A diver swims with sharpfin barracuda, one of the many ocean species under threat from global warming, in Australia, Queensland, Great Barrier Reef. Pete Atkinson / The Image Bank / Getty Images Plus
The oceans could look much emptier by 2100, according to a new study that found that most fish species would not be able to survive in their current habitat if average global temperatures rise 4.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, as The Guardian reported.
<p>The researchers of the new paper said that 60 percent of fish species face a grave threat from global heating if temperatures approach that worst-case scenario level. The species under threat include many <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/seafood" target="_self">common fish found in grocery stores</a>, including staples like Atlantic cod, Alaska pollock and sockeye <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/salmon" target="_self">salmon</a>, and sport fishing favorites like swordfish, barracuda and brown trout, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/02/weather/fish-vulnerable-ocean-warming-climate-change-scn/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported.</p><p>The new study, published in the journal <em><a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6499/65" target="_blank">Science</a></em>, looked at how nearly 700 fresh and saltwater fish species respond to warming ocean temperatures. The problem for most fish is that as ocean temperatures rise, the oxygen level goes down, which makes it extremely challenging for embryos to survive.</p>
<p>"A 1.5C increase is already a challenge to some, and if we let global warming persist, it can get much worse," said Hans-Otto Pörtner, a co-author on the paper and a climatologist at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research in Germany, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/02/fish-species-survival-climate-warming-study" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported.</p><p>That 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold would result in 10 percent of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/marine-life" target="_self">marine species</a> suffering over the next 80 years, including the aforementioned grocery staples.</p><p>However, even a 10 percent decline in fish species has a large ripple effect on ecosystems as one species being pushed out effects the food supply and the habits of many other species that have evolved to be interdependent.</p>
<p>Since we are already 1 degree warmer than the pre-industrial level and emissions are starting to rise around the world as countries reopen, it seems highly unlikely that the world will not blow past that lowest benchmark. In fact, we are currently on pace for a 3 degree increase over the pre-industrial level, as The Guardian noted.</p><p>"More than half of the species potentially at risk is quite astonishing, so we really emphasize that it's important to take action and follow the political commitments to reduce climate change and protect marine habitats," said Dr. Flemming Dahlke, a marine biologist at Germany's Alfred Wegener Institute and one of the authors of the study, as CNN reported.</p>
<p>The declining oxygen levels threaten fish because adult fish preparing to mate fill up their bodies with either eggs or sperm, which strains their hearts as they pump more blood to supply their reproductive organs with enough oxygen, according to the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-8484103/Rising-water-temperatures-endanger-matings-fish.html" target="_blank">Daily Mail</a>.</p><p>Also, fish embryos inside eggs could also die since they don't have gills — meaning they will be unable to get enough oxygen to survive.</p><p>"There's a difference in the tolerable temperature range of almost 20 degrees on average between embryos and adults," Dahlke said, as CNN reported. "This of course makes a big difference when you want to look at the sensitivity of species to global warming."</p>
<p>The rapid increase in temperatures could force fish to adapt in an unprecedented way or to move toward cooler water closer to the poles. Freshwater fish living in lakes and ponds have a bleak outlook since they cannot move towards cooler waters.</p><p>"Some species might successfully manage this change," said Dahlke, as the Daily Mail reported. "But if you consider the fact that fish have adapted their mating patterns to specific habitats over extremely long time frames, and have tailored their mating cycles to specific ocean currents and available food sources, it has to be assumed that being forced to abandon their normal spawning areas will mean major problems for them."</p><p>A lot of this is a conservative estimate since the study did not take into account pollution or the increased acidity of the ocean, which could present additional challenges to sensitive species, as The Guardian noted.</p><p>"Some tropical fish are already living in zones at their uppermost tolerance, their areas are already 40C," Pörtner said. "Humankind is pushing the planet outside of a comfortable temperature range and we are starting to lose suitable habitat. It's worth investing in the 1.5C goal."</p>
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Bekah Nelson / Florida Fish and Wildlife (CC BY 2.0)
By David Shiffman
Let's go fishin'! After all, a lone angler fishing from a dock or a few friends going out to sea can't have all that much of an effect on fish populations … right?
Think again.
<p>"When you're floating in the open ocean, it can be hard to imagine that your hobby will have an impact on the overall health of a fishery," said Sepp Haukebo, who works on recreational fisheries <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation">conservation</a> issues for the Environmental Defense Fund. "But multiply the number of fish a single angler catches and discards in a day by <em>millions</em> of anglers and you have a significant harvest on your hands."</p><p>Haukebo echoes points made in two new studies, published in the journals <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/faf.12417?af=R" target="_blank"><em>Fish and Fisheries</em></a> and <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.00012/full" target="_blank"><em>Frontiers in Marine Science</em></a>, that show recreational fishing has a much bigger collective effect on oceanic species than previously realized, with nearly one million tons of fish caught every year.</p><p>Far from being an insignificant drop in the proverbial ocean, this is a massive amount of fish — about 1% of total global marine fisheries catch, a much higher number than many scientists and managers used to believe.</p>
<h3>Collective Impact</h3><p>So how is it that the actions of individuals can have such a far-reaching effect? Recreational anglers usually catch just a few ocean fish in a whole day, while industrial-scale commercial fishing often uses miles-long gear and catches tons of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/marine-life">marine life</a> at a time.</p><p>Part of the answer is scale: Previous research has shown that there are a <em>lot</em> more recreational anglers than there are commercial fishing vessels — at least <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/116/12/5209" target="_blank">220 million people</a> go fishing for fun every year all around the world.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjg4MzQxNi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNjgyNDgxOH0.vLAgKxCIzQxKO98Il9inI-6-MJy1bklVzy0gkZJMJls/img.jpg?width=980" id="2719f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0c0d1ff53acd4099dcd49a687418e4cd" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
The marina in Valencia, Spain. Mark Chinnick (CC BY 2.0)
<p>That number is expected to grow as people and countries become more affluent, said Jessica Meeuwig, a professor at the University of Western Australia and a coauthor on the <em>Frontiers in Marine Science</em> paper.</p><p>Another part of the answer involves economics: For people and companies trying to make a profit from fishing — like with commercial fisheries — there's an incentive to stop fishing when populations get low.</p><p>But if you're fishing for fun, you're paying for the experience, and the experience of catching a relatively rare fish is often considered worth paying extra.</p>
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B9mfbrlHQSi/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B9mfbrlHQSi/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"> <div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; 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font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;"> View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div></a> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B9mfbrlHQSi/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">A little something we found whilst jigging! We are so lucky to have such an epic array of species like this Bohar snapper! Only found on pristine reefs... #jigging #verticaljigging #fishing #primezulufishing #primezulufishingcharter #mozambique #travelforfishing #travel #moz</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/primezulu/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;" target="_blank"> Prime Zulu</a> (@primezulu) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2020-03-11T17:17:05+00:00">Mar 11, 2020 at 10:17am PDT</time></p></div></blockquote> <script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>
<p>Indeed there are many threatened populations of fish where commercial fisheries are banned <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/faf.12076" target="_blank">but recreational angling continues</a>.</p><p>Additionally, a subset of recreational anglers called trophy anglers <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X14001754" target="_blank">intentionally target the biggest individuals in a population</a>, often with the goal of getting a perceived-as-prestigious certificate that says they hold a record for catching the biggest fish of that species.</p><p>This can affect entire species populations, explained Meeuwig.</p><p>"Recreational fisheries targeting larger fish means they are taking the most fit individuals, the big breeders, out of the population," she said. Bigger fish tend to reproduce more often and have a greater number of young at a time. This culling preference is different from commercial or subsistence fishing, which aim to catch as many fish as possible, but not necessarily the largest individual member of a species.</p><p>There are other factors are play, although those aren't always as clear.</p><p>"Recreational catch of threatened species is an issue that's poorly understood," said Peter Kyne, a senior research fellow at Australia's Charles Darwin University who was not affiliated with either of the new papers. "In Australia, this is a significant issue for the grey nurse shark on the east coast," he said. "Their habitat is close to major cities where recreational fishing levels are high. Even in remote areas of northern Australia, catches of river sharks are an issue — although they are protected, they're similar in appearance to a number of common non-threatened species and anglers may not recognize them."</p>
