THE FISHING INDUSTRY : INTRODUCTION
The warnings related to the ocean and farmed fishing industries are coming faster and harder. Species that were once plentiful are being eliminated. Mechanised fishing technologies are also taking their toll on vast numbers of bystander marine animals who are hooked, netted and dredged from the ocean floor as 'accidental' victims. Meanwhile, we treat the world's oceans as dumping grounds for our toxic effluent and imagine that the waste is out of harm's way because it is out of sight.
Can fish taken from this environment be the supremely healthy and wholesome 'brain food' portrayed in official nutritional guides? Or is fish meat fundamentally compromised by the presence of chemicals linked to cancer and birth defects? Then there are the salmon and trout factory farms with their enfeebled, lice-infested inmates swimming in the murk in endless circles. Do their lives matter?
This special Animal Aid report brings together - in succinct, bullet-point style - key data and observations about the environmental, human health and animal welfare dimensions of the fish meat industry. It is the plight of the fish themselves that, until now, has received precious little attention. The first thing to note is that there is now a scientific consensus recognising that fish are sentient creatures. The government's own advisory body on farming (the Farm Animal Welfare Council) stated in a 1996 report on fish farming that fish have all the nerve chemicals and cell receptors necessary to experience pain and stress. FAWC based this finding on a comprehensive review of the scientific literature. A great deal of additional evidence for fish sentience has come forward since.
Given the methods used to catch, haul in and kill ocean fish - all of them ungoverned by any welfare code - the question can reasonably be posed: does ocean fishing represent the greatest animal welfare scandal of our time? Farmed fish fare no better. Welfare protocols have been committed to paper but these still allow as many as 50,000 fish to be confined in crowded cages, swimming in water that is filthy from their own waste. They are killed by a variety of brutal methods, such as being clubbed, gassed and asphyxiated. Some are gutted alive. Others have their gills cut and bleed to death.
The Dutch seem to be leading the way in pondering the question of fish suffering and how to minimise it. Killing experiments - carried out on behalf of the government, the fish industry and an animal welfare body - found that after being gutted, 25-65 minutes elapsed before fish were 'insensible' - that is to say, incapable of feeling pain. In the case of asphyxiation, the time interval was 55-250 minutes.
Champions of fish meat regard, as their strongest suit, the product's alleged health benefits. In particular, there is the omega-3 issue - this being an important polyunsaturated fat found in oily fish such as herring, mackerel and fresh tuna. However, not only is up to 30% of the fat presentin oily fish of the unhealthy, saturated variety, but - according to an expert in the field - vegetarians and vegans can meet all their omega-3 requirements from soybeans (including soya milk and tofu), walnuts, rapeseed oil, flaxseed and dark green vegetables such as spinach.
At the end of 2005, European Union countries squandered an opportunity to set meaningful fishing quotas that would have provided breathing space for species such as cod and blue whiting - the latter being the staple food of Europe's salmon farms. Whenever action is proposed, those who make their living from catching fish claim their position will be dangerously compromised, even though present practices are themselves leading the industry to oblivion. Equally, the public is being persuaded that fish can remain on the chip shop menu and on supermarket counters and nothing very much need change. But reality beckons.
This report demonstrates that the ocean and farmed fishing industries hurt the seas, pollute freshwater lochs, are nutritionally dubious and represent an animal welfare nightmare.
Can fish taken from this environment be the supremely healthy and wholesome 'brain food' portrayed in official nutritional guides? Or is fish meat fundamentally compromised by the presence of chemicals linked to cancer and birth defects? Then there are the salmon and trout factory farms with their enfeebled, lice-infested inmates swimming in the murk in endless circles. Do their lives matter?
This special Animal Aid report brings together - in succinct, bullet-point style - key data and observations about the environmental, human health and animal welfare dimensions of the fish meat industry. It is the plight of the fish themselves that, until now, has received precious little attention. The first thing to note is that there is now a scientific consensus recognising that fish are sentient creatures. The government's own advisory body on farming (the Farm Animal Welfare Council) stated in a 1996 report on fish farming that fish have all the nerve chemicals and cell receptors necessary to experience pain and stress. FAWC based this finding on a comprehensive review of the scientific literature. A great deal of additional evidence for fish sentience has come forward since.
Given the methods used to catch, haul in and kill ocean fish - all of them ungoverned by any welfare code - the question can reasonably be posed: does ocean fishing represent the greatest animal welfare scandal of our time? Farmed fish fare no better. Welfare protocols have been committed to paper but these still allow as many as 50,000 fish to be confined in crowded cages, swimming in water that is filthy from their own waste. They are killed by a variety of brutal methods, such as being clubbed, gassed and asphyxiated. Some are gutted alive. Others have their gills cut and bleed to death.
