Chicken bald back

[..lay a little egg for me]

Perhaps you shouldn't...

 

I have just been made aware of the plight of the worldwide tuna stocks. Due to decades of overfishing, the western north Atlantic population (stock) of bluefin tuna has been driven to just 3% of its 1960 or pre-longlining abundance - a decline of 97%. Similar declines have been seen in populations of other tuna species around the world. Longlining is the 'dolphin-friendly' method of tuna catching that is mostly used these days. As well as decimating the tuna stocks, longlining also catches many other species of fish which are generally thrown back dead even though they could be used for food. They also catch and kill seabirds and turtles. Purse seine netting also results in deaths of hundreds of tons of "unwanted" fish. The only tuna fishing method that does not result in this terrible "bycatch" is pole and line fishing.

 

I have decided not to feed tuna to my chooks or cats and only to eat it ourselves very very rarely.

 

Sadly, it seems that eating any fish at all might endanger the world's fish stocks: apparently many of the smaller fish species caught on commercial fishing boats are processed into pellets for factory-farmed fish. It takes around five tons of wild-caught fish to grow one ton of farmed fish.

 

I was shocked and saddened to discover this, particularly as the Gov't is always telling us to eat more fish for our health (but not apparently for the environment's health).

[Egluntyne]

Thanks for that.

 

I only buy the rod and line caught sort as I am aware that the netting is a danger to dolphins and other air breathing creatures. Costs a fortune.

 

The family aren't that fussed about tuna, I only give it to the hens....occasionally. Might have to rethink that one.

[moochoo]

I give my girls sardines and pilchards, rinsed. They're cheap and the girls love them. I also thought they're full of omega 3 too so that'll help them through the moulting and keep a bit of weight on them.

[Mutrix Farmers]

My girls love tuna, cod, salmon, haddock - haven't tried prawns but I don't see why they wouldn't eat them!! Will be giving them fish when they moult!

[piptiddlepip]

The problem is that humans beings are like yeast and we just breed and breed until there will be nothing left of anything to feed all the humans on this planet! The only reason the planet can support so many of us is because of oil.

 

I don't think that, in the long term, eating less tuna is going to help a great deal. Unfortunately the only thing that will bring on a long term cure is Mother Nature's cruel remedies.

[..lay a little egg for me]

The problem is that humans beings are like yeast and we just breed and breed until there will be nothing left of anything to feed all the humans on this planet! The only reason the planet can support so many of us is because of oil.

 

I don't think that, in the long term, eating less tuna is going to help a great deal. Unfortunately the only thing that will bring on a long term cure is Mother Nature's cruel remedies.

 

 

I think you are right about the overpopulation problem. However, although eating less tuna/using less electricity/using less oil/eating less meat etc etc does not help a great deal, if we all did a bit then it might help just a bit...

[piptiddlepip]

That's why I said "in the long term". Personally I loathe waste and that's partly why I got the chooks - they would provide us with eggs and fertiliser for the vegetable patch, and would also dispose of any extra veggie peelings we had going while hopefully hoovering up the slugs and snails in the garden and keep the little devils away from my seedlings. We all need to live in as self-sustaining a way as possible (and if anyone is interested, here is a fabulous website; http://www.selfsufficientish.com).

 

My main point was that it's going to take a lot more than not eating tuna to save the earth, but it's as good a place to start as any!