save the fishes

that our current president is about to preserve and protect almost 200,000 square miles of ocean. Here are some beautiful photos. Check out the fabulous giant clams!

is eating as a guest at someone else’s home.

I had salmon tonight for dinner, and I’m assuming it was farmed salmon. I was a guest, and we had already had the “no pork, no shellfish” conversation.

I’ve got some pretty strong conditioning from childhood about eating what’s put in front of me when I’m in someone’s home. I need to think about what I want to do about the fish issues.

I can imagine a lot of choices: I could do what I did tonight, which was eat the fish, enjoy it, and let it go. I could look for ways to do education about the issue before it comes up.

I just need to think this through.

a Greenpeace report on the role of supermarkets in draining the world’s fisheries. Very depressing, esp. since Trader Joe’s, one of my standbys, rates really, really low. (Warning: it’s a 75 p. PDF but it’s easy to read and very informative.)

Fish is good for you. We need fish. We need to harvest fish from the oceans so that it doesn’t wipe out their populations, and hurt other species as well. We need to find aquaculture solutions that don’t harm the environment and spread diseases to native fish. We need to make sure that fishermen are not destroying their own livelihoods and those of their children, abetted by a largely self-regulating industry and (as we see today) by supermarkets.

We need to learn about the issues and give a damn. You can start by downloading this guide from the Monterey Bay Aquarium and carrying it with you, so you know what the good choices are when shopping or eating out.

OK, who’s with me on this one?