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When you dine out at a restaurant, you likely give little thought to how the food got to your plate. Unlike beef or chicken which are typically raised on farms, ocean seafood is caught in the wild. Most typically these fish are caught using industrial scale methods.

In the 1960s as the world community looked for answers for feeding a rapidly expanding population, they turned to the oceans. In 40 years what had once seemed like an endless food source has come under unprecedented pressure. One of the major sources of this pressure is a method called bottom trawling.

In this method a giant scoop literally rolls across the bottom of the ocean like a lawn mower. With each pass any fish in the way regardless of species are caught up in the net. The net effect is that area that has just been fished is left nearly devoid of life.

As the international fishing fleet competes for an every smaller supply of fish, the consequences are disastrous.

If you are a seafood lover and you have a conscience you do have alternatives. Here are a couple.

Go fishing yourself. Do it the old fashioned way with a fishing pole, bait and a net. Catch them one at a time and clean and eat them yourself. While you are at it, take a kid along with you teach them something about nature.

Ask for farm raised fish. Most grocery stores know where their fish came from. Ask before you buy and encourage your local store to offer farm raised fish and to promote it to their customers. You can make the same request of your favorite restaurant.

If you want to learn more about the impact of industrial fishing here is an article on the Green Peace website.

Learn how to fish:

Fly Fishing

Ice Fishing

Bass Fishing

Trout Fishing

Carp Carp

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