Bob
Preservation would mean that you couldn't spearfish or set any pots.
You really want that?
I don't think its as simple as saying that if you own it you can do what you want.
If a farmer spreads toxic chemicals and they leach into waterways we all suffer.
Every action has consequences, and saying that commercial fishing is wrong is just too simplistic.
Preservation means to protect from danger. In fact in a natural world there will always be a food chain and alpha predators (sharks, whales, seals) who kill for personal consumption not to stockpile and profit from.
Humans have also always killed for personal consumption and for their local societies (village etc) consumption.
I think its fair to kill fish for personal consumption. I will continue to do this as long as I can.
If my activities as a spearo means I am endangering a species, then yes I would advocate stopping spearing. However, I don't think it does.
If it ever came to it tho I would definitely rather free-dive in a natural environment than spear in a wasteland and I would freely stop spearing.
I think we should buy and eat local produce and your diet should be based on where you live and what is local rather than what we like.
If you live on an island... your diet should be mostly fish, if you live in a dessert fish should be a rare luxury if even. BUt even if you are in a dessert and want to eat fish (as I have in Qatar and Saudi Arabia) I would still seek sustainable fish. As a rule of thumb I try not to purchase any wild animals for consumption... that means no in tescos and no in restaurants unless they can tell me where it came from and how it was caught.
Haun I have no problem with clever commercial fishermen who use clever, novel, safe and sustainable methods to catch enough to make a living (
Line Caught bass, pollack and mackerel - South West Handline Fishermen?s Association). But if they can't make a living they should stop.
It is not the politicians who are decimating the oceans.... it is the fishermen, they are the ones throwing back the discard... whether they are happy to do it or not is not the point.
My friend is a marine biologist and he is now in the process of finding trawlers in Ireland to travel on to determine how many seals are killed on average in the nets. He has an uphill struggle as this is not logged and the fishermen only want to chuck the dead seal over the side and say nothing. Ireland is a seal sanctuary along with other species and seal's are protected in Irish waters. Accidental bycatch of seals happens and is not illegal but if the Irish public knew the extent there may well be a backlash so very little is know about the figures....
Is it acceptable to allow 'efficient' trawling that affects seals?
TBH, I'm not sure the use of any net is legitimate.
If net fishing was eliminated, people would consume less fish and fish would be more desirable. There would be more of a market for line caught fish and therefore more jobs. Win win right? People would travel to seaside locations and eat fish (like what was done historically - paella anyone?).
And we would have no waste and beautiful waters to dive and spear in.
Abusingelves, I do not have a problem with technology or fish. Nets do not catch anything on their own and fish will reproduce as much as naturally controlled by predators in an environmental balance.
Humans however have no respect for this balance and destroy it, and then moan that they are being forced to do it.... well there are no politicians on the docks forcing them.......
Its all related. When herring is overfished, cod suffers. Then fish cod and cod stocks are further damaged. With no cod the prawn flourish so all the boats changed to prawn fishing. Prawn fishing diminishes and what are we left with?? Detritus? Will we become filter feeders?
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