If you've ever wondered how bad eating fish is for the sea and for yourself: in the Netflix documentary Seaspiracy, director Ali Tabrizi takes us on a journey and explains how commercial fishing destroys marine animals - and what will happen if we continue to consume fish. Seaspiracy goes below the surface to reveal the cruelty and misinformation that occurs daily in the global fishing industry. In this article, we have gathered 5 reasons why you should switch to vegan Omega 3 now! Based on the facts outlined in Seaspiracy.
1. "Sustainably" catching fish for food does not exist.
We all know the "misleading" labels for sustainable fishing that many companies use to make consumers believe that killing certain types of fish is sustainable. A good example is salmon farming. This industry in Scotland is estimated to produce the same amount of organic waste each year as the entire population of Scotland. Yet the fish these farms sell are marketed and labeled as ''sustainable.''
''Commercial fishing is even more damaging than oil spills-the fishing industry in the Gulf of Mexico destroyed more animals in a single day than the largest oil spill in history, Deepwater Horizon, did in months.''
The fact is that there is not even an agreed-upon definition for the term sustainable among conservation groups. This means that these "sustainable" labels are virtually meaningless.
2. Fish have feelings like fear and pain
Pisces are individuals with unique personalities and, above all, a desire to live. Although they cannot express emotions, fish can feel fear and pain in the same way as humans.
When commercial fishing vessels remove fish from their habitat, squeezed into huge nets that often tear their guts, fish are likely to make a terrifying journey to the surface. When they reach the surface alive, their gills are often slit and they are thrown into a hold to bleed to death, or thrown onto ice to freeze and/or slowly suffocate.
3. In less than 30 years, the oceans will be devastated if fishing continues at the same rate
Shocking right? If we don't take action now, our oceans will be virtually empty by 2048. Fish are of paramount importance in maintaining the ocean ecosystem. Without fish, coral reefs, sharks, dolphins, whales and birds - will starve. We can end this if we stop supporting the greedy and cruel fishing industry.
4. "Dolphin safe" is never really dolphin safe
"Dolphin Safe" labels on tuna cans look great and make people feel better but they are worthless and misleading. An estimated 300,000 dolphins and whales are killed each year after being caught in fishing nets. Worse, in some areas the fish population has declined so rapidly that fishermen view dolphins as competition and therefore routinely slaughter entire groups of dolphins. How can you be sure that the things you eat do not compromise animal safety? Make a conscious decision about how many times a week you eat something, or even easier to become vegan. It's very simple!
5. It is estimated that 250,000 sea turtles are caught, injured or killed each year by the fishing industry (in the U.S. alone)
We have all seen the heartbreaking videos of sea turtles with straws in their noses. These videos have led many people and restaurants to switch to paper straws or stop using straws altogether. Don't get us wrong, that's a good thing, but if we look honestly at the numbers, this has a small impact on the real problem. It is estimated that plastic straws kill 1,000 turtles annually, but in the United States alone, it is estimated that fishing vessels trap, injure or kill 250,000 sea turtles each year. Plastic straws account for 0.03% of the total plastic in the ocean, while 46% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch consists of abandoned fishing nets.
6. No matter how you look at it there is no justification for eating fish
You have now read that eating fish is harmful to marine animals, the environment and yourself. The fish you eat probably contains heavy metals, plastics, dioxins and other toxins. But fish is said to be good for omega-3 fatty acids, right? If one thing should be clear once and for all: it is not fish that make omega-3. Fish get their omega-3 fatty acids from the algae cells they eat - which means we can get the necessary vegan omega 3 ourselves by taking algae oil supplements or eating fortified vegan fish products. So why not switch to vegan Omega 3!
"I realized the single best thing I could do every single day to protect the ocean and the marine life I loved, is to simply not eat them." -Ali Tabrizi, Seaspiracy director
If you haven't seen Seaspiracy yet, we highly recommend watching the documentary on Netflix, and if you are convinced that switching to vegan Omega 3 is the right choice check out our website here.