The Dutch seem to be leading the way in pondering the question of fish suffering and how to minimise it. Killing experiments - carried out on behalf of the government, the fish industry and an animal welfare body - found that after being gutted, 25-65 minutes elapsed before fish were 'insensible' - that is to say, incapable of feeling pain. In the case of asphyxiation, the time interval was 55-250 minutes.
Champions of fish meat regard, as their strongest suit, the product's alleged health benefits. In particular, there is the omega-3 issue - this being an important polyunsaturated fat found in oily fish such as herring, mackerel and fresh tuna. However, not only is up to 30% of the fat presentin oily fish of the unhealthy, saturated variety, but - according to an expert in the field - vegetarians and vegans can meet all their omega-3 requirements from soybeans (including soya milk and tofu), walnuts, rapeseed oil, flaxseed and dark green vegetables such as spinach.
At the end of 2005, European Union countries squandered an opportunity to set meaningful fishing quotas that would have provided breathing space for species such as cod and blue whiting - the latter being the staple food of Europe's salmon farms. Whenever action is proposed, those who make their living from catching fish claim their position will be dangerously compromised, even though present practices are themselves leading the industry to oblivion. Equally, the public is being persuaded that fish can remain on the chip shop menu and on supermarket counters and nothing very much need change. But reality beckons.
This report demonstrates that the ocean and farmed fishing industries hurt the seas, pollute freshwater lochs, are nutritionally dubious and represent an animal welfare nightmare.
THE FISHING INDUSTRY : WELFARE
Fish CAN feel pain
All animals possessing a nervous system and pain receptors are capable of suffering the effects of pain. This includes fish. Dutch researchers back in the 1980s showed that fish hooked by anglers could experience pain. They found that carp hooked on a tight line were prepared to starve themselves of food for quite some time afterwards to avoid the painful experience. Although there are marked differences in brain structure between fish and mammals, they nevertheless both share important brain functions, including responses to painkillers. Government advisory body the Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) acknowledges that fish experience fear, stress and pain when removed from water, and that the physiological mechanisms in fish for experiencing pain are very similar to those in mammals. Similarly, an RSPCA-sponsored report concluded that all vertebrates - including fish - experience similar sensations in response to painful stimuli. Prolonged periods of stress can cause negative changes in the immune system, making fish more vulnerable to disease. In pain sensitivity experiments performed at Edinburgh's Roslin Institute, fish had a toxin and acid injected into their lips. They exhibited 'rocking' motion, similar to the way higher vertebrates - e.g. humans - rock to comfort themselves. They also rubbed their lips against the tank walls and gravel, and took three times longer than normal to resume feeding. In tests at Oxford University, Mexican cave fish - genetically blind - built a mental map of their surroundings by memorizing the position of objects in their tank. They quickly reacted to changes in the set-up. This task defeats some small mammals, e.g. hamsters. At the University of Edinburgh, spotted rainbow fish remembered how to escape from a net in their tank 11 months after initially working it out.
All animals possessing a nervous system and pain receptors are capable of suffering the effects of pain. This includes fish. Dutch researchers back in the 1980s showed that fish hooked by anglers could experience pain. They found that carp hooked on a tight line were prepared to starve themselves of food for quite some time afterwards to avoid the painful experience. Although there are marked differences in brain structure between fish and mammals, they nevertheless both share important brain functions, including responses to painkillers. Government advisory body the Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) acknowledges that fish experience fear, stress and pain when removed from water, and that the physiological mechanisms in fish for experiencing pain are very similar to those in mammals. Similarly, an RSPCA-sponsored report concluded that all vertebrates - including fish - experience similar sensations in response to painful stimuli. Prolonged periods of stress can cause negative changes in the immune system, making fish more vulnerable to disease. In pain sensitivity experiments performed at Edinburgh's Roslin Institute, fish had a toxin and acid injected into their lips. They exhibited 'rocking' motion, similar to the way higher vertebrates - e.g. humans - rock to comfort themselves. They also rubbed their lips against the tank walls and gravel, and took three times longer than normal to resume feeding. In tests at Oxford University, Mexican cave fish - genetically blind - built a mental map of their surroundings by memorizing the position of objects in their tank. They quickly reacted to changes in the set-up. This task defeats some small mammals, e.g. hamsters. At the University of Edinburgh, spotted rainbow fish remembered how to escape from a net in their tank 11 months after initially working it out.
