But I've always had a bit of a thing for the ocean, and of course the amazing creatures living in it. As a kid I stopped eating fish for a few years when I found out that dolphins were being killed by trawlers etc. I eventually started eating fish again (not sure why - I aren't really a massive seafood fan).
But I just watched a really eye-opening documentary on Channel 4 - End of the Line. It was about over-fishing and how we're basically going to run out of main fish we eat before the end of the century.
Now when programmes about battery farming of chickens came on TV there was uproar. In fact in general we're getting better about being aware of where our land-based meat comes from. Laws are in place to make sure livestock is killed humanely and treated well while it's still alive. It's not perfect of course but nothing is. At the end of the day when say a pig is slaughtered its done pretty quickly. And that is life - the food chain and I believe in it strongly, although standards need to get better in some areas. But no-one bats an eyelid as thousands of anchovies are dragged straight out of the sea, gasping for water then processed in a giant mincer whilst still alive. Hell, I even know vegetarians that eat fish! Since when we the fish we eat not alive? We treat them as some sort of endless crop, and basically the ocean is getting messed up.
Countries in Africa, where the trade of the people is too fish, both to sell and eat on a small scale where there is no more disruption than a shark eating its fill of other fish, are having their fish stocks completely removed because of massive corporate super-trawlers. Massive nets which catch everything, not just the fish they want but sharks, dolphins, even whales - all of which not only die but get thrown back in to rot. It's insane. The programme showed that lots of fancy restaurants here in the UK serve endangered fish, would they serve an endangered land species? No because apparently fish isn't meat. It's not a vegetable is it!
The trawler boats on the coast of Senegal on the documentary were enormous - image a cruise ship with nets! The people there could barely fish enough to feed themselves and the government allows the ships there for some sneaky money.
Now I honestly don't eat that much seafood, but I admit to enjoying a nice cod from the chippy or a fish finger sandwich now and then. But now I quit. Even my goldfish have to quit! Turns out their food is made from mushed up live anchovies (incidentally wild anchovies are caught and processed to feed farmed fish - rendering fish farms utterly pointless!), will have to find some friendlier fish food for them- I'm pretty sure a 3 inch goldfish isn't going to eat an anchovy in the wild! I'm not saying everyone should stop eating fish - it's part of our natural diet - but we need to consume less of it if that makes sense?
Meanwhile can someone send me a trip to a coral reef - there was a guy in the Bahamas on the programme who spear-fishes and they showed him swimming past the reef in order to get to his fishing spot. At least he catches his fish fair and square.
Sorry for the environmental rant - but sometimes I think things have to be got off the chest and I haven't had much chance to do any illustration work, I'm not normally a tree hugger but this really grinds my gears as they say!
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