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One in three fish caught never makes it to the plate – UN report

theguardian.com

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Re: One in three fish caught never makes it to the plate – UN report

#21

Post by steve_adams_86 »

aaronblohowiak wrote: post #20
hurpaDurpa wrote: post #18

So, honest question: Why are invasive species like the gigantic asian carp so reviled, when they seem to be quite successful animals, thriving in an otherwise unforgiving environment? I get that invasive species can stress their environment until it collapses and ruins even their own capacity to thrive or even survive, but sometimes I get the sense that asian carp are denegrated because they annoy humans by jumping o…

They are an ecological destroyer and they don’t taste good

Why does half the world think they taste good and the other half thinks they don't? They must be fine... Right?

Re: One in three fish caught never makes it to the plate – UN report

#22

Post by hurpaDurpa »

aaronblohowiak wrote: post #20
hurpaDurpa wrote: post #18

So, honest question: Why are invasive species like the gigantic asian carp so reviled, when they seem to be quite successful animals, thriving in an otherwise unforgiving environment? I get that invasive species can stress their environment until it collapses and ruins even their own capacity to thrive or even survive, but sometimes I get the sense that asian carp are denegrated because they annoy humans by jumping o…

They are an ecological destroyer and they don’t taste good

Arguably, the part about tasting bad is purely a human concern, but ecological destruction is a possibly real problem, if left unchecked.

Re: One in three fish caught never makes it to the plate – UN report

#24

Post by TeMPOraL »

rollulus wrote: post #23

If news like this upsets you, there's an easy solution: just stop eating fish.

Which solves exactly nothing, until a significant chunk of the world's population does the same too. And then we'll have depressing articles about poor fishermen who found themselves unemployed and unemployable.

The problem is unfortunately very complex and in need of some large-scale, targeted effort.

Re: One in three fish caught never makes it to the plate – UN report

#25

Post by selectodude »

aaronblohowiak wrote: post #20
hurpaDurpa wrote: post #18

So, honest question: Why are invasive species like the gigantic asian carp so reviled, when they seem to be quite successful animals, thriving in an otherwise unforgiving environment? I get that invasive species can stress their environment until it collapses and ruins even their own capacity to thrive or even survive, but sometimes I get the sense that asian carp are denegrated because they annoy humans by jumping o…

They are an ecological destroyer and they don’t taste good

They taste fine. No better or worse than tilapia. It's just that it's impossible to get all the bones out because a lot of them aren't connected to anything and are just floating in the meat.

Re: One in three fish caught never makes it to the plate – UN report

#26

Post by cageface »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #24
rollulus wrote: post #23

If news like this upsets you, there's an easy solution: just stop eating fish.

Which solves exactly nothing, until a significant chunk of the world's population does the same too. And then we'll have depressing articles about poor fishermen who found themselves unemployed and unemployable. The problem is unfortunately very complex and in need of some large-scale, targeted effort.

This is the appeal to futility fallacy and can be used to make an argument against doing just about anything. By not eating fish you become part of the solution instead of part of the problem. And the poor fishermen are going to be unemployed soon enough at the current rate of overfishing because there won't be anything left for them to catch anyway.

The bycatch for sushi fish is even worse than the figure given in the article:

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/environment/sushi-obsession-is...

Re: One in three fish caught never makes it to the plate – UN report

#27

Post by jonhendry18 »

jaggederest wrote: post #14
mncharity wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given that change blindness, I wonder if an interesting component of teaching history could be to emphasize 'things you would find jaw-droppingly different if you were dropped back in time'? Precise arrangements for where/when to meet ("at 10:10, on the corner of mumble and mumble") - because no cell phones. Boston Python, having an unusually large turnout... so someone needed to pull up an extra chair to the confere…

My current point of concern is that I can go out and sit all evening without a mosquito bite. That was unheard of even 30 years ago when I was a kid. You'd be lucky if you didn't have one for every minute you spent outside. I think the insects are dying, and it's frightening. Second item would be watching the bison migrate on the plains. Literally horizon to horizon, a hundred thousand individuals or more in a group.…

The mosquito situation might be due to the availability of CO2 based mosquito traps.

You don't mention where you're located but perhaps you're in an area that isn't as hospitable for mosquito breeding as the location where you were a kid.

Re: One in three fish caught never makes it to the plate – UN report

#28

Post by jonhendry18 »

xapata wrote: post #11
dajohnson89 wrote: post #5

One of the more depressing things to read, is how back in the early days of America, one could just reach into the river/sea and grab a fish. E.g. lobsters were once so plentiful that native americans used them as fertilizer[0]. And there's photographic evidence of overfishing too. [1] is a nice NPR piece about how the largest catch of the year at a particular spot in Florida has been dwindling. [0] - http://www.gma.…

I heard an article on the radio measuring the proteins in trees. Apparently much of it in the Pacific Northwest forests comes from salmon carcasses that bears fetch from the stream and discard. I have no idea how they'd determine the source. Maybe I was paying attention to the road when they explained. So if the fish disappear, maybe the forest does, too.

" I have no idea how they'd determine the source"

Probably isotopes. It's always isotopes.

Re: One in three fish caught never makes it to the plate – UN report

#29

Post by jonhendry18 »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #24
rollulus wrote: post #23

If news like this upsets you, there's an easy solution: just stop eating fish.

Which solves exactly nothing, until a significant chunk of the world's population does the same too. And then we'll have depressing articles about poor fishermen who found themselves unemployed and unemployable. The problem is unfortunately very complex and in need of some large-scale, targeted effort.

"And then we'll have depressing articles about poor fishermen who found themselves unemployed and unemployable."

They'd still be better off than the fishermen who are enslaved.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/02/01/582214032/wa...

Re: One in three fish caught never makes it to the plate – UN report

#30

Post by JumpCrisscross »

jaggederest wrote: post #14
mncharity wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given that change blindness, I wonder if an interesting component of teaching history could be to emphasize 'things you would find jaw-droppingly different if you were dropped back in time'? Precise arrangements for where/when to meet ("at 10:10, on the corner of mumble and mumble") - because no cell phones. Boston Python, having an unusually large turnout... so someone needed to pull up an extra chair to the confere…

My current point of concern is that I can go out and sit all evening without a mosquito bite. That was unheard of even 30 years ago when I was a kid. You'd be lucky if you didn't have one for every minute you spent outside. I think the insects are dying, and it's frightening. Second item would be watching the bison migrate on the plains. Literally horizon to horizon, a hundred thousand individuals or more in a group.…

> I think the insects are dying, and it's frightening

At least in New York, we put tremendous resources towards keeping harmful mosquito populations down. A better canary insect might be the bee.

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