This Is Why You Don't See People-Size Salmon Anymore

[SummerMadness]

This Is Why You Don't See People-Size Salmon Anymore

While the orcas of Puget Sound are sliding toward extinction, orcas farther north have been expanding their numbers. Their burgeoning hunger for big fish may be causing the killer whales' main prey, chinook salmon, to shrink up and down the West Coast.

Chinook salmon are also known as kings: the biggest of all salmon. They used to grow so enormous that it's hard now to believe the old photos in which fishermen stand next to chinooks almost as tall as they are, sometimes weighing 100 pounds or more.

 

[hislegacy]

I love salmon especially smoked on cedar.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

It makes me wonder if the over-fishing of certain areas (and certain species) are playing a role in this...

By the latest reports, over 30% of the world's fisheries have been pushed beyond their biological limits. Several popular commercial fish populations have been depleted by over 60% in the last 20 years alone They've even started marketing what used to be considered "trash fish" or "throw-away fish" with fancy names just so they have something to sell as the actual qualify fish are getting rapidly depleted and less available than they used to be.

Marine life is one of those things that needs to be carefully managed and not tampered with too much in order to keep a certain balance. All it takes is an unchecked species having their natural predators removed to completely throw the ecosystem out of alignment and that species can overrun the place in short order.

This is the problem with making animal products the main staple of the modern western diet (of which all meals seem to be centered around), instead of simply one aspect of a much more broad balanced diet.

Instead of animal products being something that's part of a meal, it's become the main course and centerpiece of every meal...which has led to some very unsustainable practices for both land and sea animals.

 

[SummerMadness]

Overfishing is likely the biggest culprit here along with habitat loss. I think habitat loss mostly affects the larger predators in the ecosystem, which as you say leads to the attempt to market throwaway fish as something gourmet with the popular varieties being depleted.

 

[dgiharris]

It makes me wonder if the over-fishing of certain areas (and certain species) are playing a role in this...

By the latest reports, over 30% of the world's fisheries have been pushed beyond their biological limits. Several popular commercial fish populations have been depleted by over 60% in the last 20 years alone They've even started marketing what used to be considered "trash fish" or "throw-away fish" with fancy names just so they have something to sell as the actual qualify fish are getting rapidly depleted and less available than they used to be.

Marine life is one of those things that needs to be carefully managed and not tampered with too much in order to keep a certain balance. All it takes is an unchecked species having their natural predators removed to completely throw the ecosystem out of alignment and that species can overrun the place in short order.

This is the problem with making animal products the main staple of the modern western diet (of which all meals seem to be centered around), instead of simply one aspect of a much more broad balanced diet.

Instead of animal products being something that's part of a meal, it's become the main course and centerpiece of every meal...which has led to some very unsustainable practices for both land and sea animals.

Much like global warming, we as a species refuse to be honest about our actions in regards to animals, species extinction, deforestation, and our abysmal treatment of the oceans.

We have the technology to ensure that adequate foodstuffs are produced without devastating the environment... we just lack the will.

We'd rather just "hope" that everything is okay instead of using actual data to dictate our actions.

I feel ashamed because we (everyone born after 1920) are the first epoch of mankind that is leaving the world worse off after our presence than before it. We are screwing our children and our children's children. Within the next hundred years children will be looking at videos of elephants, giraffes, apes, whales, and god knows how many species of fauna wondering why we would ever drive such beautiful things into extinction.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

Much like global warming, we as a species refuse to be honest about our actions in regards to animals, species extinction, deforestation, and our abysmal treatment of the oceans.

We have the technology to ensure that adequate foodstuffs are produced without devastating the environment... we just lack the will.

I feel ashamed because we (everyone born after 1920) are the first epoch of mankind that is leaving the world worse off after our presence than before it.

In all honesty, I don't lay the full blame at the feet of many of the individuals who are engaging in the type of thinking you described...

(I don't know how old you are), but I'm 34 and people in the approximate age range of my parents grew up in the generation that was subject to a lot of misinformation about diet, nutrition, and food in general.

From 1920-1960, the beef industry doubled their production numbers (and their marketing campaigns suggesting that their product was a staple of a healthy diet)

From 1935-1965, the same can be said of the dairy industry.

From 1950-1980, it was the pork industry's turn.


Healthy, plentiful, and low-impact (but also low-profit) plant based dietary foods went by the wayside, and people growing up in that time period were taught by educators, "experts", and scientists-for-hire (thanks to under-regulation) that the 3 products listed above were not only good for you, but so essential that you needed them in your diet or you wouldn't be healthy. People, once they get to my parents age, can tend to be set in their ways and have no intention of changing. I remember them passing along that information to me. We weren't allowed to leave the table after each meal until we finished two glasses of milk, and every meal my mom prepared was 75% meat (usually something like meatloaf or pork chops), and a few veggies on the side.

Beef & Dairy are the real culprits in terms of environmental impact...

Thankfully, more and more people are becoming aware of this and beef and dairy consumption is on the decline. Chicken is on the rise, beef, dairy, and pork have been on a steady decline for about 10 years now and that trend is expected to continue. That's a good sign. Both for the environment, and for human health.

