{"id":102,"date":"2020-08-21T10:32:29","date_gmt":"2020-08-21T10:32:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/meenscientist.com\/blog\/?p=102"},"modified":"2024-11-11T11:05:39","modified_gmt":"2024-11-11T11:05:39","slug":"choosing-the-better-fish-to-make-goas-sour-spicy-fish-curry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meenscientist.com\/blog\/choosing-the-better-fish-to-make-goas-sour-spicy-fish-curry\/","title":{"rendered":"Choosing the Better Fish to Make Goa\u2019s Sour Spicy Fish Curry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A version of this article was originally published in the Wire.in<\/a>; June 18, 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Trawl fisheries are ubiquitous along India’s coastline. \u00a9 Aaron Savio Lobo<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I happened to attend the IUCN Species Survival Commission Leaders\u2019 meeting<\/a> in October last year. This event is held once every four years and is attended by conservation scientists and specialists from around the world. Many of these scientists have made it their lives\u2019 missions to better understand and conserve the species or ecosystem in their specific fields. One responsibility of the members of the Species Survival Commission are the \u2018Red List Assessments\u2019, which evaluate the extinction risk of a species  using a range of criteria, based on which they are assigned to various threat categories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While I bounced around between sessions during this mega-event, hearing mostly dismal tales of various species threatened with extinction, one theme became extremely apparent: humans have a flawed food production system that poses a disproportionate threat to the planet\u2019s ecosystems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The oceans are our biggest providers of wild food and protein, in the form of seafood. This is one of the reasons most people tend to view the oceans solely as \u2018food providers\u2019, with an unending supply of fish. While most of our land is managed for different purposes, and we are quick to notice any form of mismanagement here, events concerning the ocean usually escapes our attention. Most of our ocean spaces are still largely open access resources when it comes to fisheries extraction. As a result, many important ocean habitats are destroyed beyond repair, and many species have declined to precarious numbers or are locally extinct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This said, fish is an important and often the sole source of protein for millions of poor coastal communities in India and the rest of the world. And today, a large proportion of our seafood is being directed for other purposes, including feeding other industries such as poultry, fish farming and livestock. This not only poses a long-term threat to sustainability but is also a major livelihood and food security threat. There are many solutions being touted to the various crises our oceans face, including setting up marine protected areas, ending destructive fisheries, incentivising good fishing practices, etc. But the fish we choose to eat, and how it is sourced and processed, also has major implications for the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n