Earth Watch

[WD-40]

Some food for thought on 'Fish Debt Day'

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If the EU were only to consume fish from its own waters, it would effectively run-out of fish on 8 July 2010, making it wholly dependent on imported fish from around the world from 9 July onwards, based on current levels of consumption.
Since 2000, the EU’s Fish Dependence Day has occurred earlier and earlier in the year and is now nearly a month sooner, revealing an increasing level of fish dependence.
For a number of member states the specific date from which they become dependent on fish imports is: Spain, May 10; Portugal, April 2; France, June 20; Germany, May 5; Italy, May 6; and UK, August 4.
The effects of EU overfishing of its own fish stocks are masked by the increasing amounts of fish imported from elsewhere.
Growth in aquaculture has failed to halt our increasing dependence on fish from elsewhere.

[rolf]

Well I'm doing my bit, I don't eat fish more than once a month.

[ladylouise62]

Yes Rolf, they say that fish is ';brain food' - so it expalins a lot

It's interesting how late our date is - I bet it's more to do with the fact that we don't eat much fish rather than being an island. Of course, if we had fewer pets (and didn't have quotas that involved chucking usable fish away) we maybe wouldn't need to import so much fish.