Word: swordfishing
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...1960s, fishermen adopted a more devastating technique called long-lining, which makes catching swordfish cheaper and quicker. Hundreds of baited hooks are attached to a line that stretches dozens of miles and is set horizontally above the continental shelf at a depth where swordfish congregate. Anything that bites usually gets hooked and often suffocates--mainly swordfish but also sharks, sea turtles and other marine species. Most worrisome is that much of the catch consists of small swordfish, averaging 90 lbs. At this size, females have not reached reproductive weight or age. In 1995 an estimated 58% of the Atlantic swordfish...
...Baloney," retorts Putnam Maclean, a director of the BlueWater Association, a membership organization of swordfish boat owners and suppliers. "Telling U.S. consumers not to buy swordfish is hurting the only guys out on the ocean who are adhering to the quotas," says Maclean, who is part owner of four swordfishing boats. He believes that the depletion problem is the result of overfishing by non-American swordfishermen...
Many chefs, however, are not so quick to deny responsibility. Paul Prudhomme of K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen in New Orleans says if he had known swordfish were overfished, "I would have given up serving it. I don't need the money badly enough to ever hurt a species...
Whatever gourmet chefs like Prudhomme do, the swordfish boycott will not be a complete success unless the seafood chain restaurants go along. Red Lobster, the largest seafood chain in North America, says that less than 1% of what it spends on seafood goes for swordfish, but that's a lot, since the company serves 150 million meals a year in its 685 restaurants in the U.S. and Canada. While Red Lobster spokesman Rick Van Warner insists that "we consider ourselves stewards of the environment rather than users," the company has no immediate plans to take swordfish off the menu...
Ultimately, the public will decide the fish's fate. Restoring Atlantic populations to healthy levels could take up to 10 years--a long time to forgo a favorite treat. But if swordfish becomes too scarce to catch, future generations may never taste...