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On my walk I passed a seafood restaurant, but first I passed the back of the restaurant where the fish are delivered to a loading dock where they go into plastic containers and are moved to a freezer. I started thinking about how all this works. People who can afford a meal at this restaurant pay anywhere from 30$ - 60$ for a plate of fish (or lobster) cooked to taste with a sauce and a garnish, a vegetable and a glass of wine. If they use the bathroom, let's just say, their expensive poop and pee goes to the waste treatment plant where the solids are separated from the water and they undergo separate treatments: Solid sludge becomes fertilizer or goes to the landfill or it is incinerated. The treated, disinfected wastewater is discharged into rivers, lakes and oceans. Some of it is used for irrigation or industrial processes or it is further purified for reuse as drinking water. We all sort of know all of this, albeit we don't think about it when we are dining out, but, as a system, it has kind of worked for us . . . mostly. But as I kept walking my thoughts circled back to the beginning of the system. The fish are caught by hook or net in a small or large boat. As I pictured that I started wondering what is that like for the wild caught fish? Here is a disturbing fact: Wild-caught fish die primarily from suffocation (asphyxiation) or trauma when removed from the water, taking anywhere from one to four hours to lose consciousness depending on the species. Commercial fish often die from suffocation or, if eviscerated while alive, may remain conscious for 25-65 minutes. We also all pretty much know all this deep down, but, again, we prefer not to think about it. What makes this whole marketing system work, after-all, is enjoying being able to benefit from it. If we don't benefit from it, we might start questioning its viability, which might include the equally disturbing reflection that nobody compensates nature for the gift of the fish.
