Mika Lappalainen | Friday, 19 July 2024
Things are totally fucked up. That could be headline for this and same time it could be whole FP almost. Fishery industry is totally fucked up and wrong. That could be the whole FP. Then I could say do your own research. Does this make sense, probably not so I open little bit.
Few weeks ago I watched documentary about fishing industry in Europe, mostly about Baltic sea. I have been following news and rules more or less about 10 years now. It is not effecting my fishing straight but as Finland has part and we have salmon riverd which runs to Bothnia bay which is part of Baltic sea... so I have interest mostly because how we handle things.
Every year EU sets catch amounts for Baltic herring, which is main sea food for salmon. Basically Baltic sea countries discuss and agree amounts and EU confirms. Then countries can swap amounts between each other, basically sell. So shortly it means that amount will be always fished out, even some countries can't fish because lack of fish in their waters.
Do you see the problem all ready? Example, in Finnish waters we have lack of Baltic herring and fishermen can't catch so much than amount is. We sell our amount or part of that to Poland, and they will catch their amount plus extra from Finland. Coming years Poland will have problems to catch their amount as they have overfished waters. Then there are two solutions.. make bigger and more efficient fishery fleet or sell your extra amount to someone. And we have circle where there is no return.
Researchers give recommendations about what waters can handle. And that has been ignored in many years as fishery industry has more money for lobbing in EU. So shortly fishery industry has to make bigger and more efficient ships to fill amounts which are too big already.
Small family fishery ships are dying as waters nearby shore has been fished for dead already by companies and now those companies are moving to our sea and doing same there.
Norway is closing salmon rivers in this summer, reason is that there is no salmon to fish. Teno river, border river between Norway and Finland, has been closed 3 years now for same reason. Salmon farming in Norway is insane. It is spreading diseases and blocking natural salmon.
Norwegian salmon industry harvest sea for almost 2 million metrics tons per year.... let that sink on you. Those fish are mostly fished from Western Africa, front of Gambia, Senegal and Mauritania. That wild fish is turned fish oil to feed farmed salmon in Norway. That wild fish could feed about 4 million people, now it turned as fish food which produce farmed salmon about 27 percent less than catch what they eat.
Norway plan to more than triple their farmed salmon to 5 million metric tons by the year 2050. It means that for demand of wild fish to feed salmon will be over three times compared to today.
We have truly fucked up everything. Salmon farming has to be banned, this trade with catch amounts has to be stopped. We can influnce with our decisions, don't buy farmed salmon, make noise. Is this the Earth we want to leave to our children.
Someone once said that, when last three has been cut, last fish has been caught and last wild game hunted.... then we realize that we can't eat money.
Go fishing and Be responsible.
Mika the Legend