Published in The News Eagle (Wayne/Pike Counties, PA)
After reading at least two letters in this paper extolling the values taught to children by taking them fishing, and claiming that catch-and-release doesn't harm fish, I thought I would tackle the issue and help sink some of the myths.
As a vegetarian, I often hear, "But you eat fish, don't you? What's wrong with eating fish?" "No," I respond, "I don't eat ANY meat." I, too, once didn't give much thought to eating fish and continued to eat it for a short while after I stopped eating all other meat. It wasn't until I heard speakers at an animal rights convention that I realized what I was contributing to. One statement hooked me into giving up eating fish--fishing is just hunting in the water.
Common sense as well as scientific evidence tells us that fish experience pain, too. They also experience fear and suffer from stress. Ask anyone who cares for fish, common household pets.
Catch-and-release fishing may spare the lives of some unfortunate victims that are "played with," but many fish are doomed, often to a slow and painful death. Simply taking a fish out of water can harm it. The stress in itself can be fatal. Fish have very sensitive and fragile mouths. Careless handling resulting in broken jaws and other injuries can lead to death long after release often from infected wounds or internal injuries.
Teaching children to drag a fish out of its home environment, causing untold stress and possibly fatal harm, all in the name of harmless sport is not what some consider a positive lesson in valuing life. There are many outdoor activities to enjoy without causing pain and suffering to animals. And fish are animals.
Fish are not the only casualty of fishing. It's no big news that the effect on other wildlife can be devastating. Fishermen's discarded hooks, lines, and sinkers injure and kill countless unwitting victims whether it’s a bird who has ingested a hook or a turtle who has become hopelessly entangled in a line.
The large-scale fishing industry has become an absolute horror to wildlife, the environment, and even people's health. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 325,000 people get sick and some die every year in the U.S. from eating contaminated seafood. The ever-increasing aquaculture industry is the source for about 50% of salmon and freshwater fish. Many of the coastal fish farms have had mangrove forests cleared to make way for them, forever altering the area's ecosystem. Further environmental damage is caused by the waste from these farms. A two-acre salmon farm, for instance, produces as much waste as a town of 10,000 people. Factory-farmed fish are subjected to such intense crowding that the water they live in turns black from their excrement. They are packed so tightly together they have no room to move. To avoid the spread of infection in this murky environment, antibiotics must be used just as they are in factory farming. Likewise, growth hormones are used to make the fish fatter faster. After these poor creatures spend their short miserable lives in boredom, discomfort, and squalor, they are dumped out of a chute into a transport truck. Nearly one-third will be killed during this process alone. These casualties are then fed back to other animals, including other fish!
Then there is the massive slaughter from the ocean trawlers. Nearly 25% of marine life caught by these factory ships is tossed back as bi-catch. Much of this marine life does not survive. The shrimp industry is one of the worst offenders. It is estimated that for every pound of shrimp 20 pounds of other sea animals have died. We all know about the dolphins who die as a result of the tuna-fishing industry. But we don't hear much about the intended targets of this hunt in the water. Fish (as well as the other sea animals), trapped in huge nets, may be squeezed for hours along with other ocean debris. The pressure from being dragged from the ocean's depths often causes the fish's eyes to pop out and can push their stomachs through their mouths. Tossed aboard, many slowly suffocate to death. Others are still alive when they're slit open.
Then consider lobsters (which contain excessive amounts of protein and cholesterol and are often highly contaminated with toxins). Why does the idea of people in Korea boiling live dogs and cats shock us but not the thought of doing this to lobsters? Stick your finger in a boiling pot of water for just one second and think about how much it hurts. Is it any wonder lobsters will frantically scrape the sides of the pot trying to escape?
This summer families the world over will visit marine parks. They will admire the beautiful and graceful fish in the aquariums. But will they ask: What's wrong with eating fish?
Return to Vegetarian: For Your Health, for the
Animals, for the Planet
by Teresa D'Amico