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peekaboo2011
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Pardon Me, I'm on a Soapbox (Long and quite Nerdy)
So, I don't eat a lot of seafood at home - it's expensive as HELL to buy fish. But, BFF comes on Monday, and one of our favorite things when we were in Mexico was fish tacos. Specifically, grouper tacos. YUM. So, Madre and I were grocery shopping this evening, and I ran buy the seafood counter to find out how much grouper is per pound. Apparently, it's $11.99, but they quoted me $8.99 to begin with (bargain!). I told the guy I needed to think on it, as that is quite a bit of money for some poor kid like me.
And Madre said to go for it - we only needed a pound anyways. Well, as the guy behind the counter is collecting my frozen grouper, I asked where it was from and how it was caught (because, you know, I'm a biologist and all...). Apparently my grouper is from China and is wild caught. I'm not a fan of the China thing, but it's just this once, so I'll let it go. And my eyes wander over the case. And I spot...I couldn't believe it. Black. Tip. Shark. Filets.
Excuse me? You're selling what?! Now, I'm no genius here, but I am an aspiring shark biologist (and clearly one presentation on 14 million year old shark teeth makes me a real shark biologist, but that's beside the point), but isn't shark a NONSUSTAINABLE fishery?! And, well, as the US Military (we were at the commissary), wouldn't you want to only support sustainable fisheries?! I don't know, so you don't have to worry about an ecosystem crashing or something?!
Yes, it was a few filets. But I see a few filets and wonder how many sharks were killed. And so I did what any reasonable person would do - I asked who did the ordering around that place. And got "Oh, I don't know." You don't know sir? Good, well, you can bet your buttons I'll be calling back Monday morning with an EARFUL for your manager. SHARK?! REALLY?!
So, in the efforts of ultimate conservation, if you manage to spot shark in your local seafood counter's display case, please remind your store manager/butcher/whoever the hell is actually in charge around there that our toothy friends are not sustainable, and you would appreciate it if they would no longer carry shark. And if they demand proof - give me a name and phone number. They'll get an earful from me. And then I'll start sending letters.
If we can reduce the overall demand for shark meat, we can reduce the number of sharks killed per year. And that, ladies, is quite important if you like seafood. If you want a more detailed explanation, google "mesopredator release".
/soapbox.
I french with my man
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Pardon Me, I'm on a Soapbox (Long and quite Nerdy)
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I never knew before seeing that show that anyone ate shark. Then again, I only found out recently that people ate camels and yaks and I don't know why I thought people didn't...
Shark is pretty controversial from what I understand... in some places it's perfectly natural, but in some places they're supposedly on the endangered list.
I knowless about this than I know about algebra. (not much)
[QUOTE]I knew that shark fin was a delicacy... I want to say I saw it on TLC or the FoodNetwork at some point. It was a show about expensive parties and catering them... one of the things they were doing was a wedding and the bride and the groom insisted on some sort of shark fin soup. I never knew before seeing that show that anyone ate shark.<strong> Then again, I only found out recently that people ate camels and yaks and I don't know why I thought people didn't.</strong>.. Shark is pretty controversial from what I understand... in some places it's perfectly natural, but in some places they're supposedly on the endangered list. I knowless about this than I know about algebra. (not much)
Posted by Simply Fated[/QUOTE]
People eat camels and yaks?!
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Pardon Me, I'm on a Soapbox (Long and quite Nerdy) : People eat camels and yaks?!
Posted by bethsmiles[/QUOTE]
Yeah, I've been watching a lot of No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain and Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern on the Travel Channel... both shows are really fascinating, but not always good for the appetite.
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Pardon Me, I'm on a Soapbox (Long and quite Nerdy) : Yeah, I've been watching a lot of <strong>No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain and Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern on the Travel Channel...</strong> both shows are really fascinating, but not always good for the appetite.
Posted by Simply Fated[/QUOTE]
Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern = Love. I could watch hours of their shows
Peek,
WTFBBQ!?! That is terrible. I spent many years in SW FL, and saw some exotic fish at the markets, but never shark. I think Michigan isn't sophisticated enough for that lol. If I see anything, I will give you the heads up!
Married! May 27th, 2012
I love that you're so steamed about this, and I'll definitely keep an eye out for shark in my store, but you have to do something for me, too.
If your grocery store express lane says "10 items or less", please inform the store manager that this is BAD GRAMMAR.
Yeah, I'm totally serious.
[QUOTE]Shark is yum.
Posted by AudgiePodge[/QUOTE]
Yeah I like shark too... Very tasty. I always figured it was like any other fish as far as catching goes.
[QUOTE] But I can guarantee you that if you look up sustainable seafood, shark will always be on the "DON'T EAT" list.
Posted by peekaboo2011[/QUOTE]
That's really sad :(. I just looked up a list of sustainable seafood and I'm suprised to see that tuna, shrimp, caviar, and cod are on the list... why is that? I thought thouse were really popular choices. I mean tuna must be easy enough to catch for them to grind it up and stuff it into cans for under $1, so it can't be endangered right?
Unfortunately however, people will not care if shark is on the avoid list. If the buyer for that supermarket sees a highdemand for it, he'll probably keep buying it.
Originally I became a vegetarian because meat grossed me out, but after a few years I started to read into ethical reasons. The cattle and poultry industry is all sorts of screwed up, but the big wigs don't give a crapolla about it as long as the chicken fingers on their customer's plates taste good and get them money. If any of you are ever interested in making the switch to vegetarianism, PM me.
((Edited to make that last part not sound so preachy))
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Pardon Me, I'm on a Soapbox (Long and quite Nerdy) : That's really sad :(. I just looked up a list of sustainable seafood and I'm suprised to see that tuna, shrimp, caviar, and cod are on the list... why is that? I thought thouse were really popular choices. I mean tuna must be easy enough to catch for them to grind it up and stuff it into cans for under $1, so it can't be endangered right?
Posted by alanna91[/QUOTE]
<div>You have to look deeper than just "it's on the list" for most fish. Sharks, other than low fecundity, long maturation rates, also have warnings based on mercury in the meat. Sturgeon caviar - sturgeon are also endangered. They have similar issues as far as life history goes to sharks, and there are mercury concerns. Tuna - if it's troll or pole caught, you're okay - they want to avoid gillnet fishing (which is illegal in the state of Florida).</div><div>
</div><div>But it's not always about that. Remember that these have been popular for a long time. If you are removing fish at a rate higher than they can reproduce and mature, the fishery will crash. Tuna and cod are at a high risk here - they've been overfished. </div><div>
</div><div>I have the Monterey Bay Aquarium lists by region - the key says "Avoid for now as these items are overfished or caught or farmed in ways that harm other marine life or the environment."</div><div>
</div><div>Feel free to PM me if you have questions - I could go on for hours. :)</div>