<h3>A Regulatory Failure?</h3><p>The research also found that most nations don't do a very good job managing their recreational fisheries — especially when compared to their commercial fisheries.</p><p>"Governments fail to recognize that recreational fisheries can decimate populations" or that they can be as important to monitor as commercial fisheries, said Warren Potts, a professor of fisheries science at Rhodes University and lead author of the <em>Fish and Fisheries </em>paper. "This ignores or underappreciates recreational fishing's economic and ecological effects and causes governments to fail to prioritize regulating the practice."</p><p>The paper looked at the global state of management regulations for recreational fishing and found that only 86 nations define recreational fisheries in their national fisheries-management legislation.</p><p>More than half of experts surveyed for the paper raised significant concerns about their nation's recreational-fisheries management. No experts from developing nations, where the popularity of recreational fisheries has exploded as international tourists seek out "exotic" places to fish, believed that their countries effectively manage those fisheries.</p><p>But Robert Arlinghaus, a professor of fisheries management at Humboldt University in Germany who was not involved with either paper, pointed out that many countries do employ a basic fisheries-management regulation called a minimum size limit — in other words, you can't land a fish if it's below a certain size and hasn't had the chance to reproduce yet. This isn't exactly the cutting edge of adaptive science-based management, but it's a lot better than nothing.</p><p>Arlinghaus feels that characterizing the majority of the world's recreational fisheries as ineffectively managed may be taking things a little too far.</p><p>"Recreational fisheries might not be managed <em>optimally,</em>" he said, "and I do think the governance and management systems could be improved in many areas of the world, but I'm not sure that recreational fisheries are generally managed <em>poorly</em>."</p>
<h3>By the Numbers</h3><p>Another major issue with recreational fisheries management boils down to numbers — or lack of them. In most places nobody knows exactly how many fish are caught.</p><p>That's another difference from commercial fisheries — it's just easier to gather data when you're dealing with a limited number of fishing vessels than with hundreds of millions of individual people.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjg4MzQyNS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwOTQ4MzIxMn0.CXOVsL9rME2aFITfNu0XIdJRDDlezXmCRhYSFWSwXgo/img.jpg?width=980" id="117ca" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e3206f8ae396ef6d4b0abeb82551f6ef" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Cod in a commercial net. Derek Keats (CC BY 2.0)
<p>"Some countries keep detailed data on their recreational fisheries catch, but others don't," said Daniel Pauly, principal investigator of the Sea Around Us project at the University of British Columbia and a coauthor on the <em>Frontiers in Marine Science</em> paper. He added that some countries use different agencies to collect data from recreational and commercial fisheries, and those groups don't always speak with each other or consolidate their findings.</p><p>"If you know there are recreational fisheries in a country, but there's no data, you have to be creative," said Pauly. "You can't say 'there's no data, so we'll assume nothing has been caught.'"</p><p>To resolve this data gap and estimate the global catch of marine recreational fisheries, the paper used a method called "catch reconstruction" — a mix of computer analysis and good, old-fashioned detective work.</p><p>Catch reconstruction, he explained, assumes that fishing doesn't happen in a vacuum. Even if you don't have data on how many fish are caught or brought to shore, there's often other information showing things like how many boats used a marina, how much fuel they used, and how much seafood was for sale in local markets.</p><p>That's where Pauly and his team came in. They consolidated information from a variety of sources and built a bigger picture.</p><p>Pauly provided an example of how they accomplished this.</p><p>"In West Africa, many people thought there weren't any substantial recreational fisheries, because there's no catch data available," he told me. "But there are fishing lodges there for tourism, and those lodges post images of what people catch on social media and websites. We know how many people go to those lodges, because tourists entering the country are reported and they fill in where they're staying. If we know how many people visit, how long they stay and what's usually caught, we can estimate catch even with an absence of official statistics."</p><p>This isn't foolproof. Potts pointed out that this kind of formulation can cause complications. He noted that the paper estimated the catch from one fishing lodge and extrapolated it to two others, including one lodge that exists on paper but hasn't actually been built yet. Pauly responded to this concern by pointing out that "we were able to generate first estimates of the catch of West African recreational fisheries … but the fact these these estimates can be improved goes without saying."</p><p>Even though the results are estimates, they suggest two potentially troubling trends. First, all recreational fisheries catch is significantly increasing in developing-world nations, especially in Africa and South America. For example, the number of recreational fishing licenses in Brazil jumped from 276,500 in 2011 to more than 400,000 just two years later.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjg4MzQzMC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MDQxNTk2MX0.Dz7Khbf_NuvobL3adRM1lNNgN-pCT-RGqtYiE8y6jtc/img.jpg?width=980" id="05b83" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d7c6dabd9561b74c1ae03ef14a2255ae" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Fishing off the coast of Brazil, with dolphins swimming nearby. Felipe Vaduga (CC BY 2.0)
<p>Second, recreational fisheries targeting sharks and rays are on the upswing worldwide. Sharks and rays represented less than 1% of total recreational catch in the 1950s, but about 6% today, and are especially increasing in South America, the Indo-Pacific and West Africa.</p><p>"This is a cause for concern given the threatened status of many species of sharks and rays," Meeuwig said. Previous research has shown that about 24% of sharks and related species are threatened or <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species">endangered</a>. "The capture of large sharks is particularly worrisome," she adds, because of their importance as breeders.</p>
<h3>Swimming Forward</h3><p>Arlinghaus said he feels the <em>Frontiers in Marine Science</em> paper represents a "Herculean effort" to gather global recreational catch.</p><p>It's also an opportunity to shift our attention to a previously invisible or ignored problem. Increasingly, as scientists and environmentalists have been raising the alarm about commercial and industrial overfishing, they've implicitly or explicitly sent the message that fishing for fun has so little environmental impact that it wasn't worth considering.</p><p>And Arlinghaus cautioned that the papers' recommendations about recreational fishing have already been misinterpreted in some circles. A widely shared <em>Nature News</em> article about this paper <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00211-4" target="_blank">claimed</a> "hobbyists' harvest of sharks and rays have soared, and catch and release is no solution,"— despite the fact that the paper did not address catch and release. Additionally, some on social media claimed that this paper was proof that all recreational angling needed to be shut down, which was not a recommendation issued by the paper.</p>
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<p>Arlinghaus warned against making those leaps in logic based solely on the data from these papers. "We can't learn much about the conservation concerns associated with a fishery just by looking at landings," he pointed out.</p><p>But the <em>Fish and Fisheries</em> paper did contain some recommendations for improvement.</p><p>"There are some basic guidelines for improving governance that can be followed and should improve the quality of a governance of a country's recreational fisheries," Potts said. These include clearly defining recreational angling in national legislation and stressing how its management differs from commercial fisheries. The paper also calls for increased cooperation with stakeholders to gather more effective data and ensure compliance with rules, and scientific monitoring of populations of fishes targeted by recreational fisheries — all things that are currently done relatively well in the U.S. and Australia, but done relatively poorly in large parts of the developing world.</p><p>"I want to commend these authors for their recommendations," Haukebo said. "This framework is a great reference for any nation that is aspiring to improve, or even just establish, responsible management of their recreational fishery."</p><p>While Haukebo and other experts say you don't have to feel bad about "goin' fishin'" with family and friends just yet, the science presented in these papers makes it clear that in some places individual actions can collectively pose a significant threat to marine species — and that's something governments and conservationists around the world, not to mention anglers, need to start to address.</p>
<p><em>David Shiffman is a marine biologist specializing in the ecology and conservation of sharks.</em></p><p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://therevelator.org/recreational-fishing-environmental-impact/" target="_blank">The Revelator</a>.</em></p>
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EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
By Moira McCarthy
- Researchers say eating at restaurants is generally bad for our overall health.
