Ministers across
the European Union
convening
on Tuesday, March 1
called for the first-ever
reform in 40 years of
a fisheries policy that has
resulted in an estimated
1 million tons of fish
caught in the North Sea
alone being thrown back
into the sea each year.
This is due to
an imposed quota system,
which was originally
specified by
the European Union
to protect the fish stock.
However, in part due to
fishing methods where
giant nets are dragged
across the ocean floor,
capturing all marine life
they encounter,
up to two-thirds of the
fish caught in some areas
are now being discarded,
most of them
already perished.
In addition,
unintentionally caught
species which do not
have quota regulations
must also be discarded.
In discussing with
delegates from European
Union member states,
Fisheries Commissioner
Maria Damanaki said
she hopes to introduce
a discard ban by 2013.
Meanwhile,
more than 650,000
signatures have been
gathered by advocates
in the United Kingdom
hoping to
stop the practice.
Thank you
Commissioner Damanaki,
European Union
ministers and all advocates
for your efforts to save
precious marine lives.
May the day soon come
when our friends
of the sea can roam
the ocean waters freely
and safely as we cherish
their existence
as we would our own.
Supreme Master Ching Hai
has often addressed
the devastating
consequences
of fishing practices,
as during a May 2009
videoconference in Togo.
Supreme Master Ching Hai : The way we are going now,
we are literally emptying
the oceans of certain fish,
plus tons of other fish
caught along with them
by accident, the by-catch
that are just thrown away.
So, if those fish are
all gone, we will see
a catastrophic loss
of other marine species
as well.
The ocean is a miracle.
But if we ruin
the ecosystems
through overfishing, this
will spell disaster for us.
So, speaking for
the environment,
fishing for food is not
the answer at all.
No animal products at all;
that is the best way.
We should be vegan.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/mar/01/eu-ban-fish-discards
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/mar/01/government-attacks-eu-fishing-ruleshttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12598660
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7635668.stm
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