Fishy Practices
February 6th, 2007 | Posted in Environment, Responsibility, Water
As we all know, fishermen are a little trigger happy with the ol’ reel. Now, the companies who drive demand, and itchy trigger fingers, are doing something about it. This article by Marc Gunther discusses the problem of over fishing and what companies like Wal-Mart, Whole Foods and Disney aim to do to lessen the damage over fishing does to our oceans.
What’s the problem? Well, to put it bluntly, “a study published last fall in the journal, Science, warned of a “global collapse” of all wild seafood by mid-century if fishing continues at its current pace.” I’m sure someone will come up with a positive way to interpret that but for practical people, there’s only one response - stop fishing so freakin’ much.
Michael Boots and Stephanie Faison of the Seafood Choices Alliance:
work with companies including retailers Wal-Mart and Whole Foods Market, theme park operator Walt Disney and distributor Sysco, as well as fishermen and fish farmers, to promote seafood consumption in ways that will protect catch for the future. “We’re trying to build a market for a greener seafood industry,” Boots said.
I’m not naive enough to think people are going to stop eating meat any time soon but I’m sure if the oceans were left alone population of species would take care of itself.
The good news is corporate responsibility seems to be on the rise. According to the article:
Historically, commercial fisherman and ecologists fought over fishing regulations, but they now frequently cooperate. The Nature Conservancy, best known for acquiring land to save it from development, recently purchased trawling permits from fisherman in central California, to protect the habitat of Moro Bay. Several years ago, McDonald’s brought in Conservation International, a nonprofit committed to protecting biodiversity, to assess fishing practices in its supply chain.
The pessimist in me wonders why McDonald’s doesn’t take more responsibility for its practices regarding livestock and deforestation but I guess I can’t have my cake and eat it too. Any progress is positive, and protecting our oceans has been a long ignored corporate responsibility. For decades we’ve strived for clear blue skies, often at the expense of clear blue water. Hopefully, the tides are turning.
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