LOGO: Truthdig: Drilling Beneath the Headlines. A Progressive Journal of News and Opinion. Editor, Robert Scheer. Publisher, Zuade Kaufman.
2010 Webby Award Winner for Best Political Blog
 
May 26, 2012
Log in / Register

 Choose a size
Text Size

Trending:     gay marriage     barack obama     chris hedges     ndaa     robert scheer
Most Read

TED: 'A Money-Soaked Orgy of Self-Congratulatory Futurism'

Russia and Exxon Mobil Sign Arctic Oil Deal

Truthdiggers of the Week: 400,000 Canadians Launching the ‘Maple Spring’

I Can't Hear Myself Think

A Rare Admission That Money Trumps Everything Else

Most Comments
Most Emailed

Reports
Why Bain Questions Matter
OSHA Struggles When Tower Climbers Die

Ear to the Ground

A/V Booth

Arts & Culture
Better Than We Found It
The Good-Natured Dictator

Digs
Financial Meltdown 101

Truthdig Bazaar
Africa’s World War

Africa’s World War

By Gerard Prunier
$18.45

more items

 
Ear to the Ground

World Scientists Want to Ban Deep-Sea Fishing

Email this item Email    Print this item Print   

Posted on Sep 8, 2011
Flickr / LWY (CC-BY)

The Patagonian toothfish, more widely known as Chilean sea bass, has gained popularity in recent years but is one of the species that is being depleted by deep sea fishing.

In a report released this week, marine scientists from around the world said industrial deep-sea fishing should be banned because it takes much longer for those fish to repopulate than species that live closer to shore.

The report said that the unregulated deep seas are “more akin to a watery desert,” where people have concurrently depleted fish populations and destroyed deep-sea corals with invasive equipment.

The fishing industry moved to the high seas after supplies nearer to shore were deemed overfished. Unfortunately for the slow-growing deep-sea fish populations, the move spawned the sudden popularity of certain species—particularly orange roughy and the Patagonian toothfish, more widely known as Chilean sea bass—that is likely to keep up demand for the floundering fish species. —BF

The Washington Post:

Elliott Norse, president of the Marine Conservation Institute and the paper’s lead author, said the world has turned to deep-sea fishing “out of desperation” without realizing fish stocks there take much longer to recover.

“We’re now fishing in the worst places to fish,” Norse said in an interview. “These things don’t come back.”

As vessels use Global Positioning System devices and trawlers, which scrape massive metal plates across the sea bottom, the catch of deep-water species has increased sevenfold between 1960 and 2004, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.

“What they’re doing out there is more like mining than fishing,” said Kevin Hassett, director of economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute.

Read more

More Below the Ad

Advertisement


New and Improved Comments

We are launching a major overhaul of our comments section.

In addition to more robust spam filtering and moderation, new features include the ability to rate other comments, sort how they are displayed and respond directly via e-mail or in a thread.

Unfortunately, commenters will lose their existing Truthdig identities. It's a pain, we know, but on the plus side you will now be able to log in with a plethora of options, including Google, Twitter, Facebook and Disqus accounts.

Before launching this system we spent months in discussion with our top commenters. We listened to the feedback and we hope you like what we've come up with.

Please direct any problems or concerns to us via our contact page.

By SarcastiCanuck, September 9, 2011 at 9:59 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Don’t these scientists get it.As long as there is a profit in it,man will kill it…

Report this
PatrickHenry's avatar

By PatrickHenry, September 8, 2011 at 4:54 pm Link to this comment

With all the radioactive materials we’ve been dumping in the seas for the past 60 years these Seabass probably glow.

Report this

By hulk2008, September 8, 2011 at 3:38 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

If only we could teach plants to wiggle attractively maybe the Japanese would make sushi out of them instead of marine life.  How about making Soy Fin Soup a delicacy instead of wiping out millions of sharks. 

If we redirect the corn crop back toward food crops instead of fuel, maybe the fish could recover a bit. The US corn crop would also help the economy again.

Report this

By grokker, September 8, 2011 at 2:43 pm Link to this comment

Not that I’m in agreement with it, Miss Cast, but they are making things just like what is depicted in the accompanying picture in laboratories as we speak. Food for the Brave New World.

Report this

By Miss Cast, September 8, 2011 at 2:22 pm Link to this comment

I’m on board but why did you have to use such a delicious-looking picture! grin

Report this

By berniem, September 8, 2011 at 12:08 pm Link to this comment

Deep sea fishing would not be an issue if not for uncontrolled human population growth! Whadda ya think Benny 16?

Report this
Newsletter

Get Truthdig in your inbox


 
 
 
Join the Liberal Blog Advertising Network
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A Progressive Journal of News and Opinion. Editor, Robert Scheer. Publisher, Zuade Kaufman.
Copyright © 2012 Truthdig, L.L.C. All rights reserved.