev%20met/harmtopeople.html>

in consumers <http://www.nofishing.net/health.html>. “A major health

hazard from eating fish flesh comes from humans causing polluted aquatic

environments. Fish are repositories for the industrial and municipal

wastes and the agricultural chemicals flushed into the world’s waters”,

says Richard Schwartz, Ph.D. “Mercury, especially high in tuna and

swordfish, can cause brain damage, especially in growing children. PCBs,

dioxin, and pesticides (such as DDT) have been linked to cancers,

nervous system disorders, fetal damage, and many other health problems.

Removing fish from your meals eliminates half of all mercury exposure

and reduces one’s intake of other toxins.” According to Dr. Steve Patch,

co-director of the Environmental Quality Institute, University of North

Carolina-Asheville, “We saw a direct relationship between people’s

mercury levels and the amount of… fish people consumed”.

 

While fish often are said to contain high levels of protein and healthy

fats and fatty acids (especially for the fish), this may not be the case

and, in any event, there are easy alternatives for these nutrients,

including olives, flax, and hemp seeds. Additionally, fish, as with

other animals, contain saturated fat and cholesterol, which are

unhealthy. Further, fish do not contain any fiber, vitamins,

anti-oxidants, or phytonutrients, all of which are exclusive to plant

foods. A scientific review

<http://www.fishinghurts.com/feat-omega3.asp?int=weekly_enews> of

studies about fish has shown that it is not necessarily a healthy food

for humans. William Harris, M.D. <http://www.vegsource.com/harris>

determined that fish have seven times the protein that humans should

intake and that fish protein contains high amounts of the amino acids

methionine and cystine, which lead to calcium depletion and can cause

osteoporosis.

 

It is understandable why some people go into denial, but it should be

clear that fish <http://www.fishinghurts.com/>—as with /all/ other

animals—feel pain

<http://ananimalfriendlylife.com/2006/10/that-fish-you-caught-was-in-pain.html>,

a phenomenon in animals needed for survival and success. Being caught on

a hook is “like dentistry without novocaine, drilling into exposed

nerves” (Dr. Tom Hopkins). Being pulled /out/ of the water is like a

person being held /under/ water.

 

/Vegetarians protect fish, other marine animals, and the incredible

oceans they live in./

 

“Commercial fishing, aquaculture, and angling are environmentally

catastrophic….

 

*If you eat fish, you are supporting an industry that plunders our

oceans* with no regard for the horrible pain and suffering that fish and

other marine animals endure

 

or for the diverse ocean ecosystem that is imperative to the survival of

all underwater life.”

 

FishingHurts.com <http://fishinghurts.com/EnvironmentalConcerns.asp>

[Guest guest]

Thanks for this great info. I love Paul Watson & his way with words. I sent

your info to a bunch of people who probably hate me for it, but as Paul says,

the animals are our clients, so who cares what people think. I am so sad the

way people call themselves vegetarian who eat fish, as if these magnificent

creatures don't count.

 

Judith Gottesman, MSW

Area Sales Manager

Book of Savings - The Premier Advertising Magazine

800-813-5072, ext. 104

510-418-8813, cell

http://www.bookofsavingsonline.info