Sorry to be Absent!

Hi everyone,
I'm sorry that I've been away from blogging for so long! My only excuse is that life took over and overwhelmed me for awhile... Grad school apps, GRE studying, moving, getting settled and organized, and a new job. I'm having a blast...working for the Missouri Department of Conservation doing fisheries management assistance...but it keeps me pretty darn tired.

My good news is that I'll be moving to North Carolina in August to start a MS in Biology at East Carolina University! I'll be doing elasmobranch research... I'm so excited to start my new adventure and move to NC!

I'll be back at it very soon, I promise!

Seafood Survey

Please join me in helping Cathy Preston, who is a graduate student doing her master's project on sustainable seafood, by taking her short survey here on your seafood choices.

I've already taken it, and it's a very straightforward survey. Cathy asked me to help spread the word and pass on this invitation to all of you. Please take the survey, add to Cathy's data set for her master's, and contribute to better seafood management and improved sustainability practices!

Love

"In the end, we conserve what we love. We love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught." --Baba Dioum, Senegalese poet.

Wordless Wednesday

Seafood Choices

A lot has been written and talked about consumer choice and activism, but we shouldn't underestimate its impact. When it comes to the health of our oceans, consumer activism can have an enormous impact.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." -Margaret Mead

Most of our seafood is not farmed. Unless the label specifically states that the seafood was farmed, you can assume it was wild-caught. There are pros and cons to both wild and farmed seafood. I think the jury is still out on the sustainability of farmed seafood. Now, wild-caught might sound good, and the oceans might seem like an unending supply of food. But they are not. There are billions of us humans. Seafood is the only source of food that is wild and harvested in the wild. Imagine how many "wild" cows it would take to supply one McDonald's alone...never mind all the other fast-food joints around the world. And there are a LOT of unsustainable harvesting/fishing practices occurring as we speak. But that's a post for another day!

There are some fisheries that are better choices than others, and that's where consumer activism comes in. When using the term fisheries, I am referring to one particular species of seafood (fish, shellfish, other invertebrates) that is fished/harvested in a general geographic area. Some fisheries are in better "health" than others. The fishery is managed better, the population is larger, there are limits on how many organisms can be taken at one time, and the ocean waters are in good condition in that area.

Sometimes fisheries have to close because of water pollution that affects the organisms in that area. Some fish species you shouldn't eat because the level of mercury that is in the fish's tissue (bioaccumulation) is so high that it can gradually poison us. And in some cases, some species of fish are so vital to the marine ecosystem, and/or the population numbers are so low, that they shouldn't be harvested at all. In my opinion, sharks are a good example of species who are too important to the ocean's health to be removed!

If we make responsible decisions about the seafood we buy, then there is less economic benefit for companies to continue to fish in unsafe ways (unsustainable). There are a couple of good sources for this information:

Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch publishes very handy seafood pocket guides each season specific to your region. They even have a Sushi guide now!
SeaWeb is an ocean conservation organization. They have a number of on-going conservation and policy projects, including KidSafe Seafood. KidSafe Seafood suggests the best choices at the grocery store, specific to childrens' nutritional needs. (At a recent science conference, I picked up a magnet for my sister-in-law.)

Happy Shopping!

Shark Products Boycott

The San Francisco Chinatown shark finning protest is being held today. I haven't heard news from the protesters, but we can help in making our cities Shark Safe. There are a number of things we can do to help increase awareness about shark finning and boycott the consumption of shark products.

From the Shark Safe Project:

What you can do to help

• Refuse to buy any shark products.
• Refuse to patronize any restaurant that serves shark.
• Whenever you see shark fin soup or other shark products on the menus of restaurants or fish stores, complain politely to the proprietor before leaving.
• When spending your vacation near the ocean, avoid going on fishing excursions aimed at also catching sharks.
• Call up your TV station and complain every time sensationalize a shark related incident.
• If you read articles or see TV transmissions which portray sharks as being bloodthirsty monsters, write to the authors or those responsible. Explain that such sensation reports are extremely damaging to the worldwide shark populations.

Anti-Finning Protest

Tomorrow is the anti-finning protest in San Francisco's Chinatown! If you happen to read this and you're in the Bay area, please join them. I plan on monitoring the Shark Safe project blogsite for details throughout the day. I will relay them to you.

See my previous post for information about the protest as well as previous posts for information about the destructiveness of shark finning.

The Chinatown protests tomorrow are taking a different form than the standard marching and chanting that is so common, especially in San Francisco. They're dividing in small groups, thereby spreading throughout the whole area, and targeting restaurants that serve shark fin soup. Shark Safe project is trying to educate and inform restauranteurs and patrons of the health risks of consuming shark products (high mercury levels) as well as the dangers to our oceans. Please see their latest blog for more information. It's an excellent approach, and I'm excited to hear how it goes tomorrow!