Welcome to EcoLife! This blog, which is hosted by Portland State University students, aims to motivate, inform, and inspire change. We want you to learn about the complicated issues surrounding homelessness, while going beyond the tip of the iceberg. We hope to establish a connection with you through our posts regarding the lives and experiences of homeless individuals, expressed in these numerous stories and articles. We hope you enjoy our blog!
Friday, March 19, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Ban Rejected by UN
By Jennifer Winward
The fight for saving the bluefin tuna has just suffered a major setback. Today the U.N. voted against a ban on the export of bluefin tuna in a U.N. wildlife meeting. The main reason that many countries failed to support the ban was the effect it would have on the fishing economies. At this meeting only the United States, Kenya, and Norway were in full support of the ban. Although the ban failed, some countries agreed that rebuilding the bluefin population was important. Japan even said that they would be willing to reduce their fishing quotas.
The problem is that we need to come up with a solution that can benefit everyone. People need to make a living and some of those people rely on fishing to support their families. More legislation needs to be put in place to regulate fishing and reward those who practice fair and responsible fishing methods. There are many Americans who love eating sushi and other seafood dishes, so we might not be able to ban the export of bluefin tuna altogether, but we can slowly make small changes that add up to a big difference. And one small thing that you can do is become educated on what you are eating. Check out the Seafood Guide, found at http://na.oceana.org/en/living-blue/seafood-guide, which shows you the fish that are threatened by overfishing. By making smart meal choices you can help save an endangered species!
The fight for saving the bluefin tuna has just suffered a major setback. Today the U.N. voted against a ban on the export of bluefin tuna in a U.N. wildlife meeting. The main reason that many countries failed to support the ban was the effect it would have on the fishing economies. At this meeting only the United States, Kenya, and Norway were in full support of the ban. Although the ban failed, some countries agreed that rebuilding the bluefin population was important. Japan even said that they would be willing to reduce their fishing quotas.
The problem is that we need to come up with a solution that can benefit everyone. People need to make a living and some of those people rely on fishing to support their families. More legislation needs to be put in place to regulate fishing and reward those who practice fair and responsible fishing methods. There are many Americans who love eating sushi and other seafood dishes, so we might not be able to ban the export of bluefin tuna altogether, but we can slowly make small changes that add up to a big difference. And one small thing that you can do is become educated on what you are eating. Check out the Seafood Guide, found at http://na.oceana.org/en/living-blue/seafood-guide, which shows you the fish that are threatened by overfishing. By making smart meal choices you can help save an endangered species!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Top Ten Fish Crisis Facts
A few facts about non sustainable fishing.
By: Richard Dickey
1. The World Wildlife Fund reports as many as 90 per cent of all the ocean's large fish have been fished out. If we fail to change large-scale fishing practices now, it is estimated that stocks of all the fish we eat will have crashed by 2048.
2. Bluefin tuna is classified as endangered, at the same level of threat as the giant panda. Despite this, it still appears on the menu of the world's most exclusive restaurants.
3. In 2006, the annual quota of bluefin tuna permitted to be caught was 32,000 tons. According to the World Wildlife Fund, an advisory board of scientists recommended the 2007 catch should be reduced to 15,000 tons to prevent collapse. Instead, the EU set a quota of 29,500 tons. With illegal fishing, the actual amount of bluefin caught in 2007 was estimated to be 50,000 tons.
4. Illegal fishing is estimated to be worth $9 billion per year.
5. Fishermen had been landing cod from Newfoundland since the Middle Ages. By 1992, the cod stock had crashed and cod fishing was immediately banned. 40,000 people lost their jobs overnight. Stocks have still not recovered.
6. A report by the House of Lords declared 50 per cent of cod caught North Sea to be stolen. To put it another way, every other portion of cod you eat has potentially come from an illegal fish supply.
7. The mouth of the largest trawling net used to catch fish is big enough to contain 13 Boeing 747 airplanes.
8. 7 million tons of fish are wasted every year due to large-scale fishing techniques. This amounts to one tenth of the world's catch. Dolphins, turtles and sea birds are also caught up and killed in the huge trawling nets.
