Sacrifice at Sea

Commercial Fishing

Other Types of Fishing

Other Types of Aquatic Hunting and Fishing

Environmental and Health Issues

Take Action

And they swam and they swam back over the dam*

Sadly, not all fish get a second chance as did the “three little fishies” of the child’s song (*words and music by Saxie Dowell). Modern day fishing spares few fish regardless of the sought after catch of the day. In fact, it is believed that of the billions of tons of fish caught yearly around the globe, as much as 60 billion tons is considered by-catch, or trash fish, who are usually thrown back into the sea.

By-catch can include sea turtles, marine mammals (including dolphins, sperm and pilot whales, and orcas), seabirds, and non-targeted fish. They are drawn up in nets or hooked, along with the targeted fish, only to be thrown back into the sea injured, bleeding, dying. Some are speared on the deck of a fishing vessel and then dropped back into the sea.

As with all creatures caught in nets, by-catch can be crushed by other sea creatures and by rocks and other sea debris. Also, as the nets are raised quickly to the surface, the captured creatures may experience intense internal pressure, which can rupture their organs. Finally, of course, they suffocate once out of the water, whether by being out of their natural element or because they are on the bottom of a huge number of fish being dumped on board a ship.

Commercial Fishing                                                                                  Back to Top

Commercial fishing is big business, on a scale with land-based factory farming. In fact, some commercial fisheries use trawlers the size of football fields. Underwater explosives are used to “herd” fish to make capturing a large number easier. Electronic equipment and satellite communications on board large trawlers track fish while some fishing companies use helicopters and airplanes to track their prey.

Most commercial fishing companies use one or more of the following tools to capture the largest number of fish possible in the shortest amount of time.

Longlines

Longlines are fishing lines running upwards of 60 miles with thousands of barbed and baited hooks along the line. There are often thousands of individual lines attached to the main line. These hooks do not discriminate between the catch the trawler is looking for and the rest of the denizens of the sea. Because the hooks are usually made of lead, animals who do survive being hooked often die a slow death from lead poisoning. Birds and marine mammals not even caught on these longlines also suffer death from lead poisoning when the lines are dumped at sea.

Drift Nets and Purse Seine Nets

Drift nets are made of almost invisible plastic mesh. They snare everything in their path. Purse seine nets (as their name implies) close up at the top of the net trapping everything in them. Purse seine nets are often used to catch tuna. However, dolphins swim above tuna so dolphins become trapped as well. Many people have become upset about that fact, so now manufacturers of tuna often label their products dolphin safe. However, few people seem to be upset by the fact that tuna are caught in the first place. Although the U.S. enacted legislation to protect dolphins, other countries have not followed suit.

As these nets drag along the sea floor, the ocean bottom is disturbed causing ecological problems. Sea detritus is stirred up miring the waters and causing sea creatures’ habitats to be destroyed.

Other Deaths

Some sea creatures are taken out of the water, cut up, and tossed back in. Shark, especially, are sought after for their fins. So when shark are hauled aboard a fishing vessel, their fins are cut off and the rest of the shark is thrown back into the water, maimed, and bleeding to death. Shark fin soup is considered a delicacy in some cultures.

Others die when they become tangled in the plastic sea junk that is simply left behind, often tossed overboard, after the fishing fleet has taken its catch. Plastic containers, packing materials, and fishing net often find their way into the sea permanently to kill and maim fish on a daily basis.

Other Types of Fishing                                                                               Back to Top

Sport Fishing

Just as with hunting, people who fish for sport often do nothing more than hang up their “trophy” and have their pictures taken. As with hunting land-based wildlife, people who fish may kill or injure far more creatures than they take home with them. Some never take the entire animal, just a part here and there. Of course, the word “sport” is inappropriate. A sport is one where the players know who’s in the game and what the rules are. The fish never get the chance to “suit up.” They are the unwitting participants in a game that ends with their lives being taken—for fun.

