http://www.fishinghurts.com/photos.aspFish Farms: Underwater Factories
"Conditions on aquafarms are so horrendous that on some farms, 40 percent of the fish may die before farmers can kill and package them for food."
Fish farming, or “aquaculture,” has become a billion-dollar industry, and more than 30 percent of all the sea animals consumed each year are now raised on these “farms.” The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization reports that the aquaculture industry is growing three times faster than land-based animal agriculture, and fish farms will surely become even more prevalent as our natural fisheries become exhausted. Aquafarms can be based on land or in the ocean. Land-based farms raise thousands of fish in ponds, pools, or concrete tanks. Ocean-based aquafarms are situated close to shorelines, and fish in these farms are packed into net or mesh cages. All fish farms are rife with pollution, disease, and suffering, regardless of their location.
"We don't take what Mother Nature throws at us. This is a factory for fish."
—Bill Evans, Vice President of Mariculture Systems, Inc., Salmon-farming company
Aquafarms squander resources—it can take 5 pounds of wild-caught fish to produce just 1 pound of farmed fish—and pollute the environment with tons of fish feces, antibiotic-laden fish feed, and diseased fish carcasses. Fish on aquafarms spend their entire lives in cramped, filthy enclosures, and many suffer from parasitic infections, diseases, and debilitating injuries. Conditions on some farms are so horrendous that 40 percent of the fish may die before farmers can kill and package them for food. In short, fish farms bring suffering and ecological devastation everywhere they go.
"Conditions on aquafarms are so horrendous that on some farms, 40 percent of the fish may die before farmers can kill and package them for food."
Fish farming, or “aquaculture,” has become a billion-dollar industry, and more than 30 percent of all the sea animals consumed each year are now raised on these “farms.” The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization reports that the aquaculture industry is growing three times faster than land-based animal agriculture, and fish farms will surely become even more prevalent as our natural fisheries become exhausted. Aquafarms can be based on land or in the ocean. Land-based farms raise thousands of fish in ponds, pools, or concrete tanks. Ocean-based aquafarms are situated close to shorelines, and fish in these farms are packed into net or mesh cages. All fish farms are rife with pollution, disease, and suffering, regardless of their location.
"We don't take what Mother Nature throws at us. This is a factory for fish."
—Bill Evans, Vice President of Mariculture Systems, Inc., Salmon-farming company
Aquafarms squander resources—it can take 5 pounds of wild-caught fish to produce just 1 pound of farmed fish—and pollute the environment with tons of fish feces, antibiotic-laden fish feed, and diseased fish carcasses. Fish on aquafarms spend their entire lives in cramped, filthy enclosures, and many suffer from parasitic infections, diseases, and debilitating injuries. Conditions on some farms are so horrendous that 40 percent of the fish may die before farmers can kill and package them for food. In short, fish farms bring suffering and ecological devastation everywhere they go.
Commercial Fishing:
How Fish Get From the High Seas to Your Supermarket
Cruelty to AnimalsCommercial fishing is cruelty to animals on an almost unimaginable scale. Fish look so unlike humans that many people don’t realize that they feel pain, just as we do and lead complex intellectual lives that rival those of dogs and some other mammals. The way that these animals are treated by the commercial fishing industry should make animal lovers everywhere give up their taste for fish flesh for good. Today’s commercial fishers use massive ships the size of football fields and advanced electronic equipment and satellite communications to track fish. These enormous vessels can stay out at sea for as long as six months, storing thousands of tons of fish onboard in massive freezer compartments. Commercial fishing has become a big business, and the methods used to catch and kill the animals are as cruel as those used by factory farmers or slaughterhouse operators. In fact, the methods used to kill fish indicate that commercial fishers see their prey as no more sentient than rocks on a mountain—and the horrible cruelty that they inflict on hundreds of billions of fish is completely unregulated.Yet commercial fishers kill hundreds of billions of animals every year—far more than any other industry—and they’ve decimated our ocean ecosystems. In fact, 90 percent of large fish populations have been exterminated in the past 50 years and a recent report published in the academic journal Science, estimates that by the year 2048 our oceans will have been completely over-fished.Lifeless oceans may encourage growth in the fish-farming industry but the FAO is concerned that even fish farming will not be able to meet the demand for fish, since farmed fish need to be fed 5 pounds of commercially-caught fish for every 1 found of fish flesh they produce. Click here to learn more.Fishing Hurts Fish … and Other Animals, TooCommercial fishing boats leave their ports in pursuit of specific species of fish, but their hooks and nets bring up thousands of pounds of other marine animals as well. Sharks, sea turtles, birds, seals, whales, and other nontarget fish who get tangled in nets and hooked by long-lines are termed “bycatch” and are thrown overboard. They fall victim to swarming birds or slowly bleed to death in the water. Scientists recently found that nearly 1,000 marine mammals—dolphins, whales, and porpoises—die each day after they are caught in fishing nets. By some estimates, shrimp trawlers discard as much as 85 percent of their catch, making shrimp arguably the most environmentally destructive fish flesh a person can consume.