9. Fish farming, or 'aquaculture', uses more fish than it produces. 5kg of anchovies are required to farm 1kg of salmon. It would be a better use of the world's fish resources to simply eat the anchovies.
10. A Greenpeace report recommends 40 per cent of the world's oceans should be made into nature reserves, to allow fish stocks to recover.
http://www.channel4.com/food/features/eat-ethically/fishing-in-crisis-the-terrifying-facts-about-the-fish-we-eat-09-07-09_p_1.html
By: Richard Dickey
1. The World Wildlife Fund reports as many as 90 per cent of all the ocean's large fish have been fished out. If we fail to change large-scale fishing practices now, it is estimated that stocks of all the fish we eat will have crashed by 2048.
3. In 2006, the annual quota of bluefin tuna permitted to be caught was 32,000 tons. According to the World Wildlife Fund, an advisory board of scientists recommended the 2007 catch should be reduced to 15,000 tons to prevent collapse. Instead, the EU set a quota of 29,500 tons. With illegal fishing, the actual amount of bluefin caught in 2007 was estimated to be 50,000 tons.
4. Illegal fishing is estimated to be worth $9 billion per year.
6. A report by the House of Lords declared 50 per cent of cod caught North Sea to be stolen. To put it another way, every other portion of cod you eat has potentially come from an illegal fish supply.
8. 7 million tons of fish are wasted every year due to large-scale fishing techniques. This amounts to one tenth of the world's catch. Dolphins, turtles and sea birds are also caught up and killed in the huge trawling nets.
9. Fish farming, or 'aquaculture', uses more fish than it produces. 5kg of anchovies are required to farm 1kg of salmon. It would be a better use of the world's fish resources to simply eat the anchovies.
http://www.channel4.com/food/features/eat-ethically/fishing-in-crisis-the-terrifying-facts-about-the-fish-we-eat-09-07-09_p_1.html
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Breeding Bluefin Tuna.
We’ve managed to raise and breed salmon, catfish and other small fish in commercial fish farms. Experts say that breeding the bluefin tuna outside their natural habit is difficult and will require more time and research. These tuna can take up to 12 years to reach sexual maturity compare to 3 years for catfish. There’s a lot of research and schools that are spending time trying to find the solution that would allow bluefin tuna to reproduce at a younger age which has been the main problem when it comes to reproducing them. Japan has been the leader on trying to make breeding happen in captivity for the bluefin tuna but thirty years have passed and yet hardly any progress has been made. Captive breeders were able to produced fish that laid eggs but not consistently. Some scientists are skeptical that breeding these fish won’t happen not for another 10 years. Then you have the environmentalists saying the breeding efforts have so far been a distraction. That money has been thrown into research but without any huge advancement. Saying the real problem has been the overfishing of the bluefin tuna. Overfishing has been the root problem in the declining population of the bluefin tuna. It’s getting so bad that some commercial operations have been using planes to track schools of tuna but even then are still having a hard time finding them. Restricting the amount of tuna that can be fished is the only real solution until scientist can come up with a way to successfully find a way in breeding them in captivity.
Post by: Alfonso C III
For more on the breeding of tuna, visit the link below.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Aquaculture: Who, What, Why and Why Not?
As the world’s fisheries quickly diminish, several countries are looking to alternatives such as aquaculture to keep fish on their plates. Aquaculture is defined as “the cultivation of aquatic animals and plants, esp. fish, shellfish, and seaweed, in natural or controlled marine or freshwater environments; underwater agriculture.” Several countries including the United States, Japan and India to name a few, currently farm fish such as salmon and bluefin tuna.
Fish are often caught in the ocean while still relatively young and small and brought to farms where they will be “fattened up.” They can also be raised from hatched eggs. The farms can consist of ponds or lakes as well as cages placed in the ocean or rivers. Many feel that farming fish in this manner will help alleviate the strain on the wild population, which is currently being intensely overfished.
