It used to be that fish was landed from a boat. Now it comes from the telephone. That is the lament of Robert Ross, director of the California Fisheries & Seafood Institute, for northern Californias declining fisheries. I write about the 71 percent decline in local fishery revenues in todays Bay Area report.
Mr. Ross believes the main reason for the change from local to global seafood is technological advances dating from the 1970s. Flash-freezing techniques and new packaging made it easier to ship fish around the world. Then, more reliance on air shipments of fish got people used to eating novel things like fresh mahi mahi from Costa Rica, or orange roughey from New Zealand.
Like many disgruntled fishermen, Mr. Ross believes that aggressive recent federal and state regulations have unnecessarily constrained California fishing fleets. He thinks that stocks are already recovering from mismanagement in the 1970s and 1980s. Virtually every population of bird and mammal off the coast is now increasing, and theyre not eating at McDonalds, he said. Almost without exception, our seafood resources are robust.
This, clearly, is a controversial view, as concerns about the impact of traditional fishing methods on vulnerable species have inspired new industries boasting of their sustainability. CleanFish, the five-year-old firm founded by Tim OShea. CleanFish has won kudos for its planet-saving efforts Time Magazine recently named it a Responsibility Pioneer as it focuses on supporting the most eco-conscious fishing industries throughout the world.
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