FIsh: Its all about the numbers

The following is from the world reknown environmental scientist and researcher, Lester Brown.
It is a perspective that does not stick very well in our culture, to use a term from Malcom Gladwell's book, for we are still recommending that Americans increase their consumption of fish for their Omega 3 healthy oils. Recommendations from health gurus focus only on our lack of Omega 3's NOT on where the supply will come from in a world with relentless human population growth. To be healthy on this planet we MUST consider the source of our food and food supplements. While it may be true that we are Omega 3 deficient and this is causing health problems, the recommendation of eating more fish needs to consider the state of those fish. Fish are not available in endless supply. Even the very rich cannot buy the food that is no longer there, because of overharvesting.
Once we understand this we can all commit to three things: Working to humanely stabilize and and reduce our population, eatinga plant based diet, living with a smaller carbon footprint.

After World War II, accelerating population growth and steadily rising incomes drove the demand for seafood upward at a record pace. At the same time, advances in fishing technologies, including huge refrigerated processing ships that enabled trawlers to exploit distant oceans, enabled fishers to respond to the growing world demand. In response, the oceanic fish catch climbed from 19 million tons in 1950 to its historic high of 93 million tons in 1997. This fivefold growth--more than double that of population--raised the wild seafood supply per person worldwide from 7 kilograms (15.4 pounds) in 1950 to a peak of 17 kilograms in 1988. Since then, it has fallen to 14 kilograms.

As population grows and as modern food marketing systems give more people access to these products, seafood consumption is growing. Indeed, the human appetite for seafood is outgrowing the sustainable yield of oceanic fisheries. Today 75 percent of fisheries are being fished at or beyond their sustainable capacity. As a result, many are in decline and some have collapsed.