Thank you, Rob. Good to hear from you. And I'm always happy to fit in some Lopez where I can. Such brilliance and empathy (which in a better world would be synonyms).
Yes, that's what strikes me about Lopez. He could embrace the full tragedy of what we are doing to the earth while maintaining deep empathy for all people. Amazing person.
Jason, I can't even imagine the hours of brain and heart power you put into this article. Truly one of your best. Thank you for your work.
I spoke to my grocer after I read your article from last week. He said: As consumers, we need to be aware that the lowest price fish has usually been sourced from plastic-laden waters. He encourages us to ask our supplier where the fish comes from as well as the fishing method.
I will be referring to this article for many years.🌱
Thank you, Katharine. A lot of work, yes, but I hadn't thought it would stand out. I'm happy to hear that it did.
That's an interesting comment from your grocer. I don't know how they're discerning between plastic-laden and other waters, given how ubiquitous the plastics are. Maybe coastal waters near the mouth of rivers that are plastic-laden? I'm intrigued.
As the article indicates, I'm of two minds re: bottom trawling now. Doing the research was definitely a bit of a learning journey for me. In a well-managed, restrictive, certified fishery, it seems like a reasonable way to provide protein in this altered world. I didn't delve into the certification process, so I don't know how good/reliable that is. But it is far more indiscriminate that I would like.
I will attempt to follow up with my grocer. He's a chef, trained to consider sourcing. I don't know if he will speak on the record. The comments he made about low priced seafood were directed at locations where plastic accumulations were obvious and still, big industry extracted fish containing toxins.
I continue to research Sylvia Earle's work. Her trips to the ocean floor reveal the extent of human inflicted damage. As far as I can gather from Ayana Elizabeth Johnson's work, she, too, is not in favor of eating fish, although that NYT article did not do justice to her reasoning.
I can't yet wrap my brain around how to source food fairly to feed the human population. My bigger concern at the moment, is what we are doing to carbon storage in the ocean. More ongoing research...with a likely return to plankton!
I will stay in touch. k🌱
PS I agree with Rob...thanks for highlighting Barry Lopez.
My bigger concern is what we are doing to the ocean and her wildlife as we fish. The disruption to carbon storage on the ocean floor as well as the vibrational disruption to migration patterns are among many issues. For a short spell I worked in a marina. I'm not even sure how to begin to write about what I witnessed. Our relationship to water needs so much attention.
Yes, the litany of our harms to the ocean is a long one. I dug into ocean noise a while back and was shocked at the extent of that problem. And that's on top of the usual suspects. There simply is no easy way out of the mess when you look at the resources we need and the consequences of taking them. But we can do much better. Thank you, Katharine, for your kindness here and for the work you're doing as well.
I’m sticking with you. And I’m sticking with Rights of Nature. On the latter, every inch I gain in this red state of North Carolina is an inch of educating people who just don’t know what to do.
Side note…Wild Mind, Wild Earth: Our Place In the Sixth Extinction by David Hinton is quite excellent. (I know. I know. That book stack.)
Great essay Jason! Summarizes the pros and cons very nicely. I'm for putting a stop to all bottom trawling, but I'm not in favor of mass starvation either, so I guess we just have to optimize a bad situation...
Thank you, Michael. Researching and writing this was a journey for me, certainly, and have ended up exactly as you describe it here, looking to optimize a bad situation. As with so much else, we know what to do (more or less) to make trawling a rational process, but need to find the will to do it.
China already bans bottom trawling in its own EEZ (home waters) because, I assume, they can't take any more. But by virtue of the scale of need and the range of other fishing methods, I assume those waters are still getting hammered. Though I should say that I don't know anything about how well China manages its fisheries. Maybe they're good managers at home and pirates abroad?
I don't know offhand who's doing the Baltic trawling, but I'm sure it's the local nations rather than anyone else.
Thanks for emphasizing restraint. And for highlighting Barry Lopez!
