Commercial fishing endangers dolphins, porpoises and whales

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) has released a report cautioning of the significant risk to these marine mammals especially by large-scale fishing operations.

The study stated that 86% of all toothed-whale cetaceans are seriously threatened by entanglement or capture in gillnets, driftnets, trawls and other types of fishing gear.

As an example, the scientists cited China’s Baiji River Dolphin, which has not been sighted for many years in the Yangtze River, as well as the Vaquita porpoise residing in the northern Gulf of California, whose population has diminished to only 150 remaining in the wild. Both of these species have perished in high numbers due to entanglements in fishing gear.

UNEP Executive Secretary Elizabeth Mrema stated that governments need to increase their efforts to implement protective policies for the survival of the cetacean species.

Our earnest appreciation United Nations Environment Program for revealing the impact of fishing’s detrimental practices on our unique marine mammal friends. May all countries join in acting now to protect the lives of these and all precious fellow beings.

In her tireless endeavors to ensure the welfare of the Earth’s inhabitants, Supreme Master Ching Hai has often emphasized the need to halt fishing, as during a November 2008 interview with Ireland’s East Coast Radio FM.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: We have to stop it. Just stop the fishing. The government has to forbid fishing because it’s too important to our survival to delay any further.

Not only is there overfishing and depleting of marine life, but there is also side killing. Like when the commercial long liners go fishing, they’re killing tens of thousands of sea turtles, by the way, and hundreds of thousands of sea birds and millions of sharks every year.

To stop this destructive practice of fishing, the solution is the vegan diet, no fishy stuff in our meals. The sea offers us plenty of better food choices; the wide varieties of super healthy and nutritious sea plants.

We can even live on it forever. We must protect a living and healthy sea, as it relates to our living and healthy self.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33677&Cr=unep&Cr1=
http://www.physorg.com/news184500664.html
http://www.cms.int/reports/small_cetaceans/general_summary.htm
http://www.answers.com/topic/odontocetes

Fish-based oil and animal feed from dwindling species.

Menhaden, a fish that plays a vital role in maintaining Atlantic Coast ecosystems, is suffering from decades of depletion through overfishing and global warming. Hundreds of millions of pounds of menhaden are ground into feed for hogs, chickens, pets and salmon, while also being used in omega-3 oils and in lipstick, paint, and other items.

As described by New York Times journalist Paul Greenberg and US author H. Bruce Franklin, the menhaden is an herbivorous fish whose algae consumption actually purifies tremendous amounts of water.
However, due to population losses, places such as Chesapeake Bay in the USA are now muddy-brown and contain a growing number of dead zones. In addition, the waste of commercial pig and chicken operations flowing into the Neuse River of North Carolina, USA, has caused vast algal blooms. As millions of menhaden try at once to consume the massive amounts of algae, the insufficient oxygen in the warm water has caused them to suffocate en masse. In the summer of 2009 alone, up to 50 million menhaden were killed and washed ashore along the Neuse River.

Of note is the fact that according to nutritional experts at the US-based Mayo Clinic, substitutes for oil obtained from menhaden readily exist in the form of plant-based oils such as flax seed.

Our appreciation Mr. Greenberg, Mr. Franklin, and Mayo Clinic scientists. We pray that humans quickly cease to consume fish and meat, which are at the root of climate change and environmental imbalance. May all of us strive to develop compassion and live in harmony with our animal co-inhabitants. At a March 2009 climate change conference in Xalapa City, Mexico, joined by Mexican dignitaries and the public, honored guest Supreme Master Ching Hai spoke, as in other occasions, about the preciousness of every species to all life on the planet.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: It’s not only oil but other of our actions as well, such as overfishing and chemical run-off from farms and factories. These all cause harm, because they do not consider the impact of our actions on other beings.

Every being on Earth and in the sea has value, no matter how small they might look, and something unique to do on this planet. It is our ignoring of this balance and the preciousness of all lives that has contributed to our global danger right now.

The way to solve this problem is through greater consideration for all lives. This means we should respect all lives, and in action. If everyone is vegan, having an animal-free diet, then there is a different outlook, different conception for development of all kinds. In our case, it will proceed with compassion and care, which is what we need to restore the wonders of our marine life.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/16/opinion/16greenberg.html?_r=1
http://www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A407465
http://www.ethicurean.com/2009/03/23/menhaden/
http://www.newbernsj.com/news/top-54224-economy-journal.html
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/environment/2009/dec/Dwindling-Population-of-Crucial-Fish-Could-Require-Federal-Attention.html