Heresy Snowboarding

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I was busy reading this report on how humans are crushing global fish stocks. We could be starving ourselves from an important protein source. Now, I don’t eat land meat, so if fish go, I’m going to be pretty bummed.

Worm and an international team of ecologists have taken a comprehensive look at the state of the world’s fisheries. Their results, published in the journal Science in 2006 (vol 314, p 787), make grim reading. In short, catches of wild fish are plummeting and the researchers predict that without steps to protect biodiversity, all current commercial fish and seafood species will collapse by 2050 (see graph).

If we do empty the oceans of fish, it will leave a gaping hole in our diet. Fish provide around 20 per cent of our intake of animal proteins, according to a 2007 estimate of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). That means each of us wolfs down an average of 16.4 kilograms of fish per year. National figures vary widely, from virtually none in some landlocked nations like Afghanistan, to about 20 kilograms per person per year in the UK and US and a whopping 180 kilograms in the Maldives.

This demand is increasing rapidly, as a result of the rising global population and increasing prosperity in the developing world. Maintaining catches at current levels is becoming difficult, let alone increasing them. According to the FAO, more than 75 per cent of the world’s fish stocks are either fully exploited, over-exploited, or recovering from past depletion.

Seriously, is there nothing that we can touch without wrecking it?

Heresy has a strong affinity to the ocean through our surfing and because we live near it, and Heresy (he, Tim M) is saddened by our exploitative ways.

How is this related to the snow, you ask? Ah-ha!, say I.

When we mess with fish stocks – sharks in particular – we throw the balance out of wack, particularly in regard of plankton. Plankton is one of the biggest carbon dioxide sinks in the world. By over fishing or killing species that feed on species down the chain, we prevent plankton from maintaining good numbers (kill sharks, bigger fish numbers increase, which means plankton decreases, basically) and therefore from sinking CO2 (probably better than land sinks). Or, as is happening now, loading the ocean with so much CO2 it starts acidifying and killing coral. (I also posted this because it’s something worth thinking about in terms of sustainable living).

This is why we did our anti shark-finning boards. Watching the below video made me seriously ill and saddened to be a human. Instead, however, of wallowing in misery and despair, I decided to do something about it, hence the board. We’re going to be sending more money to Sea Shepherd – honestly I haven’t decided how much, but it will be whatever we can afford. I’d say our end of season party in Austria will probably raffle a board off for Sea Shepherd too.

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