When we think of wildlife, we often think of the bears in the mountains, the bison on the grasslands, the songbirds in the skies, and the whales with whom we share the oceans. Why don’t we think of all creatures in the oceans as wildlife? Using the term “seafood” to describe wildlife hides the destruction wrought on ocean ecosystems by industrial fishing.
The global fishing industry kills at least 1 trillion fish every year, even though it produces only about 1% of the world’s food. About half the fish it catches become feed for industrial animal operations, including aquatic ones.
When we talk about industrial fishing, we’re talking about killing wildlife, including endangered species — and badly ravaging ecosystems to bring wealthy countries like the United States an abundance of options in grocery stores and restaurants — and much of what we buy is ultimately wasted. Subsistence fishing is only 3% of global fishing.
But that’s not the only way waste gets into the food chain. Each year fishing gear kills more than 650,000 whales, dolphins, and other marine mammals. These animals are the collateral damage — referred to as “bycatch” — of commercial fisheries and either drown or are tossed away to die from their injuries.
Fishing for tuna doesn’t only deplete tuna. The longline fishing and drift gillnets commonly used to catch tuna and swordfish are deadly for dolphins, as well as sharks and sea turtles. A popular movement for dolphin-safe tuna once took hold, but tuna might want to have a word with those who want dolphin-safe tuna but have no interest in tuna-safe tuna.
We should likewise avoid other common seafood found in fish sandwiches, like wild Alaskan pollock. The pollock industry competes with seals, who also eat these fish, and its trawlers accidentally kill Chinook salmon, an important food source for endangered orcas. Meanwhile trawling wreaks havoc on the seafloor and the creatures who live there.
While lobster, shrimp, and crab are also popular, their fisheries are another danger for whales and turtles who get tangled up in the gear these fisheries use. Entanglement in fishing nets, buoy lines, and cages is a key threat to the wildlife of the seas, including endangered whales.
The United States is the world’s largest seafood importer, bringing in more than $25.5 billion a year. Around 80% of the U.S.-consumed seafood is imported and comes from places like China, Norway, Ecuador, Chile, and India.
