Farming the Ocean

• Main Author: Powers, Ann
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: DigitalCommons@Pace 2007
• Subjects: fisheries; Environmental Law; Natural Resources Law; Law; Water Law; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/lawfaculty/453; https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1452&context=lawfaculty

Was that salmon you ate for lunch caught in the wild, chill waters of the North Atlantic? What about the mussels you had last night? Did they arrive on your table through traditional capture techniques, or were they a product of the fish-farming industry? And if so, does it matter? What else in your daily life might be a result of deliberate culture of once wild species? Protein in your pet's food, gel in your toothpaste and cosmetics, thickener in your pasta sauce, the seaweed in your sushi? For the most part we pay little attention to where our foods and other products originate, although that is beginning to change as we strive to eat more healthily and to minimize our carbon footprint by buying local produce and other environmentally friendly products. As part of our healthier diet, we are reducing our consumption of meats and increasingly finding our protein in fish and other seafood. This trend toward increased use of fish and fish products is not only in developed countries. As countries with developing economies raise their standards of living, increased incomes fuel the demand for additional sources of protein, particularly for fish.