Fish on farms are caged in cruel and unhealthy condition
Overcrowding and the unnatural environment found in fish farms greatly increase stress levels. As many as 50,000 salmon may be kept in each sea cage. Trout are kept in even more crowded conditions. Such unnaturally high stocking densities also render the fish highly susceptible to disease. Salmon suffer from a number of parasites and other debilitating agents. The most notable of these include sea lice, furunculosis and pancreas disease. Lice infestation is a devastating condition that flourishes in farm cages, literally eating the fish alive. Attempts to tackle some of these diseases include the use of chemicals (such as malachite green and formalin) substances known to carry human health risks. Farmed fish are regularly dosed with chemicals and antibiotics to limit the damage. But between 20 and 50 per cent still die from diseases such as cancer or pancreas and kidney infections. The number of chemical licences in the salmon industry approved by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) increased seven fold in the four years up to 2001. SEPA approved just 45 uses of sea lice chemicals in 1998. That rose to 104 the following year, 141 in 2000 and a staggering 296 in 2001. Wild salmon captured near salmon farms in Scotland, Ireland and Norway carried an average of 100 lice per fish. Salmon captured away from farms carried an average of 13 lice.
Overcrowding and the unnatural environment found in fish farms greatly increase stress levels. As many as 50,000 salmon may be kept in each sea cage. Trout are kept in even more crowded conditions. Such unnaturally high stocking densities also render the fish highly susceptible to disease. Salmon suffer from a number of parasites and other debilitating agents. The most notable of these include sea lice, furunculosis and pancreas disease. Lice infestation is a devastating condition that flourishes in farm cages, literally eating the fish alive. Attempts to tackle some of these diseases include the use of chemicals (such as malachite green and formalin) substances known to carry human health risks. Farmed fish are regularly dosed with chemicals and antibiotics to limit the damage. But between 20 and 50 per cent still die from diseases such as cancer or pancreas and kidney infections. The number of chemical licences in the salmon industry approved by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) increased seven fold in the four years up to 2001. SEPA approved just 45 uses of sea lice chemicals in 1998. That rose to 104 the following year, 141 in 2000 and a staggering 296 in 2001. Wild salmon captured near salmon farms in Scotland, Ireland and Norway carried an average of 100 lice per fish. Salmon captured away from farms carried an average of 13 lice.
Farmed fish are artificially bred
Before female fish are anaesthetised for egg extraction, their abdomen is palpated to see if the egg mass is free. This is highly stressful and can occur several times before extraction. The eggs are stripped either by hand or compressed air is introduced into the body cavity with a needle. Sometimes the ovaries may be removed surgically. Most females are killed after their eggs have been stripped, as waiting for them to regain body condition is uneconomic. The breeding females are treated as production machines, as with other farmed female animals. The male fish are also 'milked' several times for their semen before slaughter.
Before female fish are anaesthetised for egg extraction, their abdomen is palpated to see if the egg mass is free. This is highly stressful and can occur several times before extraction. The eggs are stripped either by hand or compressed air is introduced into the body cavity with a needle. Sometimes the ovaries may be removed surgically. Most females are killed after their eggs have been stripped, as waiting for them to regain body condition is uneconomic. The breeding females are treated as production machines, as with other farmed female animals. The male fish are also 'milked' several times for their semen before slaughter.
Fish are genetically modified
Researchers are developing genetic engineering techniques in an attempt to produce fish who can grow larger and faster, convert feed into flesh more efficiently, are resistant to disease, tolerant of low levels of oxygen in the water and can stand freezing temperatures. As with all such GM animal procedures, these techniques are highly experimental and will result in lots of failures and pain and suffering for the fish involved. Biotechnology is widely used in Europe to manipulate the chromosomes of fish reared for slaughter. Sex reversal - feeding testosterone to young breeding females - is used to produce batches of all-female fish that will mature later than males. This is done because sexually mature fish undergo changes that can reduce flesh quality. Triploidy (adding an extra set of chromosomes) is often used in conjunction with sex-reversal to produce sterile all-female fish who show increased feed efficiency and will not interbreed with wild populations if they escape. These genetic manipulation techniques have effects on the health and welfare of the fish. Higher levels of spinal deformities have been found in triploid rainbow trout. Triploid salmon have lower survival rates and are less able to absorb oxygen, making them less able to cope with stressful situations.
