Re: Slow Blackfishing This Spring
No easy way around it.. Even the lowly atlantic Mackerel, and once stupidly abundant American Eel are decimated .. I blame the worldwide raw fish eating craze... people around the world, in "advanced" countries pay big money to eat raw fish, and glazed barbecued eels , and the demand for fish is up exponentially compared to years ago... I can remember as a kid, a LOT of people would not eat any fish.. Now people think nothing at all of blowing $100 or more on a skimpy meal of thinly sliced raw fish, totaling only a few ounces of actual fish flesh, along with some skinny fancy sliced vegetable fragments, and a bowl of soy sauce.
When even Eels are struggling you know there are problems.
The problem is demand is outstripping supply for many saltwater species..
I don't think aquaculture is going to be much help, because freshwater fish are not as popular,,, Maybe with time, that will change.....
blackfish are facing the perfect storm.. They are great sportfish, great eating, yet have limited habitat range , don't move around much, are not prolific breeders, and are slow growers. Yet they are in big demand in the modern age. Not a good scenario....They are also targeted by those that have NO desire to follow the rule of law, because of the prices they bring,,,
|
