Friday, November 03, 2006

catch and release

if you love seafood then you may want to get out to your local red lobster or legal seafood restaurant while you still can. the next generation may not have the luxury. recent studies (another source) have determined that fishery stocks have depleted by one-third on a global level and if current trends continue the sea fish market will drop out by 2048. experts chalk up this near inevitable destruction of marine biodiversity to direct individual acts: the pollution of the seas and over-fishing. the technological advancement of the fishing industry, in recent years, has increased the success and ease of the trade and thus increased the tendency of over-fishing. both pollution and over-fishing are problems contributing to a possibly permanent change in the ecosystem - something no one should be willing to settle for. as a species we would definitely feel the effects of such a change and it is ultimately up to us to reverse the process. it starts with a conscious effort to cut down on pollutants across the globe. of the 48 areas in the world set up to protect marine biodiversity, all have shown an improvement as a direct result of a growth in the protection against pollution. over-fishing is, unfortunately, a problem that will require more of a political powered regulation. hopefully that will come with time. this is a call to stay conscious about our ecosystem and make every attempt to take care of it. if we don't, we may leave behind a world with far less than just a lack of sushi, shark+bake, and lobsterfest.

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