Researchers are developing genetic engineering techniques in an attempt to produce fish who can grow larger and faster, convert feed into flesh more efficiently, are resistant to disease, tolerant of low levels of oxygen in the water and can stand freezing temperatures. As with all such GM animal procedures, these techniques are highly experimental and will result in lots of failures and pain and suffering for the fish involved. Biotechnology is widely used in Europe to manipulate the chromosomes of fish reared for slaughter. Sex reversal - feeding testosterone to young breeding females - is used to produce batches of all-female fish that will mature later than males. This is done because sexually mature fish undergo changes that can reduce flesh quality. Triploidy (adding an extra set of chromosomes) is often used in conjunction with sex-reversal to produce sterile all-female fish who show increased feed efficiency and will not interbreed with wild populations if they escape. These genetic manipulation techniques have effects on the health and welfare of the fish. Higher levels of spinal deformities have been found in triploid rainbow trout. Triploid salmon have lower survival rates and are less able to absorb oxygen, making them less able to cope with stressful situations.
Fish are transported live
Juvenile salmon and trout are transported live from hatcheries to a rearing farm or for slaughter. They are transferred to and from their transport containers by vacuum pumps, or by hand with the use of nets. Damaged nets, or rough handling, injure the fish. Transport is either in a purpose-designed tank slung below a helicopter, by road, or by sea in specially designed well-boats. Before transport, it is current practice to deprive fish of food for 48 hours or more. This reduces faecal contamination of water in the transport tank and reduces oxygen consumption, since starving the fish slows down their metabolism. Movement and transfer can be a frightening experience for fish and has been described as causing 'considerable' stress. Major losses occur in farmed trout as a result of accidental oxygen deprivation (notably while being transported).
Juvenile salmon and trout are transported live from hatcheries to a rearing farm or for slaughter. They are transferred to and from their transport containers by vacuum pumps, or by hand with the use of nets. Damaged nets, or rough handling, injure the fish. Transport is either in a purpose-designed tank slung below a helicopter, by road, or by sea in specially designed well-boats. Before transport, it is current practice to deprive fish of food for 48 hours or more. This reduces faecal contamination of water in the transport tank and reduces oxygen consumption, since starving the fish slows down their metabolism. Movement and transfer can be a frightening experience for fish and has been described as causing 'considerable' stress. Major losses occur in farmed trout as a result of accidental oxygen deprivation (notably while being transported).
Farmed fish are killed without prior stunning
In some units, the fish are killed by first being hit on the head with a club and then having their gill arches torn or cut so that they bleed to death. In other operations, the fish are placed in a carbon dioxide tank and then clubbed or are bled to death.
Slaughter regulations stipulate that farmed animals killed for meat should be stunned before having their neck cut, in order to prevent suffering, but this does not apply to fish. Killing methods currently in use allow exsanguination (bleeding out) without prior stunning, resulting in convulsions and muscular spasms.Whereas salmon may be clubbed before being killed, trout are too small and are left to die of asphyxiation. Some recover consciousness before evisceration (removal of internal organs). Fish farmers themselves have admitted that 'letting tens of millions of fish die of suffocation each year is unacceptable'. It is an offence for any person involved in the slaughter of farmed fish to cause or permit fish to sustain any 'avoidable' excitement, pain or 'suffering'. The use of the word 'avoidable' gets round the fact that the entire process of handling and killing the fish in itself causes pain and suffering. Furthermore, no monitoring whatsoever takes place at sea.
In some units, the fish are killed by first being hit on the head with a club and then having their gill arches torn or cut so that they bleed to death. In other operations, the fish are placed in a carbon dioxide tank and then clubbed or are bled to death.
Slaughter regulations stipulate that farmed animals killed for meat should be stunned before having their neck cut, in order to prevent suffering, but this does not apply to fish. Killing methods currently in use allow exsanguination (bleeding out) without prior stunning, resulting in convulsions and muscular spasms.Whereas salmon may be clubbed before being killed, trout are too small and are left to die of asphyxiation. Some recover consciousness before evisceration (removal of internal organs). Fish farmers themselves have admitted that 'letting tens of millions of fish die of suffocation each year is unacceptable'. It is an offence for any person involved in the slaughter of farmed fish to cause or permit fish to sustain any 'avoidable' excitement, pain or 'suffering'. The use of the word 'avoidable' gets round the fact that the entire process of handling and killing the fish in itself causes pain and suffering. Furthermore, no monitoring whatsoever takes place at sea.