- They note that 50 percent of full-service restaurant meals and 70 percent of fast-food meals are of poor dietary quality.
- Experts say you can avoid unhealthy eating habits at restaurants by checking the menu beforehand and saving a portion of your meal for lunch the next day.
There was a time not so long ago when dining out was a rare treat and most of our meals were prepared at home.
<p>Today, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/restaurants">restaurants</a> are lined up along main roads, and fast-food joints are tucked into every corner of our world. We even have the ability to summon just about any kind of food to our couch with the tap of an app.</p><p>The result: A solid 20 percent of the calories we consume as a nation comes from some type of restaurant.</p><p>Those factors are bad news for the health of people in the U.S., according to a <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jn/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/jn/nxz299/5696668?redirectedFrom=fulltext" target="_blank">studyTrusted Source</a> published today in The Journal of Nutrition by the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University in Massachusetts.</p><p>The study analyzed the dietary selections of more than 35,000 U.S. adults from 2003 to 2016 in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to determine how often they dined at full-service or fast-food restaurants.</p>
<p>The researchers assessed nutritional quality by evaluating specific foods and nutrients in the meals, based on the <a href="https://www.heart.org/idc/groups/ahaecc-public/@wcm/@gra/documents/downloadable/ucm_432281.pdf" target="_blank">American Heart Association 2020 Diet Score</a>.</p><p>The researchers found that at fast-food restaurants, about 70 percent of the meals Americans consumed were of poor dietary quality.</p><p>At full-service restaurants, about 50 percent were of poor nutritional quality.</p><p>The researchers also report that less than 0.1 percent of all the restaurant meals consumed over the study period were of ideal quality.</p><p>The study authors point out that consumer choice comes into play here, but they add that restaurant choices don't make healthy ordering easy.</p><p>"Our findings indicate that major efforts are needed to improve the nutritional quality of meals consumed at U.S restaurants — both what's available on the menu and marketed, and what Americans actually choose," <a href="https://nutrition.tufts.edu/profile/faculty/dariush-mozaffarian" target="_blank">Dariush Mozaffarian</a>, MD, BS, dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University and a co-author of the study, told Healthline.</p>
<p>"Looking at how close or far each meal was from ideal, the biggest problem is actually too few healthy components," he said.</p><p>The lowest scores — and the greatest room for improvement — were seen for whole <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/grains">grains</a>, fish and other <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/seafood" rel="noopener noreferrer">seafood</a>, and legumes, nuts, and seeds, Mozaffarian says.</p><p>"Adding more healthy foods to restaurant meals, while reducing salt, is the biggest opportunity for improving their healthfulness," he said.</p>
Making Quality Food Available
<p>The study results come as no surprise to food entrepreneur <a href="https://www.specialtyfood.com/news/article/sfa-news-live-innovator-series-shannon-allen-grown/" target="_blank">Shannon Allen</a> and her husband, former NBA star <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/a/allenra02.html" target="_blank">Ray Allen</a>.</p><p>Eight years ago, while driving along a suburban Boston highway and realizing her young son with type 1 diabetes needed to eat quickly, Shannon Allen was faced with the realization that not one of the many restaurants she passed — fast food or otherwise — came close to offering the kind of meals she chooses to feed her children.</p><p>In reaction, Allen took action. She formed <a href="https://www.grown.org/our-story/" target="_blank">Grown</a>, a group of organically certified restaurants.</p><p>Her goal is to place a healthy spot to eat quickly close enough for anyone to access.</p><p>So far, Grown has four locations, including one in the Florida stadium that will host <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/super-bowl" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Super Bowl</a> 2020.</p><p>Allen agrees personal choice plays a role in ordering, but she places the responsibility squarely on the restaurants themselves.</p><p>"I think that for the most part, the food industry is broken," Allen told Healthline. "For some families, it's cost prohibitive to eat real food. Delicious, fresh, nutrient dense, organic ingredients are about three times more expensive than conventional grown ingredients, and it only costs pennies to eat traditional fast food, like burgers, tacos, and fries."</p><p>Allen says those choices aren't necessarily a bad thing if they're an occasional meal. However, if that's the only kind of food a person can afford, it will affect their health over time.</p><p>"If we lead with what's right, what is real, and what is obvious — that real food made with fresh, organic ingredients should be the right of every family," she said, "now we are really doing something to change busy people's lives for the better."</p>Getting the Government to Act
<p>Mozaffarian agrees that restaurants must take action, but he adds this problem should be attacked with a societal and governmental effort as well.</p><p>He says federal, state, and local governments should reward restaurants that are doing the right thing.</p><p>Those officials, for example, can link the <a href="https://www.eda.gov/opportunity-zones/" target="_blank">Opportunity Zones</a> legislation to healthier menu items, or provide tax or regulatory policy that encourages and lowers the cost of healthier options and eating.</p><p>He adds that more messaging is needed to consumers about how critical their food choices are for health and healthcare costs.</p><p>"Many chefs are showing that healthier options can taste even better than unhealthy ones. We need more of this innovation," Mozaffarian said.</p>What You Can Do
<p>So, what's a busy diner to do?</p><p><a href="https://susanweinernutrition.com/" target="_blank">Susan Weiner</a>, MS, RDN, CDE, FAADE, owner of Susan Weiner Nutrition, suggests diners take time to think ahead, study menus, and not fall prey to special "value deals."</p><p>"If you're with other people, it's always best to order first," she told Healthline. "You are less likely to be peer influenced."</p><p>She also suggests the following:</p><ul><li>Review the menu before you go to the restaurant so you have a heads-up on the offerings. You can also call in advance to see if food can be prepared in a way that's satisfactory to you.</li><li>Try to avoid the "upsell" meal deals. Stick to the basics.</li><li>Your server is your friend. Be kind, and ask for recommendations that would fit your needs.</li><li>Put some away for lunch tomorrow. Think about how much you would eat at home. Chances are restaurant portions are much larger. Or, share a meal.</li></ul><p>Mozaffarian would also like to see the presidential candidates not just take this up as a talking point, but take action on the campaign trail.</p><p>"With the 2020 elections in full swing, everyone is talking about healthcare and healthcare costs, but no one is addressing a leading driver: poor food," he said.</p><p>"In fact, it sometimes seems like the candidates are trying to outdo each other on the campaign trail by eating the worst food possible. We will never get healthcare costs under control until we fix our food system. This is a leading opportunity for innovation and better health," Mozaffarian said.</p>From Your Site Articles
- 9 Dishes Chefs Eat When They're Sick - EcoWatch ›
- How to Avoid 'Forever Chemicals' in Your Dinner (and Popcorn ... ›
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Dungeness Crabs’ Shells Are Dissolving From the Severity of Pacific Ocean Acidification
28 January
Oceans
A solitary Dungeness crab sits in the foreground, at low tide on an overcast day. The crabs' shells are dissolving because of ocean acidification on the West Coast. Claudia_Kuenkel / iStock / Getty Images
As the Pacific Ocean becomes more acidic, Dungeness crabs, which live in coastal areas, are seeing their shells eaten away, according to a new study commissioned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
<p>The study authors looked at ocean acidification levels from 2016. They found that the lowered pH is dissolving the shells of young Dungeness crabs in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. Without strong shells, the young crabs suffer damage to their sensory organs, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/27/us/pacific-ocean-acidification-crabs-dissolving-shells-scn-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">CNN reported</a>. </p>
