livin veg

Throughout this oil spill, we’ve seen mostly images of birds, dolphins and turtles slathered in a black greasy mess. There have been images of fish but not as many. When the fish population is discussed, it’s mostly about fishing and how there will now be less of them to eat. When fish are talked about, so is the fishing industry. Human livelihoods.

But why don’t people feel the same sadness when they see a dead fish as when they see a dead pelican? Is it because fishes have no discernible facial expressions? Is it because they travel (for the most part) in schools and we can’t see them as individuals?  Or is it because there is just so little research done on the emotional lives of fish?

Even the methods of cleanup for the oil spill aren’t fish friendly.

Jonathan Balcombe writes the following:

Our use of dispersants-which, as the name implies, break the oil into smaller particles-reflects our bias against fish. Dispersants are not fish-friendly. It is hoped that these particles will be consumed by bacteria, but dispersants also make oil more easily digested by fishes, who may also become coated by the fine oil particles. Both scenarios are lethal. Five years ago, a National Academy of Sciences study concluded that using a dispersant represents trying to save the beach at the expense of the ocean. To date, more than a million gallons of dispersant have been sprayed on the gulf slick.

Sure, we humans love anthropomorphic fish like Nemo. And people even love to look at fish and how beautiful they are. But maybe because we cannot touch them, hold them, see their pain/joy or really understand them in any way that’s meaningful to us, we don’t value them. Even the vast majority of vegans and animal activists, while they care about fish, leave them out of the discussion when talking about animal issues. Fish farms are brought up when we talk of mercury, not how horrible life must be for those creatures in the crowded conditions. I’ll admit, I fall into that category. While I would never eat a fish, I also don’t feel the same kind of emotion I might feel for a fuzzy mammal. How do we remedy this? Well, I think acknowledging the bias is a good first step. Then, making a conscious effort to bring them into the conversation.

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