Fish, Gyre & Pollution

Last friday I visited my local Fish Market to get some lovely fresh snapper for dinner. The fish was fresh and cooked beautifully, even if I do say so myself! (Must have been a result of all those cooking TV shows!)
But since then I have been hearing and watching Radio/TV programs talking about the dire state of over fishing in the world oceans, plastic pollution in the Pacific, and dolphin slaughter in Japan .
First came the Radio National's Science Show talking about the Great North Pacific Garbage Patch, the gyre of plastics slowly and surely polluting a large area,with large amounts of plastic found in the guts of seabirds as well as spreading through the entire ecosystem as the particles of plastic break down to ever smaller pieces.
This story was followed by a snippet (somewhere else) describing the state of over-fishing that is threatening many essential food species such as the Southern Blue Fin Tuna.

Southern Blue Fin Tuna Stocks

And on Sunday night ABC TV screened "The Cove" a graphic, disturbing account of activists filming the ongoing slaughter of dolphins in Taijii. Part of the doco described the large concentration of methyl mercury concentrated in these animals.

Given that Planet Earth may be more accurately described as Planet Water, the fact that we are severely polluting and affecting the ecology of such a vast area of the planet should give us warning regarding the pollution of the atmosphere.

I rather like my occasional fish dinner. I would hope that I can continue to enjoy such beautiful fish from reasonably pristine New Zealand waters for many years to come. I don't want to feel too guilty over enjoying the odd "Fish n Chips".