Nature can be bountiful, if you take only as much as you need! However, modern commercial fishing techniques result in extensive wastefulness. A study in British waters indicates that almost two thirds of the fish caught are thrown back over the side dead. Even if they are alive, bottom trawling ruptures their swim bladders resulting in their death soon!
The study said 63 percent of the 186 million fish caught by commercial fishing vessels, 117 million fish weighing 24,500 tons are thrown back into the English Channel and other British seaways
Most of the fish thrown back are the ones that are either too small or belong to an unwanted species. Most unfortunate is the fact that the ten most discarded species included some of the most over fished: cod, plaice and lesser-spotted dogfish, gurnards, dab and whiting. M
ackerel, pilchard and sprat were the most discarded fish by vessels fishing in mid-water for pelagic or surface-swimming fish. The worst effected are the small fish, who epitomize the new generation and are mercilessly done away with, further endangering the threatened species.
Beam trawlers, Otter trawlers are responsible for almost 90 per cent of all discards. Factory pelagic trawlers, which use purse-seine nets, had the fastest discard rate at 78,000 fish per hour.
LDiscarding in European waters is known to kill up to 800,000 tons of fish a year. Globally, on average, 27 million tons of unwanted fish catch are thrown back each year.
So is it really worth it to consume catch brought in by commercial fishing? Is it really worth it to eat fish that are often called the brain food? At a time when ‘sustainability’ and ‘preservation’ are the buzzwords to save the planet, it is sad that so many fish are being killed aimlessly!
Source: Telegraph
