Updated: 12:35 p.m. ET May 7, 2007
WASHINGTON - More than 20 nations agreed Friday to discourage unregulated and destructive bottom trawling on the South Pacific high seas, a victory for environmental groups.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18534774/
Fish lovers can do their part to save the dwindling supplies. Monterey Bay Aquarium sponsors a Seafood Watch program, including handy pocket form and online Guides to educate the public on environmentally safe seafood choices. The Guides are broken into US regions.
The Guides list green “Best Choices,†yellow “Good Alternatives†and red “Avoid†seafood choices. Consumers can choose seafood that is “abundant, well-managed and caught or farmed in environmentally friendly ways.â€Â
On the Avoid list is imported, farmed or trawler-caught shrimp. The problem with the tasty pink and protein-rich shrimp is “bycatch.†One in four animals caught in fishing gear dies as bycatch â€"œ the unwanted or unintentional catch. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, tons of fish are tossed out, wounded, dying or dead, because they are not the valuable harvest that fishermen seek.
The worse bycatch offender may be the nutritious pink crustacean. Tropical shrimp caught by trawler dragging nets dominate about 2/3 of world shrimp production. Yet, shrimp trawling has the highest bycatch of any commercial fishery. On boat decks awash with struggling fish, 3 to 15 pounds of unwanted animals are caught and discarded for every pound of gathered shrimp!
Therefore, the “Best Choice†for harvesting shrimp, the Watch says, is the trap-caught method, because it is sustainable and has low-bycatch. The SeafoodWatch.org site gives additional details â€"œ simply click on the selected fish at the All Fish menu.
The knee jerk reaction to by-catch is “that’s awful.†But environmentalists fail to follow their initial shock and concern to its logical conclusion. They often fail to differentiate between organic and in-organic waste. Tossing an apple core into the woods may be impolite, but it is hardly littering. In fact, the rich nutrients of the core feed not only small insects, but also nourish the soil. What happens to by-catch then? The waste is consumed by lower-order animals, who in turn feed the large animals that we depend upon. By-catch might preserve the fish crop the same way that turning the soil preserves the plant harvest.
Wal-Mart is the world's biggest retailer with approximately 1,800 stores. In 2004, Wal-Mart sold about $98 million cooked shrimp alone, close to 2 million pounds. Yet, Wal-Mart promotes wild caught shrimp because of the enormous public demand, “even though there is about a 30 percent cost differential between farm-raised and wild-caught shrimp.â€Â
WASHINGTON - More than 20 nations agreed Friday to discourage unregulated and destructive bottom trawling on the South Pacific high seas, a victory for environmental groups.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18534774/
Fish lovers can do their part to save the dwindling supplies. Monterey Bay Aquarium sponsors a Seafood Watch program, including handy pocket form and online Guides to educate the public on environmentally safe seafood choices. The Guides are broken into US regions.
The Guides list green “Best Choices,†yellow “Good Alternatives†and red “Avoid†seafood choices. Consumers can choose seafood that is “abundant, well-managed and caught or farmed in environmentally friendly ways.â€Â
On the Avoid list is imported, farmed or trawler-caught shrimp. The problem with the tasty pink and protein-rich shrimp is “bycatch.†One in four animals caught in fishing gear dies as bycatch â€"œ the unwanted or unintentional catch. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, tons of fish are tossed out, wounded, dying or dead, because they are not the valuable harvest that fishermen seek.
The worse bycatch offender may be the nutritious pink crustacean. Tropical shrimp caught by trawler dragging nets dominate about 2/3 of world shrimp production. Yet, shrimp trawling has the highest bycatch of any commercial fishery. On boat decks awash with struggling fish, 3 to 15 pounds of unwanted animals are caught and discarded for every pound of gathered shrimp!
Therefore, the “Best Choice†for harvesting shrimp, the Watch says, is the trap-caught method, because it is sustainable and has low-bycatch. The SeafoodWatch.org site gives additional details â€"œ simply click on the selected fish at the All Fish menu.
The knee jerk reaction to by-catch is “that’s awful.†But environmentalists fail to follow their initial shock and concern to its logical conclusion. They often fail to differentiate between organic and in-organic waste. Tossing an apple core into the woods may be impolite, but it is hardly littering. In fact, the rich nutrients of the core feed not only small insects, but also nourish the soil. What happens to by-catch then? The waste is consumed by lower-order animals, who in turn feed the large animals that we depend upon. By-catch might preserve the fish crop the same way that turning the soil preserves the plant harvest.
Wal-Mart is the world's biggest retailer with approximately 1,800 stores. In 2004, Wal-Mart sold about $98 million cooked shrimp alone, close to 2 million pounds. Yet, Wal-Mart promotes wild caught shrimp because of the enormous public demand, “even though there is about a 30 percent cost differential between farm-raised and wild-caught shrimp.â€Â
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