Will I see the end of wild seafood in my lifetime?

Discussion in 'The Cocktail Lounge' started by ScooterBrandon, Mar 11, 2016.

  1. ScooterBrandon

    ScooterBrandon Senior Investor

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    Between climate change, ocean acidification, over fishing and massive ocean/freshwater pollution it's actually quite possible that by the time I get old I might not be able to eat wild seafood anymore! If there is any wild sea creatures left I bet the they will be quite expensive or not legally obtainable.
    I mean I imagine with the profits to be had, raising seafood in farms will take over the supply. But real, wild seafood just tastes so much better. I can actually taste the difference quite immediately. I think it will be a sad day when humanity can only eat farmed supply because we depleted the fresh supply.

    But I was lamenting this to a friend over a Pilsner (Creemore Lot 9) and some sushi. I like talking real subjects with him because he always has a different take on things.
    His take was so what? Do you ever eat wild meat? Isn't farmed meat more sustainable and the norm with pretty much every protein? Which is true, unless you are hunting or trapping yourself the majority of animals we consume are farm raised, it's VERY rare (at least in my life) to eat wild animals except for ones we pull out of the water. He said now that I brought it up, it's actually very strange we STILL eat wild seafood!

    What do you guys/gals think?
     
  2. crimsonghost747

    crimsonghost747 Senior Investor

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    Interesting topic. For one, a lot of the seafood we have nowadays is actually farmed too. Wiki has an interesting graph. Graph that doesn't want to be pasted here. :D You can see it in the link below. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Time_series_for_global_aquaculture_of_true_salmon.png

    That's just salmon but there are many, many other types of "farmed" seafood that we have nowadays. And by the looks of it, it's getting more and more popular, though I do not think this has that much to do with the poor condition of the oceans. It's more about business, it's simply cheaper to grow them than to catch them. Same thing with the other animals we consume. We could let the cows, chicken etc. walk freely and hunt them. Well what would be left after the natural predators took care of their own needs. But it's simply cheaper to mass produce them.
     
  3. Rosyrain

    Rosyrain Senior Investor

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    I have always wondered if we will see the end of seafood due to mass fishing. When you see gigantic boats out in the ocean with nets and gear capable of catching thousands of fish in one outing, you have to wonder how ecosystems can handle that much fishing. Pollution is another thing we have to be concerned with. There was just a story in the news about the toxins that fish have in their bodies due to what makes it into the ocean. Scientists determined that some of the salmon in the Puget Sound have traces of drugs and alcohol in them because of the chemicals that go through the water systems around here.
     
  4. pwarbi

    pwarbi Senior Investor

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    Personally I don't think that we are going to see the end of sea life as we know it, but only because there will be measures put in place before it gets that far.

    When a species gets down to a certain number then it gets put on the endangered list and becomes illegal to hunt, or in this case fish. That will at least protect enough for the population to build itself up.again I'd imagine.
     
  5. remnant

    remnant Well-Known Member

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    I don't think we will yet witness the end of seafood or other wild animals for that matter. The reason is in the untamed world, there is likely to be mass depletions of flora and fauna but a small percentage will always survive with enhanced reproductive qualities and adaptive resilience to sustain the population. The ecological graph is not a straight line but a series of peaks and troughs which cancel out to plot a straight line.
     
  6. briannagodess

    briannagodess Well-Known Member

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    http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/are-the-oceans-running-out-of-fish/

    Hmmm... According to this article, in about fifty years, there's going to be a 90% reduction in the population of fishes in the ocean. I don't know how accurate that is, but that can be pretty devastating. Although I think scientists will focus more on farm produced fishes. It's already happening from where I am, milk fishes are grown from man-made ponds. And a lot more fishes are grown that way as well.

    I do know though that the banana we have know is a cross bred species. The older Cavendish banana we had has gone extinct so scientists created a banana species that is easier to breed. So maybe they will go that way with fishes and other seafood as well.
     
  7. gracer

    gracer Senior Investor

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    Speaking of wild seafood. A few days ago here in the Philippines, influx of thousands of herring fish on Dipolog's shores amazed fishermen and residents of the said town. People have been rushing to shore carrying their own fishing nets or catching materials that could help them get their own catch of fish. Because of the massive supply, some have decided to sell their extra catch or give them to their neighbors while leaving something for themselves to eat.

    This influx is said to have been related to the fishing holiday they have imposed on fishermen for the past few months to allow for proper uninterrupted reproduction of fishes. The increasing temperature has also been claimed to have contributed to the massive arrival of the fishes ashore.

    Here's a news report on the recent events but the language is in our native tongue. You'll be amazed to see how huge the amount of fishes that were easily caught though.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EpWA1TbL24
     
  8. ScooterBrandon

    ScooterBrandon Senior Investor

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    I am not so optimistic that measures will actually get put in place before it's too late though. Some may argue that we are close to, or even past the point of no return.
    History has shown that human societies are REALLY BAD at surviving in the wake of their own environmental destruction, or even being cognizant that their activities are the cause of environmental decline. Just look at the Mayans or the Rapa Nui of Easter Island. A great book on the subject is Collapse by Jared Diamond.
    Even in modern times, when we recognized that we are responsible for things like climate change, we still can't give up sort term profits in exchange for our continued existence.
    Well I guess there is some hope though if I were to look at the optimistic side of things. We have collectively beaten a few issue, like the depletion of the ozone layer or combating pandemics like Ebola.
     
  9. crimsonghost747

    crimsonghost747 Senior Investor

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    Measures will of course be put in place. Whether or not they are enough, and whether or not they will be accepted and followed by everyone, are different things. It's a lot easier to ban the excess fishing but the pollution is another thing... very hard to control and to stop.
     
  10. Alex

    Alex Senior Investor

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    Cod used to be commonplace in the UK and then they ran out because they had over fished. As for seafood, with the natural chain being distorted with pollution more are dying or being infected. Yes, there are farmed fish, but is that healthy? I'm a vegetarian so it doesn't affect me, but I have noticed seafood is not as fresh and are smaller than I recall as a child.
     

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