Ocean Sentry
(From bclocalnews.com) – Development of the worldwide fishing industry has followed a trajectory much like that of farming; from a simple, low-technology beginning, it has become increasingly sophisticated, using the most modern electronic devices and equipment.
Paralleling this progression – or maybe demanding it – fish consumption has multiplied from a catch of some 18 million tons in 1950 to more than 140 million tons by 2005 (the latest date for which reliable data is available).
Huge nets of indestructible synthetic fibre are, when broken or lost, lethal traps for fish, other sea creatures and birds. Powerful winches and deep nets make it possible for fishers to drag the sea floor scooping up or damaging everything in their paths.
Fertilizer and nutrient run-off from farms in the U.S. Mid-West are carried by the Mississippi river system into the Gulf of Mexico, where they stimulate algal growth which takes up oxygen from the waters so creating a dead zone almost devoid of fish.
Fish farms, analogous to feed lots, presently raise only predator species – salmon, striped bass and tuna – which require feed based on other, herbivorous fish species.
(By Roy Strang – Peace Arch News)