<p>The findings contribute to growing concerns about the viability of the Dungeness crab as atmospheric carbon dioxide, which continues to rise, is absorbed by the Pacific Ocean and increases acidification, as <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crab-larvae-off-oregon-and-washington-suffering-shell-damage-from-ocean-acidification-new-research-shows/" target="_blank">The Seattle Times reported</a>.</p><p>Ocean acidity was not expected to damage Dungeness crabs so quickly. Researchers say it is a warning for the future of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/seafood" rel="noopener noreferrer">seafood</a> and the health of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/marine-life" rel="noopener noreferrer">marine life</a>.</p><p>"If the crabs are affected already, we really need to make sure we pay much more attention to various components of the food chain before it is too late," said study lead author Nina Bednarsek, a senior scientist with the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/27/us/pacific-ocean-acidification-crabs-dissolving-shells-scn-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported. </p><p>The <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969720301200" rel="noopener noreferrer">study was published</a> last week in the journal Science of the Total Environment. </p><p>Dungeness crabs are vital to the West Coast <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fishing" rel="noopener noreferrer">fishing</a> industry — netting around $200 million annually. They are also important to tribal and recreational crabbers. The crabs have thrived in coastal waters that have recently become hotspots for <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/ocean-acidification" rel="noopener noreferrer">ocean acidification</a>, according to <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crab-larvae-off-oregon-and-washington-suffering-shell-damage-from-ocean-acidification-new-research-shows/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Seattle Times</a>. </p>
<p>Ocean acidification happens when the pH of ocean water drops. The primary cause is an increase in absorption of atmospheric CO2 over a long period. When CO2 is absorbed by seawater, a chain of chemical reactions is set in motion. That causes the sea water to increase its acidity as an increase in hydrogen ions tamps down carbonate ions, which would balance out the water's pH level, as <a href="https://research.noaa.gov/article/ArtMID/587/ArticleID/2581/Dungeness-crab-showing-impact-of-coastal-acidification" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NOAA explained in a statement</a>. </p>
<p>Crustaceans and corals need carbonate ions to help them build strong shells. In their absence, it becomes difficult for crabs, oysters and clams to build shells. It also stops corals from building strong skeletons and it weakens plankton, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/27/us/pacific-ocean-acidification-crabs-dissolving-shells-scn-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported. </p>
<p>"Decreases in carbonate ions can make building and maintaining shells and other calcium carbonate structures difficult for calcifying organisms," explains <a href="https://research.noaa.gov/article/ArtMID/587/ArticleID/2581/Dungeness-crab-showing-impact-of-coastal-acidification" target="_blank">NOAA</a>.</p><p>Previous research had shown that ocean acidification was causing harm to West Coast pteropods, small free-swimming snails that are food for Dungeness crab, according to <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crab-larvae-off-oregon-and-washington-suffering-shell-damage-from-ocean-acidification-new-research-shows/" target="_blank">The Seattle Times</a>. Direct damage to Dungeness crabs was not expected for many years to come, so the findings have alarmed NOAA scientists.</p>
<p>"We found dissolution impacts to the crab larvae that were not expected to occur until much later in this century," Richard Feely, study co-author and NOAA senior scientist, said as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/27/us/pacific-ocean-acidification-crabs-dissolving-shells-scn-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">CNN reported</a>.</p>
<p>The research boat that took samples in 2016 did not just find damage to the crab's shell, but also to tiny hair-like structures crabs use to navigate their environments, which is something scientists had never seen before. Crabs without these tiny mechanoreceptors could move slowly and have trouble swimming and finding food, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/27/us/pacific-ocean-acidification-crabs-dissolving-shells-scn-trnd/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">according to CNN</a>.</p>
<p>As for shell damage, the shells showed signs of scarring and abnormal ridging, which may impair a crab's ability to swim, stay buoyant and escape from predators. The damaged crabs were also smaller, which suggests developmental delays, as the <a href="https://www.sustainability-times.com/environmental-protection/acidic-ocean-is-dissolving-crab-shells-earlier-than-predicted/" target="_blank">Sustainability Times reported</a>. </p>
<p>"We were really surprised to see this level of dissolution happening," Bednarsek said, as <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crab-larvae-off-oregon-and-washington-suffering-shell-damage-from-ocean-acidification-new-research-shows/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Seattle Times reported</a>.</p>
<p>The authors say their findings mean more research is needed to make new predictions about the future of the Dungeness crab as the Pacific coastal waters continue to absorb more carbon dioxide, <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crab-larvae-off-oregon-and-washington-suffering-shell-damage-from-ocean-acidification-new-research-shows/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">according to The Seattle Times</a>.</p>
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A woman sits on a sand berm created by city workers to protect houses from El Nino storms and high tides at Playa Del Rey beach in Los Angeles, Calif. on Nov. 30, 2015. MARK RALSTON / AFP / Getty Images
Ocean waters off the coast of California are acidifying twice as fast as the rest of the world's oceans, new research shows.
<p>A <a href="https://climatenexus.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=4fb6c5e624&e=0afd421a28" target="_blank">study</a> published Monday in the journal Nature Geoscience led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration used fossil analysis of planktonic organisms to create a 100-year acidification records for California's ocean waters. </p>
<p>Increased acidity in ocean waters is harmful to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/marine-life" target="_self">marine life</a>, especially shellfish, and California's fisheries provide more than 10 percent of the nation's <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/seafood" rel="noopener noreferrer">seafood</a> production. "While the ocean has served a very important role in mitigating climate change by absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere, there's a capacity at which the ocean can't absorb anymore," NOAA's Emily Osborne, one of the lead authors on the study, told the LA Times. "From this study, and so many other published studies, there's no question that the answer is to curb our carbon emissions." </p>
<h4>For a deeper dive:</h4><p><a href="https://climatenexus.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=d4178ee0ab&e=0afd421a28" target="_blank">LA Times</a>, <a href="https://climatenexus.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=b8e2fa8b10&e=0afd421a28" target="_blank">New York Times</a>, <a href="https://climatenexus.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=72061a7c77&e=0afd421a28" target="_blank">NBC</a></p><p><em>For more </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/climate-change-news/" target="_blank"><em>climate change</em></a><em> and </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/business/renewables/" target="_blank"><em>clean energy</em></a><em> news, you can follow Climate Nexus on </em><a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateNexus" target="_blank"><em>Twitter</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClimateNexus/" target="_blank"><em>Facebook</em></a><em>, and sign up for daily </em><a href="http://climatenexus.us4.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=7c84c08aaa" target="_blank"><em>Hot News</em></a><em>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
- 'Oceans Are Sending Us so Many Warning Signals': New UN ... ›
- How We're Fighting to Eliminate Plastic in California - EcoWatch ›
- Thousands of 'Penis Fish' Appear on California Beach - EcoWatch ›
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The climate crisis is changing the New England fishing industry, a new report says. Ed Dunens / Flickr
By Eoin Higgins
The climate crisis is hurting the New England fishing industry, claims a new report published Monday, with a decline of 16% in fishing jobs in the northeastern U.S. region from 1996 to 2017 and more instability ahead.
