So long, fish

Mark Bittman talks about the problems with overfishing and the prospect that in the future, most or all of the fish we eat will be farmed.

The biggest consumers of these smaller fish are the agriculture and aquaculture industries. Nearly one-third of the world’s wild-caught fish are reduced to fish meal and fed to farmed fish and cattle and pigs. Aquaculture alone consumes an estimated 53 percent of the world’s fish meal and 87 percent of its fish oil. (To make matters worse, as much as a quarter of the total wild catch is thrown back — dead — as “bycatch.”)

This infographic about overfishing is worth a look. It’s a pity that Bittman felt compelled to write this from the “snob” point of view (which was exacerbated by the editor’s choice of title). As the article makes clear, overfishing is an important issue that affects the earth’s entire population, not just a few picky fish eaters.

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• markbittman