What Happens When Fish Farms Kill All The Fish??? Updated Mar 2, 2019

We are now at a point that I thought was only a matter of time to get to: once fish farms have killed off all the fish in the ocean, what do we do then? The ramifications are very broad - and we are now there. This is bad.

You will remember that The Sea Around Us group at UBC did the most fundamental, 60 year, global study on ocean forage fish killed to feed farmed fish: http://www.seaaroundus.org/doc/publications/books-and-reports/2016/End_Use_Reconstruction_Report.pdf.

What they found was that: '19 of 20 global forage fish stocks are either collapsing, poorly managed or both.'

The Sea Around Us singled out Norway for having destroyed the Jack Mackerel off Chile. Now, the industry is destroying the anchovetta off Peru.

And remember that those 19 fed the entire ocean food web, as well as Asia where they don't do reduction fisheries (or didn't, as they are now mopping up the anchovetta off Peru) for non-human consumption. Mostly humans eat them, the only real use for killing fish needed by the ocean food networks.

But fish farms have depleted those 19 stocks in less than 50 years to provide farmed salmon for first world mouths. That is reprehensible, and the 20th stock, Antarctica krill, isn't even a fish, and they are being ripped from the sea right now.

So, we are now at the penultimate moment in the non-sustainability of the fish farm industry's fish feed industry. At this point, past the tipping point, the California conference on seafood had some working sessions of industry people.

The fish farm/seafood industry's take on the problems they caused reads like Armageddon of the Sea. From Intrafish: https://www.intrafish.com/events/1705513/f3-what-happens-to-aquaculture-if-we-run-out-of-forage-fish?utm_source=IntraFish+Aquaculture+Newsletter&utm_campaign=d4f2e9028f-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_02_20_12_00&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ec4b681694-d4f2e9028f-244877629.

Here is what industry management has to say about killing off all the fish:

War: Countries facing food security issues as a result of the disappearance of forage fish sources would seek to protect the resources they have. Other countries presumably could battle for access to other nation’s resources. [Yes, global warfare is one possible outcome. Do remember we are talking about farmed fish feed that fish farms have killed off all those global stocks - that should have been for people, if they were caught at all.]

Increase in use of agricultural raw materials: Efforts could focus on ways to use trimming and other resources from agriculture animals. [Trimming is communications speak for fish guts, offal, brains, fish skins, scales, chicken feathers, yes, chicken feathers, and so on, maybe cow guts, brains, chicken guts, lambs wool... ]

Ecosystem imbalance or collapse: Without feeder fish in the marine ecosystem, a massive collapse of the environment could result, affecting all fish. [Yes, the fish farms are saying they have caused a 'massive collapse'. This collapse will have been caused by the Norwegian-style fish farm industry, having killed off all those stocks in less than 50 years.]

Genetics: The loss of forage fish could lead to a massive investment in genetics to solve the problem.[Sure, get back to me when you have invested trillions to 'solve genetics' rather than raising vegetarians.]

Farming forage fish: Can we figure out a way to farm forage fish, many of the groups asked. [So after you killed them all off to feed farmed fish, you want to farm all the forage fish you killed off? I don't think so.]

Prices: Increase in seafood prices for both farmed and wild fish. [Duhh, and what about all those billions of third world humans who don't have food anymore and can't afford farmed fish?]

Regulations: New regulations affecting capture fisheries and aquaculture could evolve. [After fish farms killed off all the fish. Disgraceful.]

Should we eat fish at all: There could be a change in the perspective of all fish as a food source. [Really, I'd say that on-land fish farming of vegetarians and Alaska ocean-ranching of wild salmon may be the outcome, even though Alaska has chosen to push out billions of pink and sockeye fry and accept the pollution to wild salmon genetics. Or do we not want any kind of salmon anymore?]

This is where we are today: less 50 years after the Norwegians had their 'Blue Revolution' the whole experiment ends up on the rubbish tip as the English say.

It didn't have to come to this. Herbivores, like tilapia, have always been the answer to this rapacious industry. And there are chickens, cows, sheep... .

***

And the news today? That fish farms are being investigated for price fixing and cartel formation. These Norwegian companies operate in Canada, in BC. Why are they here? Go to my current BAD NEWS BITES post for the items around number 200: https://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2018/12/bad-news-bites-global-problems-in-fish.html. 

They left Norway looking for lower legal standards. And ended up in Chile, Scotland, England, Shetlands, Ireland, west coast Canana, east coast Canada, WA, USA where they are being closed. Disgraceful. Disgraceful.