35 facts that will make you never want to eat fish again

Next time you reach for a spicy tuna handroll, you may want to keep the following infographic in mind. Eating fish may seem like the safer choice when it comes to environmental impact, but things aren’t as good as they may appear. Did you know that there are no requirements for the humane slaughter of fish? Or that for every pound of shrimp caught, 26 pounds of other sea creatures were killed and tossed back into the sea? Read on for 35 facts that may make you reconsider your next fishy meal.

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20 thoughts on “35 facts that will make you never want to eat fish again”

Jenna Miles December 31, 2016 at 10:20 pm

vegan 4 life

Anonymous August 29, 2016 at 8:50 pm

How can we kill 11k sharks per hour? Are we "producing" sharks? They would be extinct already it that was true. I call bullshit on this. There are problems and we should find ways to minimize our impact in the world, but people need to stop go over the top just to scare us.

Anonymous May 6, 2016 at 4:51 pm

fish f***ing sucks and the things these morons around the world do to them for their own benefit is sickening. These people should be shot and tortured themselves. Man is a hunter and gatherer by nature, but some of these things and things are being done on such a mass scale its unacceptable. I don't care who you are, what your belief is. It affects all of us.

Anonymous August 29, 2015 at 2:05 pm

So what bad. strick up grill I ready for a fish fry.

Anonymous April 10, 2015 at 11:00 pm

One more reason. Plastic absorbs PCBs in the oceans as it breaks down into the new toxic krill. The oceans now have 36 times more toxic krill then food krill. PCBs alias agent orange, (dioxin) is the leading cause of cancer in the world. PCBs don't necessarily kill cells but alter them the prescription for cancer and many other diseases. PCB's bioaccumulate up the food chain into people.

Anonymous March 30, 2015 at 10:07 am

We should be vegan\\\'s in this century.

Anonymous March 21, 2015 at 6:00 pm

Since few years ago I started to notice a metal taste in the tuna that I was eating; and I didn\\\'t like it; Then, I decided to start to eat tuna in water, but the metalic taste was there also. So I decided to do never eat tuna. Not in cans not in sushi,not at all.

Anonymous March 6, 2015 at 3:46 am

by design we are plant eaters....our body tells us so. It sucks that anything has to die for ones pleasure....though much of these "facts" are wrong it makes you think how much destruction is being done in the waters...you know mother nature will one day take back whats rightfully hers and rid this planet of the virus, we being the virus.

Wendy Parker February 15, 2015 at 8:35 am

Mmmm, I always thought if you caught it and ate it it was justified... Maybe I'll think again

winterbird1 February 13, 2015 at 9:32 pm

Alhough I like to think that I am well versed on subjects like this ,I can see I am fooling myself! Thank you for this article!

Anonymous February 13, 2015 at 10:33 am

Over population is not a problem.

Anonymous February 11, 2015 at 12:52 pm

Another example: 26 lb of bycatch for every 1 lb of shrimp caught. Well shrimp are the worst offenders of any type of fishing, but the average is 1.6 lb of bycatch per 1 lb of shrimp (www.fao.org/3/a-y5936e.pdf), so this fact is wrong by a factor of 16.

Anonymous February 11, 2015 at 12:45 pm

So many of the facts here are wrong, out of date, or completely misleading. For example: 1. 27 million t of fish are discarded. This comes from a 1994 report by FAO. It was updated 10 years ago (Kelleher 2005, FAO Tech Rep 470). The new estimate is 7.3 million t (or about 8% of catches). They urge everyone in their report to stop citing the old report. 2. All fish will be collapsed by 2048. Received 11 rebuttals, original authors have moved on from this prediction, new data show this to be wrong (Branch 2013 PLOS ONE 8(2): e56723). 3. 90% of top predators, including tunas, are gone. New paper shows tunas are sustainably harvested (Juan Jorda PNAS 108:20650). On and on it goes, too little time for me to rebut all of the incorrect facts. Regardless, though, if we don't eat fish (and are not vegetarian) we would eat beef, chicken, pork, all of which have far greater environmental damage from habitat destruction, pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, pesticide use, water use...

Anonymous February 11, 2015 at 9:00 am

Ok, IF these "facts" are true, how about fighting to change how fishing is done instead of suggests to stop eating fish all together? Sounds like moralistic vegan propoganda! Sorry, not all of us can be (or want to be) vegan due to allergy and health issues! HUMANS ARE OMNIVORES! JUST ACCEPT IT!

Science-watch February 10, 2015 at 8:47 pm

Seems like a lot of green wash and factually incorrect assumptions. I agree with Pamela, where are the peer reviewed scientific references. TreeHugger website is not really a valid source of information. Likewise the reference to 2048 is sooo wrong it is not funny. Even the author has agreed that the research was not correct... From a scientists point of view it makes me sick to see poor journalism, that makes up and exaggerates facts that would not be published in any reputable sites.

Sharps2010 February 10, 2015 at 7:42 pm

KK LEONG it may be the problem, but what is the solution?

Darren653 February 10, 2015 at 5:49 am

KL Leong, I couldn't agree more!

Anonymous February 9, 2015 at 9:29 pm

Need citations for each fact in order for them to be believed. Can that be done?