<p>University of Delaware researcher Kimberly Oremus' <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/12/10/pnas.org/content/early/2019/12/03/1820154116" target="_blank">paper</a>, "Climate variability reduces employment in New England fisheries," was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.</p><p>"This is an important signal to incorporate into the fisheries management process," Oremus <a href="https://phys.org/news/2019-12-england-fishermen-jobs-due-climate.html" target="_blank">told</a> <em>Science X</em>. "We need to figure out what climate is doing to fisheries in order to cope with it."</p><p>Oresmus found that the fishing industry is in trouble due to variations in <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oceans" target="_self">ocean</a> temperature. Of particular concern is the Gulf of Maine, an area of the ocean warming faster than nearly any other in the world.</p><p>"New England waters are among the fastest-warming in the world," said Oremus said. "Warmer-than-average sea-surface temperatures have been shown to impact the productivity of lobsters, sea scallops, groundfish and other fisheries important to the region, especially when they are most vulnerable, from spawning through their first year of life."</p>
<p>As The New Food Economy explained, the New England fishing industry has been under threat for decades due to <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/overfishing" target="_self">overfishing</a> and climate change.</p><blockquote>Due to overfishing, cod stocks are nearly depleted. To avert complete collapse, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration now sets limits on fish catches, or quotas. In the past decade, catches have plummeted, from 100 million pounds of cod in the early 1980s to a fraction today. </blockquote><p>Oresums told HuffPost's Alexander Kaufman that while her research shows the fisheries' decline is driven by warmer winters, she wasn't able to get a full picture of the crisis.</p><p>"This doesn't capture all the anthropogenic climate change," said Oresmus. "There's probably additional warming on top of the variability that I don't account for."</p><p><a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/new-england-fish_n_5dee8f3fe4b07f6835b73fa0" target="_blank">According to</a> Kaufman:</p><blockquote>The Gulf of Maine, which stretches from Nova Scotia in Canada to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, has warmed faster than 99% of global oceans, increasing by an average of <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2798/watery-heatwave-cooks-the-gulf-of-maine/" target="_blank">0.11 degrees Fahrenheit</a> per year over the past three decades. While temperatures fluctuate, melting Arctic ice is weakening the southward current that once flushed the basin with cold waters from Greenland, putting the basin's temperatures on a firm upward trajectory.</blockquote><blockquote>The effects have made the fishing industry even less predictable than in years past. Record lobster hauls over the past decade in Maine now look set to decline, according to <a href="https://apnews.com/578827da5d9642e685de612a951d6916" target="_blank">two studies published</a> in the past month. The New England fishery for Northern shrimp, once a winter mainstay, is set to <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/maine-shrimp-climate_n_5da8b76fe4b0b5c9be4b4c43" target="_blank">remain closed for a seventh</a> consecutive year. An iconic seafood processing firm in Gloucester, Massachusetts, <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/05/11/gloucester-based-seafood-company-closes-abruptly-leaving-unemployed/QYpkWmq8cZ8fD6AFA9eLpI/story.html" target="_blank">went bankrupt</a> in May. </blockquote><p>Ultimately, Oresmus told The New Food Economy, New Englanders have to prepare for a different-looking coastal future.</p><p>"The individuals who can't weather these climate shocks are the small mom-and-pop businesses and smaller fishing establishments," said Oresmus. "There are communities that are just not going to be fishing communities anymore."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/12/10/new-england-fishing-communities-being-destroyed-climate-shocks-study?cd-origin=rss" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
- Could the Climate Crisis Spell the End for Maine Lobster? - EcoWatch ›
- Northern Fish Are Tough, but No Match for Climate Change - EcoWatch ›
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5 Ways Sustainable Seafood Can Benefit People and the Environment
29 October 2019
Insights + Opinion
A woman carries fish in Nauta, Peru. Oceana / Shutterstock / Christian Vinces
By Emily Petsko
For many, the end of October evokes images of falling leaves or Halloween's ghosts and ghouls. But those of us focused on oceans also know October as National Seafood Month.
<p>Oceana works to save the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/oceans/" target="_blank">oceans</a> and feed the world, and we can't do that without sustainable seafood. We help our oceans thrive by promoting fishery policies that follow science-based quotas, reduce bycatch, put an end to overfishing and protect fragile habitats. These tactics not only help marine life flourish — a win in its own right — but also ensure that our oceans can continue to nourish the people who need it most.</p><p>Seafood is an indispensable part of many people's diets, livelihoods and cultural traditions. This is especially true for populations that don't have access to an alternate source of healthy, affordable protein. In recognition of National Seafood Month, here are five ways that seafood can sustain and support communities around the world.</p>
1. Seafood can provide a healthy source of protein to a growing population.
<p>Right now, 821 million people around the world are living in hunger. This problem isn't likely to disappear anytime soon, especially with the population projected to grow by 2 billion people over the next 30 years. But by ensuring that fisheries are managed sustainably, and within scientifically sound parameters, we can restore ocean abundance and put enough fish in our waters to feed a sizable portion of the planet. If we look after our oceans properly and avoid overexploiting their resources, they could provide a nutritious meal every day for 1 billion people.</p>2. Seafood could fill the micronutrient void that exists in many developing countries.
<p>Enough fish are caught in many developing countries to nourish their populations, and yet malnutrition remains a persistent problem. How can this be? A team of researchers, including Oceana Science Advisor Dr. Eddie Allison, found that the fish being caught in tropical countries are chock full of important micronutrients — including calcium, iron, zinc, selenium, omega-3 and vitamin A — but they don't always end up on local people's plates. That's because much of the catch is exported, sometimes for the sole purpose of being churned into fishmeal and fed to carnivorous farmed fish like salmon, which are ultimately consumed by people in higher-income countries.</p><p>This has consequences for both local people and the economy. "A lack of fish-derived nutrients has been found to have a large effect on public health, notably infant mortality and hence GDP," Oceana Board Member and fisheries scientist Dr. Daniel Pauly wrote in a <a href="https://oceana.org/blog/daniel-pauly-having-access-fish-good-us" target="_blank">response</a> to the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1592-6" target="_blank">study</a>, which was led by Dr. Christina Hicks. That's why, when we consider the benefits of seafood, it's important to also consider who has access to those benefits.</p>3. Seafood tends to be a low-carbon food, so it reduces the strain on the environment.
<p>Compared to land-based animal proteins like beef and pork, wild-caught seafood has a significantly lower carbon footprint (as long as it's not being carted around the planet by plane). Plus, it requires virtually no fresh water or arable land to harvest it. At a time when concerns over habitat destruction and <a href="https://oceana.org/blog/climate-change-and-oceans-what-you-need-know-united-nations%E2%80%99-new-report" target="_blank">climate change</a> are growing, it's more vital than ever to rethink our global food systems.</p><p>A recent <a href="http://dev-oceanpanel.pantheonsite.io/sites/default/files/2019-09/19_HLP_Report_Ocean_Solution_Climate_Change_final.pdf" target="_blank">report</a> from the High Level Panel for A Sustainable Ocean Economy suggested that climate change could be mitigated, in part, by shifting global diets towards plant- and ocean-based options. "Food from the sea, produced using best practices, can (with some notable exceptions) have some of the lowest greenhouse gas emissions per unit of protein produced of all protein sources," the panel wrote.</p>4. The fishing sector provides jobs to millions of people — half of whom are women.
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjA0NTkxMC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MjQ1NzU4MX0.oXvmpilVB0-MJEhsqxKrSRD_AU855m0QPizlAXoIoe4/img.jpg?width=980" id="a29f6" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2913e41194d8df4252bfc88b9adb73ed" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Women and children fish in Pemba, Mozambique. © OCEANA / Ana de la Torriente
<p>Roughly 120 million people work in capture fisheries around the world. Over 95% of those people live in developing countries, and nearly half of them are women. Although fishing is typically viewed as a "masculine" occupation, many women make a living by spearing octopus, digging for clams, diving for abalone and packing and processing seafood. This industry is particularly important in small island nations. In Palau and Seychelles, for instance, 10% to 50% of their GDPs may be derived from fisheries, according to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesellsmoor/2019/01/26/rethinking-our-oceans-investing-in-the-blue-economy/#603e11983531" target="_blank"><em>Forbes</em></a>.</p>5. Fisheries are vital to many Indigenous coastal communities.
