Thursday, May 7, 2009

The ones that got away just aren't there any more

Back in February I posted this article:

Trophy fish now would have been bait-size decades ago

So now there's this:
Fished Out: Caribbean Sea's Big Fish Nearly Gone

"With far more detail at a greater geographic scale than any other research to date, Stallings examined 20 species of predators, including sharks, groupers, snappers, jacks, trumpetfish and
barracuda, from 22 Caribbean nations.

"I found that nations with more people have reefs with far fewer large fish because as the number of people increases, so does demand for seafood," said Stallings."

Which of course is not surprising at all.

HERE's where it gets interesting, though:

"Given that about half the world's populations live near coastlines and that the world population is growing, demands for ocean-derived protein will continue to increase, Stallings warned. He said meeting such demands while retaining healthy coral reefs may require multiple
strategies, including implementation of marine reserves, finding alternative sources of protein [Eat Mor Chikn], and increased efforts to implement family-planning strategies in densely populated areas."

I.e., less people. I.e., closer to ZPG, NPG, and steady-state rather than growth economies. I.e., global strategies for the maintenance and sustainment of global resources. I.e., global government. The drumbeat is getting louder.

I.e., lets quit calling the following activity romantic and exciting and recreational, and call it what it actually is:

Wasteful. If you want to kill something, go hunt whitetail deer.

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