Tanya Graham

Nats101-042H

Phase 2, Writing Exercise – Global Fishing

4/1/02

Fishing: An Innocent and Crucial Part of Life

When one thinks of fishing, what comes to mind? If you are a good-hearted, decent American you might think of vacation, a pleasant Sunday afternoon, father-son bonding, etc. However, if you attempt to research a good spot to take your son fishing, perhaps on the internet, you will be bombarded by unpleasant facts about global fishing, when other more important facts are simply ignored.

We forget that fishing is more than just recreation and nourishment for a lot of people. New England Fisherman rely on fishing to provide for their family. However, with increased regulations brought about by environmentalists who are convinced that somehow fishing could be bad, fishing is no longer plentiful enough of an industry to be a full-time job for most fisherman. Furthermore, fishing promotes family values. “‘Fishing’s always been a family thing,’ says Mrs. Novello, a gold cod pendant hanging from a chain around her neck. ‘Back when fishing was good, we were a real community – we wives helped one another while our men were out at sea’”(Coletti, 2) It is in these people’s best interest to keep fishing a vibrant industry, something that is impossible if regulations continue to increase.

Fishing helps our economy. There is an increased amount of new technology that makes fishing more fun and efficient. Items such as the Aqua-Vu Video System, which helps to promote a fish’s interest in being caught, or small global positioning systems which help to plot a fisherman’s coordinates, make fisherman keep coming back, and with newly purchased equipment. It is this new technology that keeps fishing an exciting industry while at the same time boosting our economy. Old technology, such as dragger nets, also help the economy in that it is the most efficient way to catch a mass amount of fish which can be taken to the marketplace. We must realize that having little regulations on fishing will keep the price of fish low, something that is important to all consumers.

We must also keep beach safety in mind. How many times have you been stung by a jelly fish and wished that it just was never there in the first place? The next time you AREN’T stung, be sure to thank global fishing. The use of dragger nets helps keep the amount of all poisonous ocean creatures to a minimum. Some people express great concern with the safety of coral reefs. The next time you bring your boat back to shore and it is all scratched up from the rough surface of a coral reef, be sure to look to global fishing as the solution to this inconvenience.

Perhaps the most over-looked fact concerning global fishing, is the great benefit fish itself has to us, nutritionally. It is recommended that we consume at least 3 servings of fish per week. Many cold-water fish are a good source of omega-3 acids which “may help reduce the risk and symptoms of many disorders such as heart disease, cancer, macular degeneration (age-related blindness), arthritis, and all inflammatory disorders”(Weil). There are other sources of omega-3s, but many people have trouble converting alpha-linolenic acid to the longer-chain forms that occur in fish. It is also widely accepted that having fish in fertilizer helps ensure quality compost, which will ensure the quality of other nutritionally sound items.

For those of you still concerned with ocean wildlife, please keep in mind that the real culprit of decreasing amount of ocean wildlife and the destruction of precious coral is global warming. Global fishing does its best to ensure equal utilization of all creatures in the ocean, and at a reasonable rate. It is a threat to good old fashioned American values to blame an environmental concern on something so harmless as fishing. Global fishing increases the quality and quantity of our health, economy, and leisure time.

Works Cited and Used:

Clarke, Chris. “Fished Out.” Earth Island Journal. Spring 1998: 12.

Coletti, Elisabetta. “In New England, no More Young Men and the Sea.” Christian Science Monitor. 15 Apr 1999: 1.

Harder, Ben. “Fishy Data Hid Decline in Global Catch.” Science News. 1 Dec 2001: 343.

Hayden, Thomas. “A Growing Coral Crisis.” Newsweek. 30 Oct 2000: 79.

Martin, Bernard. “The Big Picture.” New Internationalist. Jul 2000: 17.

Murphy, Kate. “Gone Fishin’—With High Tech.” Business Week. 26 Jul 1999: 122.

Weil M.D., Andrew. “How Much Fish Should we Eat and Why?”

http://www.drweil.com/drw/app/cda/drw_cda.php?command=TodayQA&pt=Question&questionId=35305