More fish tales to come?

Helene York

In "The Last Fish Tale," Mark Kurlansky writes a fable about the fishing town of Gloucester, Mass. For centuries it was the epicenter of European and North American harvests of Atlantic cod, now a greatly threatened resource. Fishermen, along with a way of life, have been threatened there as well. After hundreds of years of overfishing--a result of ineffective regulations, destructive gear, bigger and bigger ships, and unconscionably-set catch quotas--Gloucester has become a “picturesque town,” attracting vacationers and artists drawn to the seaside spectacle that reflects past economic activity much more than current realities.

Most fishermen are now piloting tourist boats around Gloucester Harbor, not catching fish.

“Scientists are increasingly worried by the loss of biodiversity,” the writer points out. “As more and more varieties of life disappear, it becomes increasingly difficult for the planet to sustain any life.” His most notable point, however, is not about the extinction of fish species.

“Intertwined with the issue of diversity is the idea of sociodiversity,” he posits. Though he concedes that “the survival of the few remaining [working class] fishing towns may seem like a small thing” when juxtaposed with ecosystem destruction, Kurlansky notes that “the multiplicity of cultures, like the multiplicity of biological species, is the guarantor of the continuation of life.”

Fishermen, coastal communities, and regional food suppliers are part of a web of civilization that multinationals fundamentally can’t join. Some would argue that country-of-origin labels provide enough information so consumers can choose responsible and healthy seafood,but, it’s simply not enough. The labels don’t tell much of a story, and they guarantee little about where our fish comes from, how it was caught, and what impact it had on the community from which it was extracted. By offering a sense of adequate information, they may contribute to the degradation of this vital web.

By contrast to the multinational system, local producers depend on the continuation of an abundant supply in one place to continue their livelihoods. This is the core idea behind the creation of the California Fisheries Fund (CFF), a $5 million, first-of-its-kind revolving loan fund organized by Environmental Defense Fund. The fund is capitalized with an investment by the California Ocean Protection Council, a governmental agency, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, leading a consortium of private philanthropic institutions.