There are those who profess the love of fishing, but they eschew the negative press the “sport” has acquired so they practice “catch and release.” In an endeavor to appear humane, the angler snags the fish with a barbed hook imbedded into the fish’s mouth. The angler then hauls the fish onto his or her boat, grabs the thrashing fish, removes the barb causing more tearing of the fish’s sensitive mouth. Then, in a gesture of good will, the angler tosses the bleeding fish back into the water where most likely the fish will die a slow death.

Subsistence Fishing

Fishing for some cultures, especially indigenous peoples around the world, has been a way of life. Subsistence fishing, meaning people catch only enough to live on, is widely accepted. In some climates, there are few other sources of food available at certain times of the year so fishing is a means of staying alive. When fishing for their own use, most people use rod and reel, arrows, harpoons, and throw nets—tools that bring in only the amount needed for subsistence living.

Other Types of Aquatic Hunting and Fishing                                             Back to Top

Whales

Whales are hunted today mainly for meat; in olden days they were hunted for oil as well. In 1986 the International Whaling Commission (IWC) introduced a moratorium on commercial whaling to help whale species recover from almost near extinction. However, countries that are not members of the commission or that lodge an objection to the moratorium are not bound by it. Countries not bound by the IWC have their own standards of how many whales may be killed. Some countries circumvent the moratorium by stating that their whaling efforts are for scientific research. However, those countries that support the moratorium accuse those using the scientific research mantle as a guise for commercial whaling operations. Japan has been accused of this dodge repeatedly.

Seals

The Canadian seal hunt is the largest in the world, targeting baby harp seals under three months of age. The seals are killed with wooden clubs, ice-pick like clubs, and guns. However, if shot, the seal may slip beneath the waters and never be retrieved. Approximately 350,000 seals are killed in this annual hunt. The seals are killed almost solely for their skin to make fashion garments and their penises, which are sold in Asian markets as an aphrodisiac. Some seals have been skinned while still alive. Their bodies are left to rot where they lay although some indigenous populations do take the meat to live on.

Horseshoe Crabs

Amazingly, horseshoe crab blood has become invaluable to the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. An extract of the blood is used to ensure that their products are free from bacterial contamination. The crabs are harvested alive, transported to laboratories, bled of about 30 percent of their blood, and then returned to the sea. Typically, the crabs are bled once a year.

Environmental and Health Issues                                                              Back to Top

Environmental Issues

Land-based activities have created aquatic pollution, which in turn affects the health and well-being of fish and other aquatic animals. Aquatic pollution occurs due in large part to coastal development, which increases erosion, sends sewage and toxic chemicals into water ways, and increases industrial pollution in rivers that flow to the seas. In addition, dredging, oil drilling and oil spills, pipe laying, and waste dumping all endanger aquatic habitats.

Pollution kills off many species of aquatic life and in the case of the Gulf of Mexico has created a dead zone the size of New Jersey where there is insufficient oxygen to support marine life.  A 2008 study counted 450 dead zones worldwide.

Commercial fishing pollutes aquatic bodies by sending back into the water the dead and dying bodies of by-catch and causes habitat destruction when nets are dragged along ocean bottoms. Because of the increase in commercial fishing beyond sustainable limits, some species are threatened with extinction; and, according to a study in 2006, there may be a complete collapse of the world’s fish population by the middle of the 21st century.

Mercury and Other Toxins

High levels of methyl mercury, organochlorines, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, lead, arsenic, and other environmental toxins accumulate in fish. These toxins affect nervous-system development, the immune system, heart health, and bone development. These toxins can lead to kidney damage, damage to fetuses, impaired mental development, a variety of cancers, and death.

Fish, often touted as health food, also contain high levels of cholesterol and artery-clogging saturated fat.

Take Action to Help End Commercial and Sport Fishing 

What can you do to change what is happening to sea creatures? First, avoid eating creatures from the sea. Selecting a vegetarian diet is the best way to eliminate the number of fish and other marine creatures taken from the sea. Other humane actions include:

• Educate your friends, family, and coworkers on the need to protect ocean life.
• Join a vegetarian group to learn more about eating a plant-based diet.
• Contact you legislators and urge them to support limits on types of equipment used in commercial fishing and the amount of fish that can be taken.
• Support clean water, clean air, and clean soil legislation.

February 2010                                                                                             Back to Top

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