Reef cod is a
tasty fish which is mainly found in the marine
waters of Kerala. But there is always the serious
danger of its being overharvested.
The vastness
of the ocean makes us feel that it is limitless
and its resources can never be seriously damaged
by any human activitiy. But we are gradually
getting to realize, that the oceans are much
more fragile than we could have imagined. Human
marauders are robbing the ocean and killing
off marine life and valuable fishes among which
is Reef cod.
As we know, about
70% of the earth surface is ocean. The average
depth of the ocean is 3700 meters and the average
height of land is 800 meters. This leads us
to conclude that marine life holds a very important
place in our lives.
Human beings
are sort sighted enough to be completely involved
with commercial activities which lead to short
term profits. We tend to ignore the long term
benefits. The ocean, one of the earth's most
important food sources is now seriously been
endangered. Reef cod falls into this category.
The reasons being: harmful fishing, pollution,
poaching, negative forms of aquaculture and
bio-prospecting and global warming. Billions
of people have been affected by this especially
in the third world countries.
The industries
which affect this important part of the planet
are being controlled by people who are greedy
and ignorant. Marine life has been seriously
depleted. Some have become extinct and the ecosystem
has become seriously imbalanced. Many fishing
communities have lost their means of livelihood
and the third world countries face serious food
insecurities. Reef cod is an important fish
which is caught and eaten in the coastal communities
of Kerala and South India. This fish may also
face the same problem.
Commercial fishing
industries have expanded to such an extent that
marine life has been seriously depleted. Global
fishing has steadily increased over the years,
hitting a record of 101 million tons in 1993.
Most of the oceans' key fishing grounds are
declining steadily. The reef cod which is a
marine fish could also face the threat of becoming
extinct. Some of them are the Gulf of Thailand,
the seas around South east Asia, the southern
North sea and the Northern Mediterranean. Fisheries
of the Great Banks and Georges Bank off the
Atlantic coast of North America have become
commercially extinct. This resulted in huge
unemployment among many Canadian fishermen.
As various fish
stocks decline, including that of the reef cod,
the value and nutrition of fishes also go down.
Some of them are the Indian ocean prawn, Atlantic
cod, Blue fish Tuna, Halibut and many others.
The fishes now caught are of low quality and
lower in the food chain. This deprives mammals
and birds of food.
The Australian
waters are also in a bad shape. A report formulated
in 1993, tells us that only 9 out of 100 commercial
species can still be exploited now. The narrow
continental shelves of the ocean have also been
seriously damaged. The UN Food and Agriculture
Organization which promotes industrial fishing
on a large scale has now said that fishing at
current rates must stop. 70% of the world's
fish stocks are either fully exploited, overfished,
depleted and all are being rebuilt, reef cod
being one of them.
Modern industrial
fishing is also very wasteful and destructive.
One in four fishes taken from the sea are bycatch
- without any commercial value. The prawn catching
trawlers are the most wasteful. The bycatch
can outnumber prawns by 125-830 percent. The
affected victims are mostly sharks and sea turtles.
The fleets from Europe have been overfishing
in their own waters are now robbing the third
world of their fishes which includes the reef
cod.
The government
of every country realizes that a crisis of catastrophic
proportions is approaching. Lack of right decisions
will lead to serious environmental problems.
Laws should be made, but what is more important
is that these laws have to be enforced.
The problem
of over harvesting should be given serious consideration
by fishing industries' throughout the world.
For price
quotes and any further information, feel free
to call us today at:
Siam
Canadian Foods Co., Ltd.
9th Floor, Suite 283/44, Home Place Office Building.
283 Thonglor 13, Sukhumvit 55
Kongton Nua, Wattana, Bangkok 10110,
THAILAND
Call us at +66-2-185-3311
Fax: +66-2-185-3317
Email us at info@siamcanadian.com