There are many criticisms for the farming fish such as the bluefin. The number of fish caught for fish farming may not be counted in the quotas placed on the fishing industries. This means that many more fish are being removed from the world’s fisheries than sustainably possible. Because fish like salmon and the bluefin tuna are very large and carnivorous, they require a large amount of fish for food. These feeder fish must be caught or raised as well, which raises questions about the sustainability of fish farming itself. In addition, farmed fish are often kept in tight quarters with one another, which can lead to parasites, infections and tissue damage. If the fish are kept in an open ocean environment, they may also transfer the infections to the wild populations. Antibiotics may be used to treat the fish but this means the drugs may be passed on to the person who sits down to enjoy a sushi dinner. Breeding is not met with good results as the bluefin prefer their natural habitat for breeding.
It seems that there are no shortcuts we can take here. The true way to save our world’s fisheries is to recognize the need to do so and change our fishing practices.
References:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/aquaculture
http://www.pbs.org/emptyoceans/fts/tuna/index.html
http://www.scienceline.org/2008/03/07/env-locke-tuna/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_farming
Fish are often caught in the ocean while still relatively young and small and brought to farms where they will be “fattened up.” They can also be raised from hatched eggs. The farms can consist of ponds or lakes as well as cages placed in the ocean or rivers. Many feel that farming fish in this manner will help alleviate the strain on the wild population, which is currently being intensely overfished.
There are many criticisms for the farming fish such as the bluefin. The number of fish caught for fish farming may not be counted in the quotas placed on the fishing industries. This means that many more fish are being removed from the world’s fisheries than sustainably possible. Because fish like salmon and the bluefin tuna are very large and carnivorous, they require a large amount of fish for food. These feeder fish must be caught or raised as well, which raises questions about the sustainability of fish farming itself. In addition, farmed fish are often kept in tight quarters with one another, which can lead to parasites, infections and tissue damage. If the fish are kept in an open ocean environment, they may also transfer the infections to the wild populations. Antibiotics may be used to treat the fish but this means the drugs may be passed on to the person who sits down to enjoy a sushi dinner. Breeding is not met with good results as the bluefin prefer their natural habitat for breeding.
It seems that there are no shortcuts we can take here. The true way to save our world’s fisheries is to recognize the need to do so and change our fishing practices.
References:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/aquaculture
http://www.pbs.org/emptyoceans/fts/tuna/index.html
http://www.scienceline.org/2008/03/07/env-locke-tuna/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_farming
Species that have gone extinct due to humans.
There have been many species that would be still around today but due to humans, they have gone extinct. Humans have ignored the dwindling number of Atlantic bluefin tuna for quite some time but now many countries are coming forward, not wanting to be responsible for the bluefin tuna’s disappearance. There are many reasons why species became extinct, either it’s because they're large predators that compete with human hunters for wild game like deer and elk and because they prey on domestic animals like sheep or because they threaten humans. Some animals are killed for sport by trophy hunters and also because international countries demand products like elephant tusk ivory, rhino horn, aquarium fish, bear and cat skins, just to name several.
Many species had to leave their habitats due to tropical deforestation include market agriculture, logging, and harvesting of fuel wood. They get pushed from their homes so that we can make a buck. I looked online to find species that have been extinct by human causes. With no surprised I found a site that showed some animals that had been recently extinct.
“http://www.bspcn.com/2009/04/03/11-extinct-animals-that-have-been-photographed-alive/”
This site shows eleven extinct species and gave some background information on the animals and the cause of their extinction. Why weren’t these species protected? I wonder how nations would react, if the Atlantic bluefin tuna weren’t a huge money maker as they are today. Would nations make such a big commotion as they are today? Personally, I would like to think they would help regardless of the tuna’s current business status, but I highly doubt it.
Posted by: Alfonso C. III
http://listverse.com/2009/07/25/10-recently-extinct-animals/
Many species had to leave their habitats due to tropical deforestation include market agriculture, logging, and harvesting of fuel wood. They get pushed from their homes so that we can make a buck. I looked online to find species that have been extinct by human causes. With no surprised I found a site that showed some animals that had been recently extinct.
