Yes there are a number of “fishy” things going on in the world. Today we’ll confine ourselves to the world of salt water. Quite a few years ago, probably around 2003 or so, my favorite magazine, Scientific American, published an article on the decline of ocean fisheries. Since then they have published numerous articles detailing the loss of fisheries and the potential impact on us all. In 2003 the idea that we could essentially wipe out the ocean fish population was hard to grasp. It is not so hard to grasp now. Of course there will be farmed fish but that is another multilayered issue particularly when we get into the issue of genetic engineering. I mean who would not want a genetically engineered salmon that was bred to grow faster, have pinker flesh, and can be fed corn? Can I hear a cheer for Cargill! The more corn the better even if it is the only crop left on Earth (see the movie Interstellar). My sarcasm continues. Character traits are tough to change. Taking a class on Western Civilization will prove the point. You may want to get a prescription for an antidepressant first, not because of the class itself, but because you may awaken to the fact that the faces and technology change but the story remains the same for the most part. The factory fish farms will come with a price for us all including the fish themselves…remember the movie Blackfish? One day I’ll tell you about the Tilapia farm and fish juice.
After last week’s Podcast, and as I prepare for the Fall Ecopsychology Class, sustainability is on my mind. I also get to walk by “murdered” fish displayed in the refrigerated section of the Food Coop I am associated with several times a week which stimulates some thought. The term murdered comes courtesy of some of my Vegan friends. They don’t speak that way to the general public because they have high emotional intelligence. But they will “innocently” suggest you watch the movie “Earthlings” when you get a chance. At the Coop they routinely put the severed heads of fish on display adjacent to the fish fillets or steaks. Sometimes I stop and look into their eyes wondering how they died, what their last moments were like, and if their severed heads actually do increase sales. I also had no idea that Monkfish were so ugly. I only saw the head on display once. My guess is it decreased sales. Like many things in life it is much easier to sell things when they look pretty. Defending the aesthetics of Monkfish I imagine we don’t look too attractive to them when we are hauling them out of the water and throwing them in a bucket or cooler to die of exposure. It’s a bit like crucifying a person but quicker as they suffocate in minutes…or hours. Just leave them out there in the sun, helpless, tied to whatever you tie them to or in the case of fish put them on the deck or in a container. It’s too hard to tie them up. I think I would opt for the deep freeze on an industrial trawler. It would be quicker.
Growing up we did a lot of fishing, mostly for Bluefish, using popping plugs and 20 lb. test line. It was exciting. We would wait to see a group of seagulls and speed over to them stopping just upwind of them, shutting off the engine, and drifting into the water that was boiling with Bluefish coming to the surface to consume the school of baitfish being driven down by the Seagulls. It was a scene from “Planet Earth” before it became a hit series. The baitfish were normally the losers until we came along. We would cast our popping plugs into the mix, wait for a strike, set the hook, and then the sport began. Hooked through the mouth the fish would struggle leaping out of the water and swimming away when the boat came into sight. I still remember the whine of the drag letting out line when the fish made a run away. When the fish was close enough you would get out the gaff, impale it, and pull it into the boat where it would flop around on the deck spitting out blood and baitfish until you hit it on the head with a club and threw it into the cooler, or large bucket/can. Bluefish are one of the few fish that will intentionally bite you and they have razor sharp teeth. They got my baggy sweatshirt a couple of times but never me. Sometimes we would fill up a full size garbage can with them stopping only when our arms were too tired to reel anymore in. Upon arriving home we would clean them, it was amazing how much they had in their stomachs, and freeze or give away whatever we were not going to eat in the next couple days. If the garden was not planted yet we would put a fish head under each tomato plant as we installed the garden. This was usually with Spring Flounder heads as Bluefish had not arrived yet.
So how do you feel about all this? And why am I telling you about it? Well, it is a story of excess, taking more than you need activated by our “old brain”. You know, the primal one: fight, flight, feed, and fornicate. It is also the story of culture and how in 40 years we have went from excess to scarcity due to our behavior. We need to change our perspectives and culture in so many ways from one of excess to sustainable practices. This is a major challenge in an economic system that thrives on growth driven by spending on the many excesses we don’t need to survive. Finally it is a story about change. As I look at the fish heads in the display case I feel a great deal of sadness for my past actions driven by the culture in which I lived. I did not have the necessary awareness as a ten year old. I do now and I also have choices I can make freely. I do feel overwhelmed and remorseful when I fully encounter the deterioration of the planet we have caused and my own personal contributions. But what I feel most is a responsibility to change my behavior and to limit and/or correct the damage I have done. The most effective thing I can do is focus on the present. What can I do today to preserve a future, for all of us, and that includes all the components of the ecosystem which we are a part of? We cannot let the past hold us back due to our guilt, remorse, or the realization that we are in a difficult positon and have so much to do to right ourselves. We can begin today. We can commit to consuming with awareness and that means considering the quandary of the fish which is interrelated with our predicament. In this case it simply means eating less fish especially the endangered ones and those harvested unsustainably.
I will close with this nugget, plant-based of course. Reliable estimates are that we will have decimated sea life by between 2040 and 2070. This is not just about the catastrophic drop in fish population alone but the destruction of the marine ecosystem due to increased ocean temperature, acidification, pollution and overfishing and the drastic effect this will have on our lives. We are after all part of the ecosystem and the driving force behind the damage inflicted on it, ourselves, and each other. We have a choices to make if we are to preserve our planet and by doing do ourselves.