Thank you, Rob. Good to hear from you. And I'm always happy to fit in some Lopez where I can. Such brilliance and empathy (which in a better world would be synonyms).
Yes, that's what strikes me about Lopez. He could embrace the full tragedy of what we are doing to the earth while maintaining deep empathy for all people. Amazing person.
Jason, I can't even imagine the hours of brain and heart power you put into this article. Truly one of your best. Thank you for your work.
I spoke to my grocer after I read your article from last week. He said: As consumers, we need to be aware that the lowest price fish has usually been sourced from plastic-laden waters. He encourages us to ask our supplier where the fish comes from as well as the fishing method.
I will be referring to this article for many years.🌱
Thank you, Katharine. A lot of work, yes, but I hadn't thought it would stand out. I'm happy to hear that it did.
That's an interesting comment from your grocer. I don't know how they're discerning between plastic-laden and other waters, given how ubiquitous the plastics are. Maybe coastal waters near the mouth of rivers that are plastic-laden? I'm intrigued.
As the article indicates, I'm of two minds re: bottom trawling now. Doing the research was definitely a bit of a learning journey for me. In a well-managed, restrictive, certified fishery, it seems like a reasonable way to provide protein in this altered world. I didn't delve into the certification process, so I don't know how good/reliable that is. But it is far more indiscriminate that I would like.
Thanks, always, for your reply.
I will attempt to follow up with my grocer. He's a chef, trained to consider sourcing. I don't know if he will speak on the record. The comments he made about low priced seafood were directed at locations where plastic accumulations were obvious and still, big industry extracted fish containing toxins.
I continue to research Sylvia Earle's work. Her trips to the ocean floor reveal the extent of human inflicted damage. As far as I can gather from Ayana Elizabeth Johnson's work, she, too, is not in favor of eating fish, although that NYT article did not do justice to her reasoning.
I can't yet wrap my brain around how to source food fairly to feed the human population. My bigger concern at the moment, is what we are doing to carbon storage in the ocean. More ongoing research...with a likely return to plankton!
I will stay in touch. k🌱
PS I agree with Rob...thanks for highlighting Barry Lopez.
Thank you for your work.
Jason, I should have said:
My bigger concern is what we are doing to the ocean and her wildlife as we fish. The disruption to carbon storage on the ocean floor as well as the vibrational disruption to migration patterns are among many issues. For a short spell I worked in a marina. I'm not even sure how to begin to write about what I witnessed. Our relationship to water needs so much attention.
Thank you, again and again, for your work.
Yes, the litany of our harms to the ocean is a long one. I dug into ocean noise a while back and was shocked at the extent of that problem. And that's on top of the usual suspects. There simply is no easy way out of the mess when you look at the resources we need and the consequences of taking them. But we can do much better. Thank you, Katharine, for your kindness here and for the work you're doing as well.
I’m sticking with you. And I’m sticking with Rights of Nature. On the latter, every inch I gain in this red state of North Carolina is an inch of educating people who just don’t know what to do.
Side note…Wild Mind, Wild Earth: Our Place In the Sixth Extinction by David Hinton is quite excellent. (I know. I know. That book stack.)
Great essay Jason! Summarizes the pros and cons very nicely. I'm for putting a stop to all bottom trawling, but I'm not in favor of mass starvation either, so I guess we just have to optimize a bad situation...
Thank you, Michael. Researching and writing this was a journey for me, certainly, and have ended up exactly as you describe it here, looking to optimize a bad situation. As with so much else, we know what to do (more or less) to make trawling a rational process, but need to find the will to do it.
If only we could get China onboard. What nation's are involved in that heavy Baltic trawling?
China already bans bottom trawling in its own EEZ (home waters) because, I assume, they can't take any more. But by virtue of the scale of need and the range of other fishing methods, I assume those waters are still getting hammered. Though I should say that I don't know anything about how well China manages its fisheries. Maybe they're good managers at home and pirates abroad?
I don't know offhand who's doing the Baltic trawling, but I'm sure it's the local nations rather than anyone else.