Study: Almost all big ocean fish gone

A new global study shows that 90 percent of all large fishes have disappeared from the world's oceans in the past half century, the devastating result of industrial fishing.

The study, which took 10 years to complete and was published in the international journal Nature this week, paints a grim picture of the Earth's current populations of such species as sharks, swordfish, tuna and marlin.

Link to story

A few more favorites are now off the menu...

No more tuna for me...

didn't eat the others mentioned anyway.

Luckily there's still salmon, yellowtail, eel, scallops, octopus, and squid.

metridium once bubbled...
No more tuna for me...

didn't eat the others mentioned anyway.

Luckily there's still salmon, yellowtail, eel, scallops, octopus, and squid.

Click to expand...

Check out this link from the Monterey Bay Aquarium - they have a downloadable reference card to keep in your wallet that tells you what's okay to eat and what should be avoided, from an ecological perspective:

http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/sfw_regional.asp

They have printed cards at the aquarium - I have one in my wallet.

Some of the differences are subtle (and surprising) - wild caught Californian or Alaskan salmon are ok, but farmed or Atlantic salmon are on the avoid list.

....before Gale Norton issues a statement discrediting this research or declaring that there will be more jobs for Americans if there are fewer fish in the ocean?

This isn't big news. Things like this are happening all over. We are simply ignoring them.

raviepoo once bubbled...
....before Gale Norton issues a statement discrediting this research or declaring that there will be more jobs for Americans if there are fewer fish in the ocean?

This isn't big news. Things like this are happening all over. We are simply ignoring them.

Click to expand...

For those who don't know (like me), raviepoo is talking about the Secretary of the Interior.

http://www.doi.gov/secretary/

One of the problems with farmed salmon is that it is farmed in the Northwest (Pacific Ocean) using Atlantic stock. THise fish don'[t belong there. Many of them have managed to escape from their pens to breed and establish themselves in an ecosystem where they don't belong. They are less hardy and less genetically diverse than the existing, Pacific fish stock.

Another problem is that the farmed salmon is grey in color, so the farmers add dye to make them look pink and appetizing.

How can you be certain where your fish comes from? I think I'm limiting myself to catfish and tofu from now on.

Scubaroo once bubbled...


Some of the differences are subtle (and surprising) - wild caught Californian or Alaskan salmon are ok, but farmed or Atlantic salmon are on the avoid list.

Click to expand...

Link, please?

I'm not saying you're right or wrong, but no industry faces the amount of innuendo, junk science and fear mongering like the Aquaculture Industry. Greenpeace and other so called "environmental" organizations make a TON of money by claiming aquaculture has horrifying effects on the environment. In 99% of the cases, they're simply wrong.

i read the article on the british diver magazine website. great study but will it have any impact? let's hope so. the fishing lobby is apparently very powerful although that seems hardly understandable given that at the going rate it is clearly not sustainable. the US and Canadian cod fisheries, still large 15 years ago, are 100% dead and the fishermen are all out of business and, especially in the affected canadian provinces, on unemployment for lack of alternatives. it is truly amazing how all of this is happening in full view and no one seems to be able to stop it. the speed of the deterioration is astonishing. most of the damage has actually been done in the past 15-20 years. i don't want to sell books here but for anyone interested in this tragedy i recommend a book called "the cod". it describes the systematic destruction of the world's greatest food fishery. and those who did not just go see the movie know that sebastian junger in "the perfect storm" delivers a sobering account of the demise of the swordfish as the result of longliners.
when sharks are not even safe in so called sanctuaries like galapagos and cocos one can only wonder what it will take.

Boogie711

What is the source of your "fact" that "In 99% of the cases, they're simply wrong." Sounds like you're doing the same thing that you claim Greenpeace is guilty of.

There seem to be some fairly well-documented studies indicating problems with the aquaculture industry. On top of the science, it only makes practical sense when you think things out.

Dr. Bill