Excerpt from Chapter 5: Fishing and Farming the Oceans

This week, we have an excerpt from Chapter 5: Fishing and Farming the Oceans, from the book Going Vegan to Save the Planet

Fishing is often overlooked when it comes to environmental damage, yet the harm that results from this industry is destroying our oceans and seas. Pollution poisons the water with plastic, oil, fuel, and other chemicals, while bycatch kills billions of creatures each year that are of no use to the fishing industry.

Aquatic animals caught as bycatch are pulled from the water only to be returned injured, causing them to die from the assault and having been out of the water for a prolonged period. Bycatch also harms the recovery of aquatic populations, as juveniles, caught along with those intended can be injured or killed in the process. This leaves them unable to breed, leaving populations to dwindle as fewer and fewer breeding pairs survive. But the harm from fishing and farming the oceans extends beyond that, affecting the water, land, and air.

The unintended creatures caught in nets will often die before returning to the water

Crossing Oceans Twice

One element of the fishing industry, not a part of public discourse, is processing fish in different countries. The process is that fish, caught in one country, are shipped to another and processed before returning for sale. The UK is a prime example of this practice. The sending of UK-caught fish overseas for processing is a striking example of inefficiency in the global food system.

Fish such as cod and haddock are often exported to countries like China for filleting, canning, or freezing. The frozen fish is then shipped back to the UK for distribution and sale. Driven by low labour and processing costs, it is cheaper to process fish in this way. The practice continues despite the environmental and ethical concerns that it raises.

One of the major issues with this system is the significant carbon footprint it creates. Storing fish cold and transporting them thousands of miles, twice, uses a lot of energy and resources. This practice not only adds to greenhouse gas emissions. It also contradicts the principles of local and sustainable food systems, highlighting how lowering costs often takes priority over any environmental considerations.

From a sustainability perspective, this approach undermines the concept of local food. Fish caught in British waters should support local economies and minimise transportation emissions. This raises important questions about the hidden costs of cheap food and the trade-offs between economic efficiency and environmental responsibility. For consumers, this practice often goes unknown as the packaging of fish products rarely tells the full story. While a label might state "caught in the UK", it may not state that the fish were processed 140 thousand miles away. This lack of transparency means consumers cannot make informed choices, stopping them from knowing about the environmental impact of the seafood they buy.

Full citations are available in the Citation section of the book Going Vegan to Save the Planet, by M.E. Whitehead. The book is available in hardback, paperback and eBook. Get your copy from our Books page.

#ClimateChange #Fishing #WaterPollution #GoVegan