<p>Indigenous peoples eat roughly 2 percent of all the seafood caught annually around the world, according to a 2016 <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0166681" target="_blank">study</a> written by Dr. Andrés Cisneros-Montemayor and co-authored by Dr. Pauly. Considering that Indigenous groups comprise just 5% of the global population, their seafood consumption works out to be 15 times higher than that of non-Indigenous peoples.</p><p>So what exactly does this mean? As the study's authors put it: "Marine resources are crucial to the continued existence of coastal Indigenous peoples, and their needs must be explicitly incorporated into management policies." Canada's revamped <em>Fisheries Act</em>, which was championed by Oceana and our allies, is a good example of how this can be achieved. The new version of the Act recognizes Indigenous knowledge and states that the Minster of Fisheries and Oceans has a duty to consider any adverse effects that decisions may have on Indigenous peoples.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjA0NTkxMy9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0ODg2Mzc3M30.7ITuUQW2vlRL8J39VmOqZXZ4o69GwdBUWmDDPzN6Bm0/img.jpg?width=980" id="3a3a5" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="75cb9d6fcfce4609f1bf30658b8f13dd" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Fish at a market in Punta Gorda, Belize. © OCEANA / A. Ellis
<p>From coastal communities to octopus fishers to people living in the tropics, it's clear that millions of people around the world depend on abundant oceans. Of course, when we talk about the benefits of seafood, sustainability is an important caveat. <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/overfishing" rel="noopener noreferrer">Overfishing</a> and destructive fishing methods are still ravaging marine habitats, rendering them less capable of providing for people's nutritional needs in the future. That's why, when you select a fish from a restaurant or your local supermarket's seafood counter, it's important to check the source. The Monterey Bay Aquarium has a helpful tool called <a href="https://www.seafoodwatch.org/" target="_blank">Seafood Watch</a> that simplifies the process.</p><p><em>Want to learn more about how Oceana is helping to save the oceans and feed the world? Visit their campaign page <a href="https://oceana.org/feedtheworld" target="_blank">here</a>.</em></p><p><em>Reposted with permission from our media partner <a href="https://oceana.org/blog/5-ways-sustainable-seafood-can-benefit-people-and-environment" rel="noopener noreferrer">Oceana</a>.</em></p>
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A diet high in fish and vegetables can help keep your gut healthy. Linda Raymond / E+ / Getty Images
By Heather Cruickshank
Trillions of bacteria and other microbes live in the human digestive system. Together, they form a community that's known as the gut microbiota.
Many bacteria in the microbiota play important roles in human health, helping to metabolize food, strengthen intestinal integrity and protect against disease.
<p>To help friendly bacteria in the gut thrive, <a href="https://www.ueg.eu/press/releases/ueg-press-release/article/ueg-week-plant-based-foods-and-mediterranean-diet-associated-with-healthy-gut-microbiome-research/" target="_blank">new research</a> presented at <a href="https://live.ueg.eu/week/" target="_blank">UEG Week 2019</a> suggests it may help to eat a Mediterranean-style diet that's rich in plant-based foods, including fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes and nuts, as well as fish.</p><p>When researchers from the University Medical Center Groningen in The Netherlands assessed the eating habits and gut bacteria of more than 1,400 participants, they found that a Mediterranean-style diet was linked to healthier gut microbiota. It was also associated with lower levels of inflammatory markers in stool.</p><p>This points to the role that a plant-rich diet might play in helping to protect against intestinal diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).</p><p>"Connecting the diet to the gut microbiome gives us more insight into the relation between diet and intestinal disease," Laura Bolte, lead investigator of the study and a dietitian who's currently pursuing an MD and Ph.D. in the field of nutrition, said in a <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-10/sh-pfa101519.php" target="_blank">statement</a>.</p><p>"The results indicate that diet is likely to become a significant and serious line of treatment or disease management for diseases of the gut — by modulating the gut microbiome," she added.</p>
<h2>Mediterranean Diet Might Reduce Inflammation</h2><p>Four groups of participants took part in Bolte's study, including members of the general population and patients with Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis (UC) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).</p><p>Crohn's disease and UC are forms of IBD that involve chronic inflammation in the intestines. IBS is another intestinal disease in which inflammation may play a role.</p><p>To identify potential links between diet, gut microbiota and intestinal inflammation, the researchers administered a food frequency questionnaire and collected a stool sample from each participant.</p><p>They found multiple links between participants' eating habits, gut microbiota and markers of intestinal inflammation.</p><p>A Mediterranean-style diet rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, nuts and fish was linked to greater abundance of friendly bacteria that help synthesize essential nutrients, produce fuel for cells in the colon, and reduce inflammation. This plant-rich eating pattern was also linked to lower levels of inflammatory markers in the stool.</p><p>In comparison, a diet rich in meat, refined sugar, or fast foods was linked to lower levels of friendly gut bacteria and higher levels of inflammatory markers.</p><p>"It's not surprising that a diet pattern which has been connected to a lower risk of heart disease, cancer and increased longevity is also associated with beneficial digestive effects," <a href="https://www.eatrightpro.org/media/meet-our-spokespeople/spokespeople/julie-stefanski" target="_blank">Julie Stefanski</a>, MEd, RDN, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, told Healthline.</p><p>"This study reinforces a growing body of data demonstrating that having a healthy intestine and pinpointing the right mix of bacteria needed for health may be key to tackling many chronic diseases," she added.</p>
<h2>More Research Is Needed</h2><p>This study adds to a large body of research that suggests Mediterranean-style diets and other plant-rich eating patterns have benefits for human health.</p><p>In addition to <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health-news/you-are-never-too-old-for-the-mediterranean-diet#1" target="_blank">cardiovascular benefits</a> and <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health-news/the-breast-gland-also-has-a-microbiome-and-your-diet-affects-it" target="_blank">reduced risk of cancer</a>, some research has linked plant-rich eating patterns to lower incidence of IBD. This new study might help explain why.</p><p>"We've known for some time that when you look at it at a country level, populations that take in less red meat and eat a more plant-based diet have lower incidence of inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn's and colitis," <a href="https://www.northwell.edu/find-care/find-a-doctor/gastroenterology/dr-arun-swaminath-md-11361885" target="_blank">Dr. Arun Swaminath</a>, director of the inflammatory bowel disease program at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, told Healthline.</p><p>"I think the interesting addition here is that we didn't know why that was true or really understand what the mechanism of that was," he continued, "and the microbiome seems to be at least one of the ways that this association exists."</p><p>To learn more about the potential relationship between diet, gut microbiota and intestinal health, more research is needed. In particular, clinical trials are needed to test the links that identified in this cross-sectional study.</p><p>"Food frequency questionnaires can have hundreds of variables and microbiota data can have the same," Swaminath explained, "and it's hard to tell whether there's really a meaningful signal or if it's just part of the statistical noise."</p><p>"So I think it'll be interesting when we're able to see more of the details of their data and methodology and then reproduce some of this in clinical trials," he continued, "especially if people are put on these diets and we can see how the microbiota change moving forward in time."</p><p>To follow up on their study, researchers at the University Medical Center Groningen are planning to conduct a trial to test the effects of a Mediterranean-style plant-rich eating pattern in people with Crohn's disease.</p><p>Similar <a href="http://dinecd.web.unc.edu/" target="_blank">research</a> is also underway in the U.S., where investigators are comparing the effects of a Mediterranean-style diet and an eating pattern known as the Specific Carbohydrate Diet in adults with Crohn's disease.</p>
<h2>Expert Guidance May Help</h2><p>While research on gut microbiota and diet continues, Swaminath and Stefanski encourage patients with IBD to work with qualified health professionals to develop diet plans that works for them.</p><p>Some people with Crohn's disease or UC develop strictures or narrowed segments in their intestines, which can make it difficult to pass bulky stools. Such patients might benefit from a low-fiber diet.</p><p>But in patients without intestinal strictures, eating more fiber may promote better gut health. A registered dietitian nutritionist can help them learn which types of food might be best for them.</p><p>"Certain [foods] and ways of preparing them are better tolerated than others," Stefanski said.</p><p>"Working with a [registered dietitian nutritionist] to personalize specific food choices is vital when trying to achieve more plant-based diets," she added.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Can Food Act as Medicine? All You Need to Know <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FoodisMedicine?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FoodisMedicine</a> <a href="https://t.co/TN7zxK5Mmd">https://t.co/TN7zxK5Mmd</a></p>— EcoWatch (@EcoWatch) <a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/status/1161205341880762368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 13, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health-news/heres-what-to-eat-to-keep-your-gut-happy#Expert-guidance-may-help" target="_blank">Healthline</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Trending
Char and sockeye salmon moving upstream. Salmon are high in the omega-3 fatty acid DHA. Jonny Armstrong / USGS
By Bret Stetka
Glaciers continue to melt. Sea levels are on the rise. And now scientists believe the changing climate may put our brains at risk. A new analysis predicts that by 2100, increasing water temperatures brought on by a warming planet could result in 96 percent of the world's population not having access to an omega-3 fatty acid crucial to brain health and function.