Deadly Poisons From the Deep
Fish flesh today is badly contaminated with toxic chemicals that are known to cause cancer and brain degeneration and is also the most likely of all foods to make you sick from bacterial contamination.
Think Fish Is a Health Food? Think Again.Fish live in water that is so polluted, you would never dream of drinking it. But you’re ingesting this toxic brew—bacteria, contaminants, heavy metals and all—every time you eat fish.
Researchers at the University of Illinois found that fish-eaters with high levels of PCBs in their blood have difficulty recalling information they have learned just 30 minutes earlier.6
Fish’s bodies absorb toxic chemicals in the water around them, and the chemicals become more concentrated as they move up the food chain. Big fish eat little fish, with the bigger fish (such as tuna and salmon) absorbing chemicals from all the other fish they eat. Fish flesh stores contaminants, such as PCBs, which cause liver damage, nervous system disorders, and fetal damage; dioxins, also linked to cancer; radioactive substances like strontium 90; and other dangerous contaminants like cadmium, mercury, lead, chromium, and arsenic, which can cause health problems ranging from kidney damage and impaired mental development to cancer.1,2 3,4 These toxins are stored in the body fat of humans who eat fish and remain in their bodies for decades.5
Seafood is the number one cause of food poisoning in the United States.8 Seafood poisoning can result in extreme discomfort, kidney damage, nervous system damage, and even death.9
Seafood is also the number one cause of food poisoning in the United States. Many of our waterways are polluted with human and animal feces, and this waste carries dangerous bacteria like E. coli. So when we eat fish, we are exposing ourselves to the unnecessary risk of contracting a nasty bacterial illness that can lead to mild to extreme discomfort, nervous system damage, and even death.7According to a report by the General Accounting Office, the seafood industry is dangerously underregulated. In fact, the Food and Drug Administration doesn’t even bother to test most fish flesh for many well-known chemical and bacterial health hazards.
What You Can Do to Help Fish
Go Vegetarian
By leaving fish off your plate, you’ll be doing your part to end their suffering. With so many reasons not to eat fish and so many delicious vegetarian seafood alternatives, choosing a fish-free diet is now easier than ever before! Your local Asian food mart or health-food store likely carries vegetarian mock-seafood products—including faux lobster, salmon, and shrimp—that have all the flavor of the “real thing” but none of the contaminants or cholesterol. For recipes that capture that taste of the ocean without killing its inhabitants, click here. Visit VegCooking.com for more savory meat-free recipes and shopping guides, or click here to order a free vegetarian starter kit.
Swear Off Lip-Ripping
There are tons of great ways to enjoy the great outdoors without causing animal suffering and habitat pollution. Grab a mask and a snorkel and start exploring the fascinating world below the water’s surface. Go for a relaxing walk along the water’s edge, or volunteer to help clean up the litter and cast-off fishing gear that clutters so many of our shorelines. Take up kayaking or canoeing, or brush up on your backstroke. Once you close your tackle box and open your mind, you’ll be able to enjoy the beauty of our lakes, rivers, and oceans without contributing to animal suffering or environmental destruction. When you put down your fishing pole and pick up a fish-friendly hobby, everyone wins!
Go Public
Leave a stream of leaflets and stickers in your wake! Changing personal habits is a great way to save fish and other animals—and you can help get the public hooked on compassion by hitting the streets and spreading the word. Click here for free fliers and stickers to help you get the message out—doctors’ offices, coffee shops, and other busy locations are prime spots for pro-fish PETA leaflets!Click here for more ideas for activists.
