I have met many of the regular fishermen on the beach while picking up trash. The big lament this year, is no fish. Is is because of the water or is it because of over fishing? I ran across an article by Biosyntrx on overfishing, which brought up some great points. How do we continue with a fish diet when we know that overfishing is killing our planet? What are the alternatives? Ellen Troyer suggests using Black Current oil to get your Omega 3 fix.
‘It’s time to question overfishing our seas of small pelagic fish so that the public can balance the fatty acids consumed from the unhealthy diets supported by government subsidies discussed in a Biosyntrx’s Friday Pearl.
Marine fish are divided into offshore small pelagic fish and much larger oceanic pelagic fish, meaning they live their lives away from the sea floor. Small pelagic fish are found in the relatively shallow and sunlit waters above the continental shelf, while oceanic fish swim in the vast and deep waters beyond the continental shelf. The small pelagic fish include anchovies, herrings and sardines, which are the primary source of quality fish oil.
The University of Washington Conservation newsletter recently published an article titled “The Fish are Swimming North, Leaving Fishermen Behind.” This might seem like good news since small pelagic fish may be more likely to survive our warming seas by moving north, but pelagic fishing economies are dependent on these fish, and the men who fish for a living have a harder time moving.
Fishermen now have to travel farther, stay longer, and fish deeper just to get the kind of bounty that their grandfathers could get far more easily. Fisheries worldwide are collapsing.
Less wildlife means more terrorism
“The harvest of wild terrestrial and aquatic animals each year injects more than $400 billion dollars into the world economy, and it provides 15 percent of the human population with a livelihood. It’s also the primary source of animal protein for more than a billion of our species. It’s led to piracy, slavery, and terrorism by creating a market defined by low supply and high demand,” according to UC Berkeley scientist Justin S. Brashares, PhD, and his colleagues who focus on ecology and conservation of wildlife.
It’s economic
“Wildlife declines necessitate increased labor to maintain yields,” said Dr. Brashares in the July 25, 2014, issue of Science magazine. “Harvesters of wildlife often resort to acquiring trafficked adults and children. A vicious cycle ensues as resource depletion drives harvesters to increase their use of forced labor to stay competitive.”
Another article published in the January 16, 2015, edition of Science titled “Marine Defaunation: Animal Loss in the Global Ocean” suggests that humans have profoundly decreased the abundance of marine fauna, including both large (whales) and small, (anchovies) marine life.
Defaunation is the loss of animals from ecological communities and also includes declines in local abundance of individuals.
Although marine defaunation is less advanced than terrestrial defaunation, according to Science magazine, “the recent industrialization of marine harvesting has initiated an era of intense marine wildlife declines. If left unmanaged, many scientists predict that marine habitat alteration, along with climate change will exacerbate marine defaunation.”
One possible solution?
Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are fatty acids that humans and other animals must ingest from food or supplements because the body requires them for good health but cannot synthesize them. Only two fatty acids are known to be essential for humans: omega-6 linoleic acid (LA), and omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid (ALA).
Black currant seed oil (BCSO) is the most chemically stable of the plant-based fatty acid oils. It includes omega-6 LA and omega-3 ALA, as well as omega-6 gamma-linoleic acid (GLA) and omega-3 stearidonic acid (SDA). It supports healthy structure / function of anti-inflammatory activity in mucosal tissues including eyes, nose, mouth and vagina.
Omega-6 GLA and omega-3 SDA found in BCSO also support healthy triglyceride levels and healthy platelet activity, indicating it may play a role in heart health, as well as mucosal tissue health.
Direct dietary sources of omega-6 GLA and omega-3 SDA are very uncommon and some individuals are unable to metabolically convert omega-6 LA and omega-3 ALA into GLA and SDA, especially if they are zinc, magnesium, vitamin C or B6 deficient.
BCSO has health-promoting anti-inflammatory biological properties similar to omega-3 eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) from fish oil, and the really good news—this particular plant seed oil is sustainable.
Via Biosyntrx : Ellen Troyer with Spencer Thornton, MD
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