<p>That molecule is called docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA. It is the most common fatty acid in the mammalian brain and plays a key role in the survival and function of our neural cells, especially during the organ's development. Data suggest that not having enough of the compound may increase the risk of conditions such as depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and impair cognition in people with early dementia.</p><p>Our bodies do not make much DHA, so, for the most part, we obtain it through diet. Plants and meats have modest amounts of the fatty acid, but the most abundant source by far is fish (or fish-derived supplements). Fish obtain DHA by consuming algae. The authors of the new study predict that rising temperatures could disrupt algal DHA production and lead to a 10 to 58 percent reduction in availability of the compound, depending on the geographic region.</p>
<p>To predict the future of DHA availability, they used data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the fishery research institute Sea around Us to get numbers on how much edible fish are caught and farmed worldwide each year and on how much of that maritime tonnage is composed of DHA-containing fat. Then, using data showing how temperature influences algal DHA production, the researchers determined roughly how much of the fatty acid is presently available by consuming fish per capita versus how much will be available 80 years from now.</p><p>Their predictions show that larger countries with rapid population growth in East and Southeast Asia — including China, Japan and Indonesia — will face the most severe DHA shortages. Most African countries — especially landlocked ones — will also end up falling below recommended DHA intake, whereas nations with small populations and active fishing industries, such as Norway, Chile and New Zealand, will likely maintain access to adequate omega-3s.</p>
<p>"I already had an idea that DHA would decrease, based on previous data," recalls Stefanie Colombo, an assistant professor in aquaculture nutrition at Dalhousie University and co-lead author on the new paper. "But I was surprised and concerned when we saw the decline in DHA per capita—that people in some areas of the world would be more affected."</p><p>Tom Brenna, a professor with joint appointments in pediatrics, chemistry and human nutrition at the University of Texas at Austin, points out that the new results are open to a range of interpretation: "The [predicted] interval of 10 to 58 percent is so large as to be the difference between a mild inconvenience and a calamity." Yet he welcomes any investigation into the global DHA supply.</p><p>Brenna, who was not involved in the new study, also points out that whether or not dietary DHA is necessary in adults has been an area of conflict for decades. Yet he and most experts in the field agree that it is a critical nutrient during brain development and even into the late teen years — and that its influence on brain function may vary, based on an individual's genetic profile.</p><p>Omega-3 fatty acids can be derived from terrestrial sources, including nuts, seeds and land animals. Yet as Michael Crawford, now at Imperial College London, discovered in the 1970s, "ready-made" DHA — such as found in fish — is incorporated into the developing brain with 10-fold greater efficiency than plant-sourced DHA.</p><p>Crawford is a pioneer in understanding the relationship between omega-3 fatty acids and brain health and believes that the evolution of our big and complex primate brain would have been impossible without access to DHA. He also thinks that a decline in consumption of omega-3s because of our increasingly processed diet explains increasing rates of mental illness and declining IQ. Marine agriculture such as projects now underway in Japan might be essential to saving ourselves and the planet. "If mental illness continues to escalate, then <em>Homo sapiens</em> are finished," Crawford predicts. "Seventy-one percent of the planet's surface is water, and marine cultivation will help reverse this trend. Without farming the seabed and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oceans">oceans</a>, food security goes out of the window."</p>
<p>Aquaculture initiatives abound throughout the world, including those intent on farming algae as a source of DHA. Other researchers are using genetic engineering to grow plants with a more available form of the fatty acid. And Richard P. Bazinet, a professor in the department of nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto and a co-author of the new paper, is working to understand how DHA enters the brain and how much of it a healthy adult brain actually needs.</p><p>Colombo is hopeful that in the face of a changing climate, scientists will devise new sources of DHA. And she plans to study how warming waters will affect fish metabolism and DHA availability. Yet she admits the outcome does not look good: "I don't think this is something we can ignore. In terms of the climate warming, we can't continue on this same trajectory."</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Omega-3 fatty acids are essential fats that have numerous health benefits. This article takes a detailed look at the 3 most important types of omega-3s<a href="https://t.co/I8K8jqZiUl">https://t.co/I8K8jqZiUl</a></p>— Frank Lipman MD (@DrFrankLipman) <a href="https://twitter.com/DrFrankLipman/status/1148947688349753351?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 10, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p><em><em>This story originally appeared in <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/global-warming-may-dwindle-the-supply-of-a-key-brain-nutrient/" target="_blank">Scientific American</a>. </em><em>It is republished here as part of</em> <em>EcoWatch's partnership with Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story.</em></em><br/></p>
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Tuna auctions are a tourist spectacle in Tokyo. Outside the city's most famous fish market, long queues of visitors hoping for a glimpse of the action begin to form at 5 a.m. The attraction is so popular that last October the Tsukiji fish market, in operation since 1935, moved out from the city center to the district of Toyosu to cope with the crowds.
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<p>Spectators can now watch the auction of fresh and frozen tuna from a specially designed Tuna Auction Observation Deck. Because tuna, which can weigh up to 650 kilos (1,433 pounds), is definitely the star of the show. This year a giant bluefin sold for $3.1 million (€2.77 million) at Toyosu, smashing previous records.</p><p>Yet as <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/seafood" target="_self">seafood</a> tourism in Japan booms, global fish stocks are <a href="http://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/endangered_species/cetaceans/threats/fishstocks/" target="_blank">plummeting</a>. Bluefin tuna is among the worst affected — it's now one of the most <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/overfishing">over-exploited fish</a> in the ocean, with all three bluefin species <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species" rel="noopener noreferrer">endangered</a>.</p>
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Tuna is the star of the show: The meaty fish is in such high demand that stocks have come under severe pressure.
<p>Following the Olympics' focus on sustainable food in Rio and London, Japan is under pressure to provide eco-friendly seafood to the huge numbers of visitors expected in Tokyo for the 2020 games.</p><p>"We want to establish sustainable seafood elements," said Wakao Hanaoka, founder of Tokyo-based sustainable seafood consultancy, Seafood Legacy. "We want to use this 2020 Olympics as a chance to boost acceleration of the movement in Japan."</p><p>Right now, that's no easy task.</p><h2>Tuna off the Menu</h2><p>Japan is one of the world's biggest consumers of seafood, at around 33 kilos (approximately 73 pounds) per capita in 2016, Euromonitor. By comparison, Italians consumed 16 kilos per capita in the same year.</p><p>To serve seafood certified as sustainable by the internationally recognized Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) to visitors during the games, Japan would have to rely mainly on imports. The country has just one MSC-certified sustainable seafood restaurant.</p>
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Lively trade: In Tokyo, the fish market isn't just big business, it's become a tourist attraction.