“http://www.bspcn.com/2009/04/03/11-extinct-animals-that-have-been-photographed-alive/”
This site shows eleven extinct species and gave some background information on the animals and the cause of their extinction. Why weren’t these species protected? I wonder how nations would react, if the Atlantic bluefin tuna weren’t a huge money maker as they are today. Would nations make such a big commotion as they are today? Personally, I would like to think they would help regardless of the tuna’s current business status, but I highly doubt it.
Posted by: Alfonso C. III
http://listverse.com/2009/07/25/10-recently-extinct-animals/
Friday, March 12, 2010
How to fish for a Bluefin Tuna
I got bored today of looking up more facts about why the Bluefin Tuna is becoming extinct. Today, for my last post, I wanted to look up something different that I hadn't thought of previously this term. So off I went to google and I typed in the generic Bluefin Tuna in the search bar. Pretty soon the pull down tab was running amuck with ideas for me to look into regarding the tuna. Bluefin Tuna endangered, Bluefin Tuna sushi, Bluefin Tuna prices all were there for me to click on. Then I saw it, Bluefin Tuna fishing. "This looks interesting". I clicked on the link and google magically supplied me with various pages to peruse.
One of the more interesting ones that I stumbled upon spoke of the various techniques on how to catch the Bluefin Tuna. This site detailed how thrilling it could be to master the art of catching a Bluefin. The chase would be exhausting but catching the tuna would be worth it. After reading through all that this the page had to say on catching it (and from what I read, the actually art of catching the tuna requires strength and patience as the tuna is strong, fast and smart) I saw a small paragraph that detailed specifics on the Tuna. This random fishing site actually had information on it that said:
"There is increasing controversy surrounding the bluefin tuna, however. These fish were once almost relegated to the endangered list, and they are strictly regulated by the National Marine Fisheries Service. You must have a permit that specifically allows you to fish for bluefin, and you are not allowed to sell the fish that you keep unless you have a commercial fishing license. There are specific limits on catches, so be sure and inform yourself of any and all regulations."
This amazed me. Here I am, thinking that this site was all about the catching and killing of the fish, but no there us true information here that spells out to the fisherman what the need to do in order to preserve this creature from extinction. Granted it doesn't specify just how close to extinction the Bluefin truly is or that maybe the fisherman should double think going out on the water to catch them, but saying that the fish is almost endangered and that there are regulations denying people from selling the fish, well that was music to my ears.
All in all, this is a small step that again we see someone as "low down" on the food chain as a fisherman is taking. Perhaps by allowing more and more fisherman to understand the Bluefin's eventual path into extinction, we can save them one day.
Citing:
McGee, Scott. "Tuna fishing techniques: catching bluefin tuna." (2002): n. pag. Web. 12 Mar 2010..
One of the more interesting ones that I stumbled upon spoke of the various techniques on how to catch the Bluefin Tuna. This site detailed how thrilling it could be to master the art of catching a Bluefin. The chase would be exhausting but catching the tuna would be worth it. After reading through all that this the page had to say on catching it (and from what I read, the actually art of catching the tuna requires strength and patience as the tuna is strong, fast and smart) I saw a small paragraph that detailed specifics on the Tuna. This random fishing site actually had information on it that said:
"There is increasing controversy surrounding the bluefin tuna, however. These fish were once almost relegated to the endangered list, and they are strictly regulated by the National Marine Fisheries Service. You must have a permit that specifically allows you to fish for bluefin, and you are not allowed to sell the fish that you keep unless you have a commercial fishing license. There are specific limits on catches, so be sure and inform yourself of any and all regulations."
This amazed me. Here I am, thinking that this site was all about the catching and killing of the fish, but no there us true information here that spells out to the fisherman what the need to do in order to preserve this creature from extinction. Granted it doesn't specify just how close to extinction the Bluefin truly is or that maybe the fisherman should double think going out on the water to catch them, but saying that the fish is almost endangered and that there are regulations denying people from selling the fish, well that was music to my ears.
All in all, this is a small step that again we see someone as "low down" on the food chain as a fisherman is taking. Perhaps by allowing more and more fisherman to understand the Bluefin's eventual path into extinction, we can save them one day.
Citing:
McGee, Scott. "Tuna fishing techniques: catching bluefin tuna." (2002): n. pag. Web. 12 Mar 2010.
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