The last remaining domino that needs to tumble is to remove the vast lobbying power the beef and dairy industries have. The beef industry has been paying to hold up the release of some very marketable beef alternative products in FDA approval limbo. The big is going to be the Impossible Burger. Right now, it's in limited restaurants around the country, but it hasn't been approved for home consumption. There's a restaurant by me that has them, I can say as a former heavy consumer of red meat, they taste legit and their 100% plant based and have more protein than a beef burger. Products like that could change the industry.

...and the dairy industry is still releasing bogus studies about the mythical negative impacts of soy milk and have started to attack almond milk as well. Thankfully, this generation is gradually starting to see the situation for what it really is, and is making some meaningful dietary changes.

From a personal standpoint, over the last few years
- I've completely eliminated all beef
- Consumed no dairy milk, the only dairy I have is the rare cheese on a pizza for a "cheat meal"
- Reduced pork consumption by about 75%
- Reduced chicken consumption by about 50%
- Replaced that with higher protein plant-based foods
(and I've never been a fish person...could never get passed the fish smell enough to actually enjoy eating it)

I was someone who had success and loved being on the paleo diet when I did it...I absolutely loved eating lots of meat at every meal, so if I can do it, anyone can

 

[dgiharris]

In all honesty, I don't lay the full blame at the feet of many of the individuals who are engaging in the type of thinking you described...

(I don't know how old you are), but I'm 34 and people in the approximate age range of my parents grew up in the generation that was subject to a lot of misinformation about diet, nutrition, and food in general.

From 1920-1960, the beef industry doubled their production numbers (and their marketing campaigns suggesting that their product was a staple of a healthy diet)

From 1935-1965, the same can be said of the dairy industry.

From 1950-1980, it was the pork industry's turn.


Healthy, plentiful, and low-impact (but also low-profit) plant based dietary foods went by the wayside, and people growing up in that time period were taught by educators, "experts", and scientists-for-hire (thanks to under-regulation) that the 3 products listed above were not only good for you, but so essential that you needed them in your diet or you wouldn't be healthy. People, once they get to my parents age, can tend to be set in their ways and have no intention of changing. I remember them passing along that information to me. We weren't allowed to leave the table after each meal until we finished two glasses of milk, and every meal my mom prepared was 75% meat (usually something like meatloaf or pork chops), and a few veggies on the side.

Beef & Dairy are the real culprits in terms of environmental impact...

Thankfully, more and more people are becoming aware of this and beef and dairy consumption is on the decline. Chicken is on the rise, beef, dairy, and pork have been on a steady decline for about 10 years now and that trend is expected to continue. That's a good sign. Both for the environment, and for human health.

The last remaining domino that needs to tumble is to remove the vast lobbying power the beef and dairy industries have. The beef industry has been paying to hold up the release of some very marketable beef alternative products in FDA approval limbo. The big is going to be the Impossible Burger. Right now, it's in limited restaurants around the country, but it hasn't been approved for home consumption. There's a restaurant by me that has them, I can say as a former heavy consumer of red meat, they taste legit and their 100% plant based and have more protein than a beef burger. Products like that could change the industry.

...and the dairy industry is still releasing bogus studies about the mythical negative impacts of soy milk and have started to attack almond milk as well. Thankfully, this generation is gradually starting to see the situation for what it really is, and is making some meaningful dietary changes.

From a personal standpoint, over the last few years
- I've completely eliminated all beef
- Consumed no dairy milk, the only dairy I have is the rare cheese on a pizza for a "cheat meal"
- Reduced pork consumption by about 75%
- Reduced chicken consumption by about 50%
- Replaced that with higher protein plant-based foods
(and I've never been a fish person...could never get passed the fish smell enough to actually enjoy eating it)

I was someone who had success and loved being on the paleo diet when I did it...I absolutely loved eating lots of meat at every meal, so if I can do it, anyone can

My post wasn't solely focused on the food industry though they are part of my post...

My post was moreso focused at all of mankind and our treatment of the planet as a whole starting in the 40s.

Firstly, we had a global world war that decimated areas of the globe to include detonating an atomic weapon.

Then in the 50s we set off nukes like children playing with firecrackers.
Prior to the 60s I feel as a species we were a bit ignorant on the impact mankind could have on the entire planet. However, the 60s gave birth to our consciousness in terms of seeing what we were doing to the Earth. We started tracking extinctions and oil usage and environmental impact... And then we (as a species) for the most part decided not to do that much about it. To be fair, at least in the US we did enough to keep ourselves from living in an environmental sewer (see Russia and China) but as a species we really didn't make a conscious effort to not trash the planet.

If we jump to the 80s we saw a huge movement to save the planet and to take stock of the environment but that never really picked up the momentum it should have.

Now in 2018, we are fully aware of the planet and what we are doing but we are more or less just numbed to it. For most of us it is out of sight out of mind. For The Powers That Be, it is all about commerce and economics and no way we endure any temporary hardships to save the Earth. Better to just kick that can down the road a few decades. I mean, we will all be dead by then so who cares if we leave future generations living in sewers

 

[rambot]

I love salmon especially smoked on cedar.

Hey!!! Some thing that I agree 100% on with hislegacy!

I go to Vancouver Island every summer (inlaws). The family has a connection to some of the first nations people there and they get the most unbelievably fat, delicious, fresh and wild salmon you could dare slide down your throat. argle bargle blyeahhhhhhhhhuuummmy!