I’m not the biggest fan of Alex Riley’s BBC TV series, Britain’s Really Disgusting Food. However, tonight I managed to get settled on the sofa just as his latest program was starting and the only thing that caught my attention was that it was all about fish, so obviously I was hooked! The programs aim was not to highlight the disgusting nature of fish that we eat, but actually to emphasize the ethically repugnant fisheries trade. So, as an ardent fish fan this was right up my street!
The satirical nature of the presenter perfectly focused the viewer’s attention to the failings of politicians, fisherman, restaurants, consumers and to the plight of the critically endangered blue fin tuna. These fish are so endangered that according to experts could be extinct within a couple of years! Ultimately we have two choices, ensure sustainable fishing policies and give fish stocks a break or start getting used to the taste of jellyfish, which may be our only aquatic food source when all other stocks are depleted.
Here’s the link to the BBC iplayer website where you’ll soon be able to watch the program for yourself: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer
Please take a little time to watch this program, especially if you are a seafood lover, maybe you could help to make a small difference by changing one of your fish eating habits.
From www.seashepherd.org
ReplyDeleteSea Shepherd Announces Mediterranean Campaign for the Bluefin Tuna
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society will not be getting much rest after the Japanese whaling season ends following Operation Waltzing Matilda.
Both Sea Shepherd ships, the Steve Irwin and the Bob Barker, will head for the Mediterranean from the Southern Ocean. The objective will be to intercept and oppose the illegal operations of Bluefin tuna poachers.
“We need to bring to the attention of the international public that one of the most unique fish species in the world, the Bluefin tuna, is on the brink of extinction due to the illegal fisheries driven by Japan’s insatiable demand for this expensive fish,” says Sea Shepherd Founder and President Captain Paul Watson.
Two weeks ago a single Bluefin tuna sold to Japan for £111,000.
With this high a price on its head, the days of this species surviving are numbered. As the fish becomes more rare, the prices paid for it will become higher. This is the economics and politics of extinction.
The Mediterranean tuna industry, which is supported by tens of millions of Euros in subsidies, has driven the Bluefin to the brink of extinction. Populations are within three years of total collapse.
Yet corruption, and the rising market value of the Bluefin is preventing any real conservation efforts.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meets in March to debate banning trade in the Bluefin. Yet in the lead up to the meeting, the European Union has taken the Bluefin off the agenda so as not to offend the fishermen of France, Malta, Italy, and Greece.
President Nicolas Sarkozy has tried to ban Bluefin tuna fishing but has had his arm twisted by his own fishermen. He is now trying to ban the export of Bluefin to Japan, and this will help greatly, but French fishermen have threatened to blockade ports if they don’t get what they want.
This is a crucial year in the battle to save the Bluefin tuna.
Sea Shepherd intends to confront the poachers and will not back down to threats and violence from the fishermen. Our campaigns in the Southern Ocean against Japanese whalers for the last six years has given us the experience and the resolve to tackle the violence of poachers anywhere in the world.
“We may lose a ship, but the loss of a ship is preferable to the loss of the Bluefin as a species,” said Captain Paul Watson. “Ships are expendable, species are not.”