Wild caught fish also suffer greatly
Vast drift nets, some 40 km long, are used to trawl the seas. Fish can be dragged along the ocean bed for hours within these nets, trapped alongside rocks, debris and other sea life that has fallen in the net's path.When hauled up from the deep, fish undergo excruciating decompression. Frequently, the intense internal pressure ruptures the swim bladder, pops out the eyes, and pushes the oesophagus and stomach out through the mouth.Caught fish are sorted using small, spiked rods called pickers. Factory ships slaughter and process the fish at sea. Most fish are gutted whilst still alive or are left to suffocate.A Dutch study on fish industry slaughter methods found that after gutting 25 - 65 minutes elapsed before fish were insensible (failed to show co-ordinated swimming or responded to stimuli but showed brain stem responses like breathing). In the case of asphyxiation, 55 - 250 minutes elapsed before fish were insensible. Unlike the British fishing industry, the Dutch are taking steps towards improving fish slaughter methods. The Dutch study recommended a general term of reference for the length of time in which a fish should be killed - 1 second - to prevent suffering. This recommendation is under discussion with a view to including it in animal welfare legislation. Killing fish on a large scale within 1 second is complicated and so the study recommends the stunning of fish prior to killing. Although Animal Aid promotes an animal-free diet, while fish continue to be caught and killed, genuinely effective stunning would be a step in the right direction in an industry currently without welfare protocols.
Vast drift nets, some 40 km long, are used to trawl the seas. Fish can be dragged along the ocean bed for hours within these nets, trapped alongside rocks, debris and other sea life that has fallen in the net's path.When hauled up from the deep, fish undergo excruciating decompression. Frequently, the intense internal pressure ruptures the swim bladder, pops out the eyes, and pushes the oesophagus and stomach out through the mouth.Caught fish are sorted using small, spiked rods called pickers. Factory ships slaughter and process the fish at sea. Most fish are gutted whilst still alive or are left to suffocate.A Dutch study on fish industry slaughter methods found that after gutting 25 - 65 minutes elapsed before fish were insensible (failed to show co-ordinated swimming or responded to stimuli but showed brain stem responses like breathing). In the case of asphyxiation, 55 - 250 minutes elapsed before fish were insensible. Unlike the British fishing industry, the Dutch are taking steps towards improving fish slaughter methods. The Dutch study recommended a general term of reference for the length of time in which a fish should be killed - 1 second - to prevent suffering. This recommendation is under discussion with a view to including it in animal welfare legislation. Killing fish on a large scale within 1 second is complicated and so the study recommends the stunning of fish prior to killing. Although Animal Aid promotes an animal-free diet, while fish continue to be caught and killed, genuinely effective stunning would be a step in the right direction in an industry currently without welfare protocols.
THE FISHING INDUSTRY : HEALTH
Fish contain unhealthy saturated fats
30% of the fat in fish can be saturated. This is a risk factor for heart disease.There are two types of polyunsaturated fat that our bodies need. These are in the form of essential fatty acids (EFAs) - omega-6 and omega-3. Necessary polyunsaturated fats found in oily fish, such as herring, mackerel, fresh salmon, fresh tuna, sardines and trout can also be found in foods such as green leafy vegetables, pulses, seeds and nuts. Most diets are well supplied with omega-6 fats, as these are found in sunflower, corn and vegetable oils. Oily fish (as popularly assumed) is not the only source of omega-3 fats. Seeds, nuts, beans and their oils - especially linseed's (flax), soya oil, rapeseed oil and walnuts - are all very rich in the essential omega-3 fats. Green vegetables are also a source of omega-3 fats in the diet. Professor Tom Sanders, Head of the Research Division of Nutritional Sciences, King's College London:"Vegans and vegetarians can meet their requirements for omega-3 fatty acids by consuming foods that contain alpha-linolenic acid. Rich sources of alpha- linolenic acid include soybeans including soya milk and tofu, walnuts, rapeseed oil, flaxseed and dark green vegetables such as spinach. Fish oils contain long-chain omega-3 fatty acids in particular eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). EPA and DHA can be made in the body from alpha-linolenic acid. DHA is needed as structural component of the brain. Relatively high intakes of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids have some pharmacological (drug like) properties that may reduce the risk of blood clotting and reduce inflammation.
We have studied omega-3 fatty acid levels in vegans for over 30 years and shown that vegans can make DHA from alpha-linolenic acid. We have followed vegan children from pregnancy to adulthood and shown that they develop quite normally despite the lack of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids in the diet. Breast milk plays a particularly important role in providing the infant with DHA needed for brain development and most of the children we studied were breastfed for at least the first year of life. Breast milk substitutes may need to be fortified with DHA and this can now be done with DHA of algal origin."
