Local vs. global

While the global marketplace has been great for people that love to consume, it is disasterous for the "little fish" such as the farming family and wild fish stocks on both coasts Canada.

There is no more intelligent act nor stronger show of support that we, as conscious beings, can make than to eat locally, seasonally and healthily. Our children & neighbours, not to mention our own minds & bodies, will be nurtured.

We must still be able to honour our commitment to helping food producers in the rest of the world by supporting the purchase of staple, traditional crops, but we need to do a little research into the methods employed in the production of these items and know just who it is that we are actually supporting. Obviously this is more easily done when the products are originating within our province, but knowledge is attainable if we desire it.

Instead of contributing to the desacration of the oceans, we would be better served by supporting a sustainable salmon fishery, be it wild or "farmed." Clearly there is a need to improve the methods of cultivation, and if we support those that are in court demanding it, we will get there sooner.

Strangely, it is often our own elected officials that make tasks like this more difficult. What we need in this province is to have contributions to political parties from business made illegal if we are to put the interests of all citizens at the top of the list of government priorities.

Demand for such things is made in the courts these days, but I still feel that when the strength of the collective feeling is demonstrated with pitch forks and torches at the seat of government, it is harder to ignore and arguably more effective. I have a feeling we will get back there soon enough, locally as well as globally.

Poor ol' Pollack-Not California Dreamin...

Years ago when that horrible "crab and "lobster" hit the market-you know the stuff with the pink lines, i felt sorrow for the poor ol' Pollack. It was the main ingredient of this phoney shellfish. This was an invented product to sell Pollack.

Now thanks to millions and millions of california rolls being eaten-that "crab" with the avocado is actually Pollack-it is threatened.

You might want to think about this next time you see cheap california rolls. Everything has it price and the Pollack is paying for the sushi craze.

pollock

Guess what, the pollock in that california roll also provided a huge amount of feed (through their planktonic larvae) for growing salmon in the Gulf of Alaska. Everything does indeed have its price

California Rolls

That imitation crab is called kamaboko,(Kamaboko has been made in Japan since the 14th century) which is made with surimi, which is typically made from white-fleshed fish, (such as pollock or hake)and also:
Milkfish (Chanos chanos)
Swordfish (Xiphias gladius)
Tilapia
(Oreochromis mossambicus)
(Oreochromis niloticus niloticus)
Big-head pennah croaker (Pennahia macrocephalus)
Golden threadfin bream (Nemipterus virgatus)
Cod (Gadus morhua)
Bigeyes (Priacanthus arenatus)
Pacific whiting (Merluccius productus)
Alaska pollock (Theragra chalcogramma)
Various shark species.

There's also the genus of anglerfish, the fish that goes fishing. The most common member of the family sold in north America is called goosefish, sold as monkfish. It's also known as poor-man's lobster because of it's chunky firm flesh. The large ugly head is cut off before the fish goes to market (sometimes known in France as the devil of the sea [lotte]) and what's left is a slimy chunk of body and tail, which used to mean it was unattractive and cheap in north America. The chunks of flesh don't flake so it's good for kebobs, it's also low in fat, so it's not so cheap anymore.

Don't get me started on groupers and porgies.

If ever there were a need for an international organization with billions in funding for policing authority, it is there in the oceans.

Arrrgh, a can of worms you can't even fish with.

RMan opines:

"If ever there were a need for an international organization with billions in funding for policing authority, it is there in the oceans."

Certainly there is a need for an international organisation to police international waters, but I cannot see an international funding agreement happening, since so many countries depend upon illegal or quasi-legal fishing for food and revenue.

It's worth a try, of course, but IMO, Canadians would be much better advised to lobby our gov'ts for a revitalising of DFO, which is now more a joke than a policeman, OR competent manager, the result of constant "downsizing" and underfunding.

Want to find some new ocean research? Don't waste your time looking in DFO sites - you'll have to go to a US site to find new, original research in the Fisheries, just as is the case with Forestry. (and you'll probably get the data without paying for it, too). It's just that WE can't afford all that useless nonsense, you see.

And what right can we claim to stick our noses into other nation's business when we can't settle Alexandra Morton's Sea Lice
issue? ANYWHERE else and she'd have won her case two years ago. So where's the public outcry over this corrupt Campbell gov't's fronting for the fish-farms, the bulk of which are owned by the world's largest fish-farmer? (whose name escapes me, and I'm not going to bother looking it up)

G'nite