{"id":181923,"date":"2016-09-02T15:25:52","date_gmt":"2016-09-02T14:25:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/veganuary.com\/problems-fishing-fish-farming\/"},"modified":"2023-06-27T15:55:58","modified_gmt":"2023-06-27T14:55:58","slug":"problems-fishing-fish-farming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/veganuary.com\/en-za\/problems-fishing-fish-farming\/","title":{"rendered":"The Problems With Fishing And Fish Farming"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Fish are inextricably tied to the water and literally suffocate in air. Here’s why eating fish instead of meat isn’t the kinder option.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Fish
Image Credit: AdobeStock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Is fish farming cruel? Do fish even feel pain? These harmful myths about fish persist despite plenty of evidence proving their intelligence and capacity to suffer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018We wouldn\u2019t accept killing chickens by throwing them into a tank of water and waiting for them to drown, so why don\u2019t we object to fish suffocating on trawler decks?\u2019 <\/em>says Victoria Braithwaite, Professor of Fisheries and Biology at Penn State University and author of Do Fish Feel Pain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How are fish caught in the wild? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Netting can capture tens of thousands of fish at one time, with animals becoming exhausted as they desperately try to outswim the net. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the nets are pulled to the surface, those at the bottom are crushed by the weight of fish above them. The rapid change in pressure causes their swim bladders to overinflate, and their stomachs and intestines to be pushed out through their mouths and anuses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their eyes distort, bulge and can also be pushed out of their sockets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The animals are then dropped onto the ship\u2019s deck where those who are still alive will suffocate \u2013 a process that can take several minutes. Others, like tuna, are hoisted from the water with a hook, and killed by forcing a spike through their brains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite an ever-increasing number of studies that show aquatic species can feel pain, there are no still welfare laws governing the slaughter of fish at sea.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Dead
Photo courtesy of Alex Prolmos<\/a>, re-used under a Creative Commons licence<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n


Overfishing causes habitat destruction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Industrial fishing is wreaking havoc upon our oceans<\/a>. Three-quarters of fish stocks are overexploited in the European Union.[2]<\/a><\/sup> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The number of cod, plaice and sole have declined by 32 per cent in EU fisheries since 1993. Around 63 per cent of the assessed \u2018stocks\u2019 in the Atlantic, 82 per cent in the Mediterranean and 66 per cent in the Baltic are overfished.[3]<\/a><\/sup> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuna, cod, swordfish and marlin populations have declined by 90 per cent during the last century, while the North Sea mackerel population, which collapsed in the 1970s, has never recovered.[4]<\/a><\/sup> This is just the tip of a devastating iceberg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Habitats are decimated by the industrial fleet of fishing ships. Bottom trawling strip mines the ocean floor, destroying deep-sea coral forests and other delicate ecosystems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many scientists believe that the impact of fishing on bottom-dwelling animals is 100,000 times greater than seabed oil or gas extraction[5]<\/a><\/sup> and yet environmentalists all too often continue to eat fish, thereby contributing to this devastation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With one in three fish caught in the wild being used for non-human consumption,[6]<\/a><\/sup> including the fishmeal that is added to farmed animal feeds, eating meat also contributes to the damage done to the oceans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch this powerful video about the effects of overfishing on our oceans and marine life:<\/p>\n\n\n

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