Fish contain unhealthy saturated fats
30% of the fat in fish can be saturated. This is a risk factor for heart disease.There are two types of polyunsaturated fat that our bodies need. These are in the form of essential fatty acids (EFAs) - omega-6 and omega-3. Necessary polyunsaturated fats found in oily fish, such as herring, mackerel, fresh salmon, fresh tuna, sardines and trout can also be found in foods such as green leafy vegetables, pulses, seeds and nuts. Most diets are well supplied with omega-6 fats, as these are found in sunflower, corn and vegetable oils. Oily fish (as popularly assumed) is not the only source of omega-3 fats. Seeds, nuts, beans and their oils - especially linseed's (flax), soya oil, rapeseed oil and walnuts - are all very rich in the essential omega-3 fats. Green vegetables are also a source of omega-3 fats in the diet. Professor Tom Sanders, Head of the Research Division of Nutritional Sciences, King's College London:"Vegans and vegetarians can meet their requirements for omega-3 fatty acids by consuming foods that contain alpha-linolenic acid. Rich sources of alpha- linolenic acid include soybeans including soya milk and tofu, walnuts, rapeseed oil, flaxseed and dark green vegetables such as spinach. Fish oils contain long-chain omega-3 fatty acids in particular eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). EPA and DHA can be made in the body from alpha-linolenic acid. DHA is needed as structural component of the brain. Relatively high intakes of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids have some pharmacological (drug like) properties that may reduce the risk of blood clotting and reduce inflammation.
We have studied omega-3 fatty acid levels in vegans for over 30 years and shown that vegans can make DHA from alpha-linolenic acid. We have followed vegan children from pregnancy to adulthood and shown that they develop quite normally despite the lack of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids in the diet. Breast milk plays a particularly important role in providing the infant with DHA needed for brain development and most of the children we studied were breastfed for at least the first year of life. Breast milk substitutes may need to be fortified with DHA and this can now be done with DHA of algal origin."
Omega-3 fats from plants are healthier than those from oily fish
Plants, being at the bottom of the food chain, are much less likely than fish to be contaminated with pollutants.Plant sources of omega-3 fats additionally contain vitamin E, which is vital in stopping the omega-3 fats going rancid.Fish are a poor source of protective vitamin E. The 'fishy' smell at fish counters indicates that the fish is already rotting!
Plant-based diets will protect your heart without any need for fish oils
There is now a considerable body of scientific evidence to show that people who are at low risk of heart disease are those with a healthy lifestyle, who eat a diet low in saturated fat and rich in pulses, beans, whole grains, fruits and vegetables - along with plant-derived oils from seeds and nuts.A study found that heart attack victims who ate a Mediterranean-type diet (high in fresh fruit and vegetables and low in meat) using plant oils instead of fish, reduced their risk of having a fatal second heart attack by 70%. Studies have shown that flaxseed oil (linolenic acid) can lead to a 38% decrease in C-reactive protein in the blood - high levels of which are associated with heart disease.This strongly suggests a unique role for flaxseed oil in reducing C-reactive protein - a benefit not afforded by fish oils.
Oily fish may be contaminated with residues of chemicals, some of which have been described by experts as the most toxic known to man
Our seas and rivers are increasingly contaminated with pollutants from industrial and agricultural wastes. Fish are literally swimming in our filth. The fat in fish (as well as in meat and dairy) acts like a sponge, readily soaking up any toxins in the environment, such as PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and dioxins, which have been linked to cancer and birth defects.The Consumers' Association has warned that high levels of dioxins and PCBs could be putting millions of people at risk. A survey of branded fish oil supplements carried out by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in 2002 found that 12 out of 33 samples contained concentrations of dioxins that exceeded the European Commission's limit for fish. Fears over possible toxin contamination in fish have led the Government's Food Standards Agency (FSA) - for the first time ever - to advise on maximum levels of fish consumption .As from June 2004, the FSA advise that girls under 16, women who might have a child one day and women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, should have no more than two portions of oily fish a week (one portion is 140g).
Non-oily fish may be contaminated with toxins such as mercury
Eating fish is the main source of mercury in the diet.
Mercury is a poison that can affect the central nervous system, kidneys and heart. It can even harm the developing nervous system of an unborn child and is possibly a cause of infertility.If pregnant women are exposed to sufficiently high levels, mercury can cause deformities in babies.Researchers have found that a high intake of mercury from eating non-fatty fish is associated with an increased risk of mortality from coronary heart disease.Due to possible mercury contamination, pregnant women and those who may become pregnant, are advised by the FSA to limit the amount of tinned tuna that they eat.Vegetarians are much less likely to be exposed to mercury - in 2000, a study of vegetarian diets could detect no mercury in the foods eaten.
