Back in November, I learned I was allergic to gluten and was told I should lose 20 lbs or so to improve my health. So now that I am gluten-free, my diet consists mostly of nuts, seeds, rice and lean meats– like fish.
I believe variety is the spice of life and I’ve been struggling to come up with different things to eat. I was able to make myself a gluten-and dairy-free (since I can’t have milk) coconut cake that was pretty tasty. There are different types of nuts, seeds and rice but I’ve found fish to have the best variety since there are so many different types—tuna, Atlantic Salmon, Mahi-Mahi, etc.
I’m not alone with my love of fish. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which monitors U.S. fishery populations, we are overfishing many of these edible species. In 2007 the agency reviewed 528 individual stock and stock complexes and found that nearly half of them were overfished or in danger of being overfished.
The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Reauthorization Act of 2006 required that NOAA work to stop overfishing through continued and new sustainable management practices such as aquaculture, annual catch limits and marine protected areas (MPAs) by this year. Since 2010 isn’t a week old, I don’t think NOAA has done a significant study to track their progress. Last month they did begin soliciting comments from interested groups and the public about their new "Draft Catch Share" Policy and last week started the National Saltwater Angler Registry, which will help track the effects of recreational fishing on fish stocks.
What do you think of overfishing in the U.S.?