22
Jul
Top Five Reasons to Forget National Fishing Week
- posted at 6:06 PM
- Permalink
- No Comment
My trusty calendar of worldly goings-on tells me that it’s National Fishing Week. Which means seven days of celebrating abuse to fish and anglers coming out in their droves to pose in ridiculous photos to try and prove their manliness. Forgive my scepticism, but what a load of tosh. Real men (and women!) don’t go anywhere near a fishing line and need to kill living, breathing creatures to prove anything. Compassion? Phwoar, now that’s what I go for!
Here’s a quick run-down of why we should not be celebrating National Fishing Week:
1. Fish aren’t swimming vegetables any more than dogs are. They have nervous systems, feel and respond to pain, and even throwing them back into the water after having a hook shoved through their mouths is cruel.
2. Ninety percent of large fish populations have been exterminated in the past 50 years and one report estimates that by 2048 our oceans will have been completely over-fished.
3. When dragged from the murky depths, fish undergo excruciating decompression - the internal pressure ruptures their swimbladders, pops out their eyes and pushes their stomachs through their mouths. When they’re tossed onboard, many slowly suffocate or are crushed to death.
4. Fish’s bodies absorb toxic chemicals from the water around them, and the chemicals become more concentrated as they move their way up the food chain. Big fish eat little fish, who eat littler fish, so you end up with a whole cocktail of nasties on your dinnerplate.
5. Vegan ‘fish-fingers’, ‘fishess steaks’ and vegan ‘scampi’ taste so good, so you don’t need to compromise on compassion to get a similar taste.