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Farmed salmon is particularly unhealthy
Most salmon eaten today comes from factory farmed fish. Farmed salmon have been shown to have higher levels of PCBs and pesticides than wild salmon. The fish oil and fishmeal fed to salmon is likely to be contaminated - hence the higher levels of toxins in factory farmed salmon. Wild salmon get their pink hue from natural food sources such as algae and small crustaceans. Farmed fish are fed the pigment Canthaxanthin, which has been linked to eye defects in children and is banned in the US because it is believed to be carcinogenic. DDT - a nerve poison that was used extensively as an agricultural insecticide and has been banned in the UK since 1986 - has been found in farmed fish, as it persists in the environment and bioaccumulates in animals. There is also widespread concern that Dichlorvos - used to kill sea lice - has been linked to testicular cancer. Traces of radioactive waste from Sellafield have been found in farmed salmon on supermarket shelves. Fish kept in confined areas become susceptible to diseases, which are routinely treated with antibiotics. This causes the disease organisms to mutate and become drug-resistant superbugs. When humans are exposed to those same bugs, the antibiotics they are given are ineffective. Even wild fish caught near fish farms contain antibiotics in their flesh.
THE FISHING INDUSTRY : ENVIRONMENT
Our eating habits are driving many species of fish to the brink of extinction
75% of the world's fisheries have recently been identified by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation as being either fully exploited, over exploited or significantly depleted. Tuna, cod, swordfish and marlin populations have declined by 90% during the last century.The North Sea cod population was once 7 million tonnes. Today's spawning number is estimated to be a meagre 53,000 tonnes.In 2002 and 2003, scientists from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) called for a ban on cod fishing and on those fisheries that take cod as by-catch. Their warnings have so far been ignored. Conservationists say that cod may never recover to their former numbers. They have failed to do so in Newfoundland and on the George's Bank. Common skate populations in the North Sea have declined by 99% in the last 200 years. The North Sea mackerel population collapsed in the 1970s due to overfishing and has never recovered.Plaice, monkfish and sole populations are also listed by ICES as 'outside of safe biological limits'.Halibut is officially listed by the World Conservation Union as globally endangered and 'facing a very high risk of extinction in the near future'.Bigeye tuna are as endangered as the Amazon river dolphin but thousands are still caught and canned along with yellowfin and skipjack tuna.Modern fishing techniques are leading to the extinction of the bluefin tuna. Across the Mediterranean, aircraft with satellite detection scour the oceans for schools of bluefin tuna. Once detected, high-speed fishing fleets trap the entire school within a huge net. The entire catch is transferred into a cage and hauled towards shore where the fish are fattened until slaughter. The whole enterprise is heavily subsidised by the European Union. Catch quotas, introduced by governments, intended to protect fish populations from extinction are not working. Many fishing fleets practice 'high grading', where they continue to catch fish and throw away ones they don't want until they achieve their quota in premium size fish.'High grading' destroys fish weighing up to a million pounds for every 400,000 pounds they keep.Many non-target species of fish are also caught in the trawlers' nets and are simply thrown back dead into the sea. Globally, it is estimated that a quarter of what is caught is merely killed and discarded.Many fishing vessels exceed their quotas and do not declare all of their catch, selling the excess at unofficial ports. According to ICES, 50% of all cod on sale in Britain is illegal.90% of the fishing fleet in Whitby, North Yorkshire, were fined £122,800 at the end of 2005 for fiddling their books to hide the fact that they were exceeding fishing quotas imposed by the European Commission to protect the North Sea's dwindling fish populations.At the end of 2005, The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, advised a zero-catch policy for cod in the North and Irish Seas and west of Scotland. EU fisheries ministers ignored advice for the fourth consecutive year that catches should be cut to zero to protect populations from collapse and reduced quotas by just 15 per cent instead.A spokesperson for Greenpeace stated, 'if fishing for cod is allowed to continue, then cod will be wiped out and the British cod fishing industry will be destroyed'.Blue whiting now forms the principle supply of fish for the oil and meal plants that feed the salmon farming industry. The fishing industry has been granted permission to take double the maximum quota of blue whiting that scientists say is needed to protect the population from collapse.