Anonymous February 9, 2015 at 7:57 pm

Some scary statistics for you fish lovers.

Anonymous February 8, 2015 at 5:52 am

Overpopulation is the problem...

Jenna Miles December 31, 2016 at 10:20 pm

vegan 4 life
Anonymous August 29, 2016 at 8:50 pm

How can we kill 11k sharks per hour? Are we "producing" sharks? They would be extinct already it that was true. I call bullshit on this. There are problems and we should find ways to minimize our impact in the world, but people need to stop go over the top just to scare us.
Anonymous May 6, 2016 at 4:51 pm

fish f***ing sucks and the things these morons around the world do to them for their own benefit is sickening. These people should be shot and tortured themselves. Man is a hunter and gatherer by nature, but some of these things and things are being done on such a mass scale its unacceptable. I don't care who you are, what your belief is. It affects all of us.
Anonymous August 29, 2015 at 2:05 pm

So what bad. strick up grill I ready for a fish fry.
Anonymous April 10, 2015 at 11:00 pm

One more reason. Plastic absorbs PCBs in the oceans as it breaks down into the new toxic krill. The oceans now have 36 times more toxic krill then food krill. PCBs alias agent orange, (dioxin) is the leading cause of cancer in the world. PCBs don't necessarily kill cells but alter them the prescription for cancer and many other diseases. PCB's bioaccumulate up the food chain into people.
Anonymous March 30, 2015 at 10:07 am

We should be vegan\\\'s in this century.
Anonymous March 21, 2015 at 6:00 pm

Since few years ago I started to notice a metal taste in the tuna that I was eating; and I didn\\\'t like it; Then, I decided to start to eat tuna in water, but the metalic taste was there also. So I decided to do never eat tuna. Not in cans not in sushi,not at all.
Anonymous March 6, 2015 at 3:46 am

by design we are plant eaters....our body tells us so. It sucks that anything has to die for ones pleasure....though much of these "facts" are wrong it makes you think how much destruction is being done in the waters...you know mother nature will one day take back whats rightfully hers and rid this planet of the virus, we being the virus.
Wendy Parker February 15, 2015 at 8:35 am

Mmmm, I always thought if you caught it and ate it it was justified... Maybe I'll think again
winterbird1 February 13, 2015 at 9:32 pm

Alhough I like to think that I am well versed on subjects like this ,I can see I am fooling myself! Thank you for this article!
Anonymous February 13, 2015 at 10:33 am

Over population is not a problem.
Anonymous February 11, 2015 at 12:52 pm

Another example: 26 lb of bycatch for every 1 lb of shrimp caught. Well shrimp are the worst offenders of any type of fishing, but the average is 1.6 lb of bycatch per 1 lb of shrimp (www.fao.org/3/a-y5936e.pdf), so this fact is wrong by a factor of 16.
Anonymous February 11, 2015 at 12:45 pm

So many of the facts here are wrong, out of date, or completely misleading. For example: 1. 27 million t of fish are discarded. This comes from a 1994 report by FAO. It was updated 10 years ago (Kelleher 2005, FAO Tech Rep 470). The new estimate is 7.3 million t (or about 8% of catches). They urge everyone in their report to stop citing the old report. 2. All fish will be collapsed by 2048. Received 11 rebuttals, original authors have moved on from this prediction, new data show this to be wrong (Branch 2013 PLOS ONE 8(2): e56723). 3. 90% of top predators, including tunas, are gone. New paper shows tunas are sustainably harvested (Juan Jorda PNAS 108:20650). On and on it goes, too little time for me to rebut all of the incorrect facts. Regardless, though, if we don't eat fish (and are not vegetarian) we would eat beef, chicken, pork, all of which have far greater environmental damage from habitat destruction, pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, pesticide use, water use...
Anonymous February 11, 2015 at 9:00 am

Ok, IF these "facts" are true, how about fighting to change how fishing is done instead of suggests to stop eating fish all together? Sounds like moralistic vegan propoganda! Sorry, not all of us can be (or want to be) vegan due to allergy and health issues! HUMANS ARE OMNIVORES! JUST ACCEPT IT!
Science-watch February 10, 2015 at 8:47 pm

Seems like a lot of green wash and factually incorrect assumptions. I agree with Pamela, where are the peer reviewed scientific references. TreeHugger website is not really a valid source of information. Likewise the reference to 2048 is sooo wrong it is not funny. Even the author has agreed that the research was not correct... From a scientists point of view it makes me sick to see poor journalism, that makes up and exaggerates facts that would not be published in any reputable sites.
Sharps2010 February 10, 2015 at 7:42 pm

KK LEONG it may be the problem, but what is the solution?
Darren653 February 10, 2015 at 5:49 am

KL Leong, I couldn't agree more!
Anonymous February 9, 2015 at 9:29 pm

Need citations for each fact in order for them to be believed. Can that be done?
Anonymous February 9, 2015 at 7:57 pm

Some scary statistics for you fish lovers.
Anonymous February 8, 2015 at 5:52 am

Overpopulation is the problem...

35 facts that will make you never want to eat fish again

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35 facts that will make you never want to eat fish again

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