At one time fish was my go-to food choice when I was feeling worried about supporting the corporate meat industry. Hey, it made sense. Not only was I “voting with my fork” by not supporting large-scale beef producers, like say Tyson Foods, I was also eating healthier, benefiting from such heart-friendly nutrients as Omega-3 fatty acids. Studies have shown societies who eat more fish have fewer health problems, right?

True, eating fish makes for healthier living. Or at least it used to be. This may no longer be the case given the barrage of recent reports about toxins in fish. While it may not exactly be “new” news – pregnant women have long been urged to avoid fish due to worries about high mercury levels – the din of new reports seem to be echoing the high toxic levels themselves.

A recent article reported on stratospheric toxin levels in whales, and not just mercury. Cadmium, aluminum, lead, silver, titanium, and chromium were found in dangerous levels and all purportedly entered the food chain due to human related activities. Another report focused on seawater and its natural ability to retain mercury in its more toxic form.

In an earlier post I wrote about over-fishing and the idea of eating fewer fish in order to play a part in promoting the end of such practices as a consumer. As it is, you may not even want to eat the fish – period exclamation point!

Image: hoyasmeg

The post The New Green Is Blue: How Blue Is the Ocean? And More Thoughts on Eating Fish appeared first on EcoSalon.

I love fish. Poached salmon. Bouillabaisse. Absolutely sublime sushi. How can I say no to seafood? And why would I?

Sylvia Earle, an awe-inspiring scientist and oceanographer who has studied the ocean for over 50 years, helped change my perspective in her most recent book, The World is Blue: How Our Fate and the Ocean’s Are One. She covers a lot of ocean ground, but one particular bit stuck in my craw with regard to over-fishing.

“Ninety percent of many fish common [in the past half century] are now gone, consumed by eager diners unaware that in their lifetime they might witness the disappearance of some of their favorite wild-caught fare, from tuna and swordfish to lobsters and crabs.”

Slow Food in San Francisco has instituted Meatless Mondays. I began to wonder what we could do for fish. I thought of Fishless Fridays, but that suggests we’re eating fish all the other days of the week. Fish Friday comes to mind, but I believe that’s a Catholic tradition. Maybe it could be more like one day a month, a celebratory day called First Fish Friday, the only day of the month we allow ourselves a special treat from the sea.

It may seem extreme. But what’s more extreme? Reducing personal intake of an endangered food source, or gobbling it down as fast as you can while you watch it disappear? As Earle quoted John C. Sawhill: “In the end, our society will be defined not only by what we create, but by what we refuse to destroy.”

Image: Nicola Zingarelli

The post Be at One with the Ocean: Contemplations on Eating Fish and Fishless Fridays appeared first on EcoSalon.

There are less than two weeks remaining to apply for what Tourism Queensland is billing as the Best Job in the World. Have you applied?

For anyone interested in travel and nature, it probably is the best job in the world.

It’s a six-month posting to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia – the largest living being on Earth, larger than the United Kingdom in area, and one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Living on beautiful Hamilton Island, your job would involve some light caretaking duties – about 12 hours a month – and the rest of your time would be dedicated to exploring the many islands scattered along the thousands of kilometres (2,600km or 1,600 miles to be precise) of reef and telling the world about it through blogging. For this you would be paid $AUS150,000 (nearly $97,000), on top of a rent-free three-bedroom villa.

It sounds like a hoax but it’s actually just a very clever marketing campaign – it’s given Tourism Queensland media coverage all over the world and masses of word of mouth. You have to do a 60-second video to apply and they’ve received nearly 10,000 applications so far. (I’m one of them – though I’ll refrain from posting the link here).

I hope the campaign does bring more tourists to the Great Barrier Reef. It’s a stunning example of the beauty of our planet and what is at stake as we strive to heal the environment. Talk about “last chance to see” tourism – the Great Barrier Reef itself is officially in deep trouble.

Coral reefs are under threat globally from climate change warming the temperature of the sea and causing bleaching and the increasing CO2 in the ocean raising the acidity of the water. Seventy per cent of the world is covered by water, yet the oceans are not clearly understood at all. The more people experience the beauty of the ocean and the more they care, the more policy makers will take it into account.

Tourism helps fund upkeep of the reef and you can even assist with the conservation efforts. A third of the reef is a marine park where not even recreational fishing is allowed. Tourists do need to be careful not to damage the reef (especially by anchoring and mooring boats, polluting the water, walking on the reef or breaking off bits as souvenirs). However, the biggest threats come from global warming and run-off from cane sugar farmers on the mainland, not tourism.

Of course, it’s important to consider the environmental impact of flying to Queensland but if you are planning to travel long haul anyway, it’s a viable option. It’s a 13-hour flight from Los Angeles to Brisbane – a long way but shorter than, say, Los Angeles to Rome. And if you’re Australian, there’s really no excuse!

Responsible Travel is one of the many travel companies offering sustainable holidays to the Great Barrier Reef. If you can’t go in person, check it out on the newly launched oceans feature of Google Earth (or watch a wildlife documentary).

Image: Eulinky

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