Commercial fishing is also driving many other animals towards extinction
An estimated 300,000 cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) die in fishing nets every year.One of the most destructive trawling methods is 'pair trawling', where a huge net is towed between two boats. This method is practised in the sea bass fishery in southwest England. The nets can catch up to 750 tonnes of fish, and are large enough to hold 12 jumbo jets. They scoop up everything on the ocean floor. In a typical year, 350 dolphin carcasses are washed up on the shores of Devon, Cornwall and Dorset. It is estimated that 10,000 dolphins and porpoises die each year around the UK and French coasts - many of them being caught up in gill nets and bass nets.Globally, 100 million sharks are killed in fishing nets each year. Tuna fisheries, which in the past had high dolphin by-catch levels, are still responsible for the deaths of 1 million sharks annually. Long-line fishing for tuna and toothfish kills approximately 100,000 albatrosses and other sea birds worldwide every year. Birds dive for the bait planted on the end of the long lines, swallow it (hook and all) and are pulled underwater and drowned. 17 of the 21 species of albatross now face extinction.The by-catch from just one Spanish tuna fleet examined by impartial observers included endangered species such as loggerhead, leatherback, ridleys and green sea turtles, as well as minke and humpback whales.Prawn trawling regularly has a by-catch of 85%, including cetaceans, turtles, birds and many species of fish.Bottom trawling is a destructive way of 'strip mining' the ocean floor. As well as the target fish species, this also results in the death of thousands of commercially unattractive animals like starfish and sponges.Many scientists believe the impact of fishing on bottom-dwelling animals is 100,000 times greater than seabed oil or gas extraction.Industrial fishing ships are destroying cold-water coral reefs growing around the British coast. These reefs are more than 8,500 years old. The nets plough through anything that is fragile and long-lived.
One in four fish caught in the world's oceans goes for non-human consumption
Industrial fisheries target small fish species for conversion to fishmeal and fish oil used in soft margarine and animal feed, including the production of pellets - which are 80% fishmeal and oil - for feeding to farmed salmon and trout.Removal of large numbers of these small fish leads to a shortage of food for their predators, including fish such as cod and haddock, as well as seabirds, such as kittiwakes, puffins and gannets.2004 was the most catastrophic breeding season on record for the UK's seabirds. In Shetland and Orkney, entire colonies of birds failed to produce any young because of severe food shortages.
Much of the fish on sale in the supermarket has been factory-farmed
Fish farming is the fastest growing sector in the world food economy.The production of farmed salmon has surpassed the numbers caught from wild fisheries.Farmed fish now represent the UK's second largest livestock sector after broiler chickens. The vast majority of the 70 million farmed fish produced annually in the UK are reared intensively. Increasingly, even species we presume are wild - such as cod, halibut, turbot, tuna, bass and bream - are being farmed. The farming of carnivorous fish, such as salmon, trout, halibut and cod, adds to the pressure on wild fish populations, as it takes five tonnes of fish caught from the sea to produce one tonne of factory farmed salmon. The threat of disease transfer between wild and farmed salmon is serious. Bacterial Kidney Disease and Infectious Hematopoietic Necrosis are common throughout the salmon farming industry.Sea lice infestations flourish in salmon fish farms. These parasites are also potentially deadly to wild fish. Once the wild salmon pick up the sea lice, produced by the farm at 30,000 times their natural level, their school becomes a moving cloud of contagions. The lice could then infest unexposed populations downriver.Sea trout numbers in some rivers on the Scottish west coast have shrunk to a fraction of what they were a decade ago. This area has a large concentration of salmon farms, to which the decline in trout numbers has been attributed.The decline of wild salmon is also particularly marked on the UK's west coast, where the vast majority of Scotland's 350 salmon farms are located.'Genetic pollution' from farm escapees breeding with wild salmon can have a detrimental effect on the survival of wild populations. This is because wild fish are genetically adapted to life in their local environment while farmed fish have been selectively bred for fast weight gain - not longevity. Every year 300,000 - 400,000 farmed salmon escape, but in severe storms the numbers can rise, as in January 2005 when up to 1 million farmed fish escaped in just one incident.It has been estimated that the amount of pollution in Scotland due to the ammonia input from fish farming is comparable to sewage produced by 9.4 million people.Excreta from salmon farms helps the growth of the toxin that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning. The increase in shellfish poisoning in Scotland has been matched by the massive growth of salmon farming.The water around a fish farm can become so heavily contaminated, as in Loch Hourn (featured in a Sainsbury's advert) in the Scottish Highlands, that no life can survive on the seabed.The real price of farmed salmon also includes the killing of an estimated 3,500 seals around Scottish fish farms each year.
Your taxes are helping to fund these destructive practices, some of which are stealing food from poor nations
Commercial fisheries in the EU received a total of £644 million in subsidies during 2003.The EU also spends £127 million a year buying access for EU fishermen to distant waters, including those of many poor countries, denying them access to their own fish. Spanish boats fishing off Fiji sell the fish in Europe as European-caught.For a decade, scientists have been warning that fish populations of West Africa are over-exploited (declined by 50% since 1945) and many species are facing collapse, due to exploitation by foreign fishing vessels.Virtually every fisheries agency, including the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas, which helps manage fisheries for the EU, agrees that subsidies during 2003 are the main cause of rampant overfishing worldwide.
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