<p>Restaurant Blue opened its doors in 2017. The chefs use just two local MSC/ASC-certified products, and get the rest from overseas. One thing you definitely won't find at the restaurant is tuna, said Kota Shibai, who works at both the Tokyo eatery and Seafood Legacy.</p><p>"Many customers ask me why there is no tuna at Restaurant Blue … I think it's a great opportunity to explain about the situation of the Japanese fisheries industry," Shibai said. "At the moment, the situation of Japanese tuna is a bit far from sustainability."</p><h2>Bluewashing Japanese Fisheries</h2><p>This is news to many consumers. Hanaoka from Seafood Legacy says raising awareness is key to protecting fish stocks. "Many Japanese don't want to eat up all the fish from the ocean, they just don't realize yet [that stocks are so low], " he said.</p><p>Yet even for those in the know who want to protect the future of their country's favorite cuisine, critics say labeling can be confusing.</p><p>Japan has its own sustainable certification standards: industry groups introduced MEL in 2007 and AEL in 2014, which fisheries have taken up far more enthusiastically than the international certifications.</p><p>That's because they are far easier to achieve. Isao Sakaguchi, a law professor specializing in fisheries at Tokyo's Gakushuin University says the bar is so low that, "theoretically any wild-capture fisheries and aquaculture farmers can be certified as 'blue' by the local schemes" — blue denoting marine <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/sustainability">sustainability</a>.</p><p>A Pacific bluefin tuna fishery was certified by MEL in 2015, even as bluefin tuna numbers were at historic lows. The fishery would never have passed the tests to be certified by MSC, Sakaguchi said, calling this "bluewashing."</p>
<h2>Mixed Signals From Government</h2><p>The Tokyo Olympic organizing committee's guidelines for serving "sustainable fishery products" in the Olympic and Paralympic villages and other Tokyo Game's venues says MEL and AEL fishery products satisfy <a href="https://tokyo2020.org/en/games/sustainability/data/commentary-fishery-EN.pdf" target="_blank">sustainable criteria</a>. </p><p>Hanaoka and Seafood Legacy, meanwhile, have been looking into how organizers might provide seafood that meets higher standards of sustainability. Last year, Hanaoka visited London to find out how the 2012 Olympics ensured its fish and chips could be enjoyed guilt-free.</p><p>Turns out, they only offered two types of fish, which is fine for Britain's favorite takeout, but difficult to apply in Japan, where visitors will be eager to try sushi that includes as many as 10 to 20 species in a single dish.</p><p>"Mostly we are importing, so when we welcome guests from foreign countries to Japan, we serve sushi and it's a set of imported products and endangered species – that's not something to be proud of as Japanese people," said Hanaoka</p><p>The Japanese government has signaled that it's beginning to take this situation seriously. In December last year the biggest of its fishing laws for 70 years was enacted, which includes more limits on what can be caught, as well as recovery plans for overfished species.</p><p>"The government is slow but it's starting to tighten up its legislation," said Hanaoka. "Bit by bit, it's getting better."</p><p>Yet Japan's commitment to marine <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" rel="noopener noreferrer">conservation</a> looks a lot less convincing since the country resumed commercial whaling in July, after a 33-year moratorium.</p><p>For now, Tokyo's tourists and sports fans will have to choose carefully if they want to be sure they aren't eating threatened species. Most local catches might be off the menu, but among the glittering array of produce at the Toyosu fish market, sea urchin and flying squid are tipped as good bets for flavor and sustainability.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Eating Seafood Can Reduce Your Carbon Footprint, But Some Fish Are Better Than Others <a href="https://t.co/GcsvrqZYxE">https://t.co/GcsvrqZYxE</a> <a href="https://t.co/Oyzmj1bQLg">pic.twitter.com/Oyzmj1bQLg</a></p>— Azula (@azula) <a href="https://twitter.com/azula/status/968383463580667904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 27, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/is-the-2020-olympics-an-opportunity-for-japan-to-tackle-seafood-sustainability/a-50004198" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">DW</a>.</em></p>
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Dragging for catch has led to overfishing in the Gulf of Maine, where fishing with rod and reel is rare. Carl D. Walsh / Portland Press Herald via Getty Images
Scientists continue to uncover more ways climate change poses a threat to our health, such as the spread of tropical diseases northward and the loss of crucial nutrients in crops. Now, researchers at Harvard have added another risk to that list: increased neurotoxins in seafood.
<p>According to a new study, published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1468-9" target="_blank"><em>Nature</em></a>, <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/overfishing" target="_self">overfishing</a> and the rising temperature of the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oceans" target="_self">oceans</a> are increasing the amount of methylmercury in commonly eaten fish such as tuna, cod and dogfish, despite decades of government regulations <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/113/3/526" target="_blank">reducing mercury emissions</a> from industry seeping into the water.</p><p>"You would expect that as <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/mercury" target="_self">mercury</a> was reduced in seawater, then it would go down in all the fish," lead author Amina Schartup, who was a research associate at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, told <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/climate-change-overfishing-could-lead-higher-mercury-levels-fish-n1040211" target="_blank">NBC News</a>. "But there was variability. We were trying to tease out the different factors contributing to those differences."</p>
<p>Methylmercury is a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3514465/" target="_blank">harmful toxin</a> that can damage the heart and blood vessel system, reduce immune function, and could be particularly harmful to the nervous systems of pregnant women and their babies, the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/breastfeeding-special-circumstances/environmental-exposures/mercury.html" target="_blank">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns</a>.</p><p>For the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1468-9" target="_blank">study</a>, the researchers used 30 years of data from the Gulf of Maine to develop a food web model that shows how mercury levels in certain fish are affected by overfishing, warming waters and other environmental factors.</p><p>By the 1970s the Gulf of Maine had been overfished, particularly of herring, meaning that herring predators cod and dogfish were forced to find new prey. While cod switched to eating smaller fish, the dogfish started to eat squid and other high-mercury cephalopods.</p><p>The dogfish ended up with higher mercury levels, while mercury levels in cod dipped. After the fishery stocks rebounded, both fish returned to eating mostly herring. Cod saw a 23 percent mercury increase and the dogfish lowered their mercury levels after switching back. The model predicts that if the oceans were to warm by 1 degree Celsius over the 2000 temperature, mercury levels would jump by 32 percent in cod and 70 percent in dogfish, <a href="https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/08/climate-change-pushing-up-levels-of-methylmercury-in-fish/" target="_blank">The Harvard Gazette</a> reported.</p><p>The researchers then examined why mercury levels of Atlantic bluefin tuna have increased without any change in prey and amid decreasing mercury emissions from humans.</p><p>The model showed that in the 1990s, water temperatures in the Gulf of Maine temporary cooled, which corresponded with a decrease in mercury levels in the tuna. But climate change has steadily been warming the oceans and it's happening faster in the Gulf of Maine than most places, according to <a href="https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/08/climate-change-pushing-up-levels-of-methylmercury-in-fish/" target="_blank">The Harvard Gazette</a>. Following rising temperatures between 2012 and 2017, mercury levels in the tuna rose 3.5 percent per year, and could rise by 30 percent over 2015 levels by 2030.</p><p>The team identified two reasons for this.</p><p>One, tuna are higher on the food chain and use more energy than other fish, so they eat more prey that already contains mercury, Schartup said. Two, warmer waters mean that fish need to use more energy to swim and increase their calorie intake to do so. In total, mercury levels in tuna increased by 27 percent, the model suggested, due to the warming of their habitat.</p><p>But the researchers say they're not trying to scare people away from seafood.</p><p>"It's not that everyone should be terrified after reading our paper and stop eating seafood, which is very healthy, nutritious food," researcher Elsie Sunderland, a professor of environmental chemistry at Harvard University, told <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/ajimpact/toxic-fish-climate-change-making-cod-tuna-dangerous-eat-190807175517858.html" target="_blank">Al Jazeera</a>. "We wanted to show people that [climate change] can have a direct impact on what you're eating today, that these things can affect your health ... not just things like severe weather and flooding and sea-level rise."</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"If we do not act to lower greenhouse gas emissions, new fish species will enter the waters of at least 70 countries by 2100, challenging the regulatory framework for managing fishing rights" Read more: <a href="https://t.co/Ar7XBPik8Z">https://t.co/Ar7XBPik8Z</a></p>— Our Children's Trust (@youthvgov) <a href="https://twitter.com/youthvgov/status/1008754718594732032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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