The seafood industry amasses around $1.52 billion dollars in the U.S. and produces around $2.2 million tons of fish annually.The seafood industry has grown substantially in the U.S. in the past few decades and has fallen victim to the inevitable paradox of production — when demand increases, morals take the backseat.
Reports have been circling about the abusive international seafood industry, both in terms of maltreatment of the animals and environment as well as the workers. A quarter of the global fishing industry is illegal fishing operations. This type of fishing not only depletes the global supply of fish but also encourages mass fishing expeditions that harm the ecosystems of the oceans and destroy the reproductive cycles of other animals.
One of the most recent reports of morally reprehensible fishing practices comes from the industry in China, where 95 percent of a fishing crew interviewed by an environmental justice organization witnessed illegal fishing, and 58 percent said they had experienced physical violence themselves or witnessed it happening to their peers. The violence against workers in this industry is especially concerning given that some of the crimes happen on international waters, which limits the ability of these workers to seek justice because it may be beyond the jurisdiction of legal services in their home nation.
In addition, many of these vessels are turning off their tracking systems and going dark, in order to avoid scrutiny, which makes their abuses even harder to persecute. The US is the second-largest importer of seafood from China, meaning that our increasing demand encourages China’s reliance on this immoral treatment. As their industry becomes cornered, abuses increase even further because they don’t want to forfeit our business to other nations.
As a country, it’s imperative that we start to pay attention to the consequences of our demands. The seafood industry is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to consumer demands in the U.S. creating instances of abuse and environmental degradation. Look no further than the climate crisis we are suffering from exemplify what can go wrong when we don’t use restraint as a society. The abuses of the fishing industry are a symptom of the larger problem of the way of life of many U.S. citizens and it’s not until we are able to acknowledge this as a problem that we can begin to find ways to fix it.
Alli Hering is from St. Paul, Minn.
Her major is undeclared.
