Today is World Fisheries Day, an annual celebration to highlight the importance of maintaining the world’s fisheries. We’re causing lots of problems by overfishing and we need to make some changes, fast.
According to a recent United Nations report, more than two-thirds of the world’s fisheries have been overfished or are fully harvested. More than one third are in a state of decline due to habitat loss, Pollution, and Global warming.
In a statement on its website, the Global Research Development Center said, “The World Fisheries Day helps to highlight these problems, and moves towards finding solutions to the increasingly inter-connected problems we are facing, and in the longer term, to sustainable means of maintaining fish stocks.”
Maintaining a plant-based diet is the best way to help the planet with this issue. Pescetarians are applauded for sharing some of the vegetarian characteristics, such as not eating red meat and poultry. However, eliminating fish from your diet is crucial, especially amidst the many, interconnected effects from our fishing habits that activists bring attention to through World Fisheries Day.
Here are five reasons why pescetarians have it all wrong about eating fish.
1. You don’t need fish for omega fats
Since fish and fish oil supplements do provide a high source of omega-3 DHA and EPA, people who don’t eat fish can be at risk for lower levels of DHA and EPA in their blood than people who do eat it. But contrary to popular belief, it is possible to maintain a vegan diet and get sufficient amounts of omega-3 fats without fish. Vegans can get DHA and EPA the same way that fish get it — from algae.
2. The world is dangerously overfishing
Yes, what you read above is correct. More than two-thirds of the world’s fisheries have been overfished or are fully harvested. The bottom line is that we’re being too greedy. Throughout the world, we are contributing to ocean and coastal Pollution from run-off, domestic and industrial activities carried out near the shores. “The impact of fishing over the centuries is far larger than anyone thought … i3n looking back 500 to 2,000 years ago, you get a real sense of the impacts of fishing and the cascading affects on marine ecosystems, some of which may be beyond recovery,” said Poul Holm, global chair of the History of Marine Animals Population project, as quoted in an article from The Brunei Times.
3. The danger of mercury
Leading scientists have warned the public about the risks posed by fish contaminated with mercury, especially to children and women of childbearing age. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, consumption of fish and other sea animals is the sole source of human exposure to methyl mercury. Because of Pollution caused by human activity, fish accumulate mercury in their flesh and store it in their tissues. Mercury is known to be dangerous to humans. Eliminating the risk means stop eating fish. In the words of Dr. Jane M Hightower, “We found that if people eat fish, the mercury goes up. They stop eating fish, the mercury goes down. It’s that simple … It’s a documented poison. Wherever it’s seen, it’s been a problem.”
4. The health benefits are overstated
We hear all about the health benefits of fish, and the vitamin industry of course touts these points so people will buy fish oil tablets. But did you know that there is no physiological need for humans to eat fish? As stated above, you can get sufficient omega fats via plant-based foods. In the words of Hope Bohanec, who has been an animal and environmental activist for over 20 years, “like all meat, fish has no magical property that can only be found in its flesh. Plants provide omega 3 fatty acids and protein without the saturated fat, cholesterol, possible mercury, heavy metals and destruction of the oceans that surely come with a meal of fish. Plants also provide a surplus of nutrients that are lacking in animal sources.”
5. Eating fish has already harmed our future
The demand to stop fishing and eating fish is so urgent because we’re running out of time to maintain our ocean ecosystem. Dire, lasting effects have already ruined part of our oceans, and global leaders have called on us to make some big changes. Last month, the United Nations General Assembly asked countries that have not yet done so to become a party to the Law of the Sea. This streamlines jurisdiction over national and international waters, as well as the seabed, which helps to maintain sustainable fisheries. Leaders and activists agree that we need to change the way we maintain our global fisheries to ensure sustainability of fish stocks throughout a healthy oceans ecosystem.
Image Source: Michael Saechang/Flickr
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Yeah Sally, you are so right. Please don\’t go avoiding something so healthy as fish simply because of a childish and innacurate article. :)
Yes its absolutely true that fisheries are not very good for the planet and that fish who are kept in them are not your healthiest protein choice. I also agree with Sally, this article is not informative, it\’s basically just repeating over and over again "Fisheries are bad for the planet" but phrased differently. Also your body knows how to use the omega 3s in fish better than those in seeds and nuts. And you can\’t pretend that catching wild fish has any adverse effects on our planet, at all. After all animals in the wild need to catch fish to eat too. Yes I agree that there shouldn\’t be fish farms, but wild fish are one of the healthiest foods on the planet and wild salmon, scallops and many others do nit have a high mercury content at ALL. the health benefits of eating certain types of fish are not overstated. If you replace your servings of healthy, protein dense, vitamin rich meat, eggs and seafood with plants that have inclomplete and inflammatory amino acid chains as well as an unhealthy omega 6 to omega 3 ratio, your health is going to suffer. This article was not very well researched and it was trying to turn everyone vegan, which isn\’t as good for the planet as a whole foods paleo diet, just sayin\’
I don\’t know, I just feel like this article is just trying to make everyone vegan. I know it\’s supposed to be informative, but instead it just feels kind of insulting as if it was trying to say "if you\’re eating anything that isn\’t plants you\’re wrong. You don\’t need that" – well, maybe I do.