STOP EATING SUSHI

[Kai]

You could save an ecosystem without doing that, honestly.

Its all about amounts. People still rely on this MSY model, the Maximum Sustainable Yield model. The problem with MSY is that it doesn't allow much room for error. You overshoot the MSY tip point and you cause a crash. Since you can NEVER get great population estimates for fisheries, MSY is always gonna end up screwing you over. I wish oceanic fisheries practiced APPROPRIATE sustainable yield.

It also assumes there is a surplus that can safely be fished at commercial levels. This is of course not always the case.

Its all political bullshit. Free market my ass. Doesn't work for natural resources.

[East Coast Hustle]

I was kinda irritated when I saw Chilean Sea Bass on the menu at a wedding I attended.

But then I was REALLY annoyed when dad ordered it, despite the fact that I'd voiced my misgivings about it.

I don't blame him. that shit is GOOD.

hell, I run it as a special at the restaurant once every week or two when we're open and it almost always sells out before the end of service.

[East Coast Hustle]

Farm (pond) raised catfish has got to be one of the ecologically best choices for fish.

Not sure how it would be in sushi though.

it would be about the same as if you took some mud and wormshit and mixed it with rice and seaweed.

you know, since catfish tastes like mud and wormshit no matter WHAT you do with it. I can't believe people eat that crap.

same with tilapia and swordfish. people would NEVER eat that stuff if they knew anything about it.

[Kai]

Farm (pond) raised catfish has got to be one of the ecologically best choices for fish.

Not sure how it would be in sushi though.

it would be about the same as if you took some mud and wormshit and mixed it with rice and seaweed.

you know, since catfish tastes like mud and wormshit no matter WHAT you do with it. I can't believe people eat that crap.

same with tilapia and swordfish. people would NEVER eat that stuff if they knew anything about it.

So...basically don't eat any fish except the top predators?

When it comes right down to it, we ALL eat mud and wormshit, even if its a couple levels removed.

And catfish is tasty. So there.

[Kai]

You do realize that catfish are largely pisivores, right?

[Jasper]

Swordfish isn't supposed to taste good?  Since when? 

[East Coast Hustle]

swordfish tastes GREAT.

so do the parasitic worms that burrow through the flesh of the swordfish, sometimes exceeding 5 or 6 feet in length. And yes, you ARE eating those worms if you eat swordfish.

also, catfish tastes like shit.

and that cheap tilapia you buy that is farm-raised in asia?

you do NOT want to know what those fish are eating. Srsly, do yourself a favor and DO NEVER EAT TILAPIA.

in fact, most farm-raised fish is of suspect nutritional value, tastes like catpoop, and has the capacity to be horribly damaging to the natural ecosystem...it's just that tilapia is the worst of the lot.

anyway, if the little fuckers can't figure out how to not get caught in the wild they aren't worthy of being a self-perpetuating species.

[Kai]

All 3000 plus species of catfish taste like shit?

[Bruno]

Farm (pond) raised catfish has got to be one of the ecologically best choices for fish.

Not sure how it would be in sushi though.

it would be about the same as if you took some mud and wormshit and mixed it with rice and seaweed.

you know, since catfish tastes like mud and wormshit no matter WHAT you do with it. I can't believe people eat that crap.

same with tilapia and swordfish. people would NEVER eat that stuff if they knew anything about it.

Awesome, more for me and Kai. 

[Kai]

I'm not gonna eat tilapia (mostly because I'm not into farm fish in the first place) and I don't eat swordfish for the same reason I don't eat bigeye tuna, but I think its more than reasonable to consume Channel and Blue Catfish (bigmouths on the otherhand I won't eat, for the same reason I won't eat sturgeon or paddlefish, poor management and declining numbers).

[East Coast Hustle]

freshwater fish in general is "meh" at best, IMHO, perch being the only notable exception I can think of.

bottom-dwelling freshwater fish isn't usually even THAT good.

On the other hand, if all the good fish are going to run out anyway, I'd rather you guys eat the catfish and leave the cod and sea bass to me.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I hate catfish. Ewwwwww.

I mostly eat wild pacific salmon and cod, when it's on sale.

[Bruno]

freshwater fish in general is "meh" at best, IMHO, perch being the only notable exception I can think of.

bottom-dwelling freshwater fish isn't usually even THAT good.

On the other hand, if all the good fish are going to run out anyway, I'd rather you guys eat the catfish and leave the cod and sea bass to me.

Tennessee is noted for it's lack of oceans, so It is rare for me to come across fresh saltwater fishes. Fresh catfish, on the other hand is easy to come by since it is easily farmed (mostly channel cat). I will say that there is a fairly wide variance in the quality of catfish, even here. 

We'll have to agree to disagree on catfish, but we can agree to agree on perch. Sunfish is also pretty good IMO.

[Dysnomia]

Damn, time to switch over to vegetarian/vegan fishies probably. 


What about Shrimp?  Or are they gross and/or going extinct too?

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

The only problem I know about with shrimping is other animals (turtles, fish) getting caught in the nets. The shrimping industry works to some degree to design nets that avoid turtle and other bycatch, but I really don't know how observed/effective that really is.  There are also a lot of shrimp farms, but I have no idea if they're as gross as the fish farms.

Oysters and cockles are great; they're farmed in a natural, open environment and there's no potential for bycatch.