Leave nothing but bubbles????

[scallop]

I don't mind the veg eaters if they keep to themselves and munch their carrots in peace and quiet. It is when they feel the need to force their lifestyle on others and condemn others for being omnivorous I find disgusting. Animals were put here for our use and substance (see my sig line) . Humans have teeth adapted to eat meat, bodies adapted to digest it and gol-dummit it tastes wonderful. A life without meat would be a sad life indeed in my opinion.

 

[lionfish-eater]

What about the real issue of the trawlers and their destructive techniques? How can we get more people to support sustainable fisheries? A boycott of red lobster and the all you can eat shrimp buffet at the local feed barn would raise more awareness of our dwindling resources and the horrible things done to the environment and the indigenous fishermen.
Who cares about someone else's narrow minded, ill informed opinions regarding food gathering by spearing? Some chicks will be turned on by the macho-hunter thing, and some will despise you for killing and eating anything that has a face and a mother.
One on one, "mano a fin", is the most selective way to harvest fish. If you are into that sort of thing.
Culling lionfish and eating them is not trophy hunting.
The vast majority of fish trophys are fiberglass replicas based on photos and measurements, not stuffed fish.

 

[agesilaus]

You need a few more choices. I don't spearfish, but don't mind if others do, but I actively hunt and consume lobster.

Ditto on that. And those sharp teeth you have in your mouth weren't designed for ocra.

 

[gcarter]

Commenting only after reading the poll questions, none of the comments.

I did not answer the poll. Neither option even comes close. I am neither a spear fisher nor am I against spear fishing. That is possible, you know, and I suspect it fits a lot more than just me.

If you are asking a question that positions the answer as a comment on the respondent's morality, this is a really really bad way to do it. I will go so far as to say it is bull****, regardless the intent.

I saw the post that prompted this. I refrained from commenting on it as I think the morality statement was bull**** too but didn't feel like stirring anything.

If you ARE going to have a discussion about it though, it needs to be an honest one and not one that is designed to polarize people at the outset.

Fishing is not immoral. We are omnivores. We were designed to eat both plant and animal. Spear fishing is no more or less immoral than any other fishing in and of itself. There are fishing practices that should be condemned, but the taking of fish in and of itself has nothing to do with morality any more than it does for a bear taking a salmon from a stream.

Spear fishing is significantly more selective than any other form of fishing, has now wasted by-catch, and quite frankly gives the fish a better chance at not being caught.

If someone chooses to go vegan power to them, no skin off of my nose, but stay the hell out of my pantry, it is none of your business and it is definitely NOT a question of morality. Animals are not people too.

I met a woman a few years back who was vegan. She told me about a study she read that measured electric or magnetic currents or some such (it was a few years ago and I have long since written her off as a wing nut) in plants. The conclusion was that plants could sense and exhibit sympathetic reactions to (unfertilized) eggs being cracked into a pan and fried. So of course even eating eggs is bad, she said, because it hurts the plants.

She did not, could not comprehend that her alternative was to kill and eat the very things (living plants) that she believed reacted to the prep for eating of an unfertilized egg.

I do not begrudge anyone their personal beliefs. But at least make the effort to achieve some logical consistencies in your beliefs. This is where most vegans fail. This is where most people who complain about the morality of others - regardless the issue - fail.

 

[KeithG]

I am partially with gcarter (damn Canucks!) and am looking for the "omnivore, don't believe in messing with the critters" option.

I will eat just about anything (no cucumbers!) but do not want to kill it, clean it it, or prepare it.

so I am pretty much main stream America...

 

[divin'dog]

I guess I would be #3 in the poll. Not a spearfisher but I could be. Too busy trying to find lobsters. I think that if you're going to hunt something, then you should be eating it. Some of my friends wanted to take me fishing but I would have to throw the fish back...??? I told him, whatever I catch, I'm going to eat. He didn't like that because he's a sport fisherman.

As for moral or immoral, we all have to eat something that was alive. There's a humane way to take a life for your consumption and then there's this. Whether it is a chicken, cow, fish, or pig the food animal should be respected. Unfortunately some people don't think that way.

 

[100days-a-year]

Commercial spearfisherman,board member Council For Sustainable Fishing,innovator in commercial lionfish harvesting,ex military,ex family farmer.I eat veal,trip,fois gras,bacon and pretty much anything but sauerkraut,sweet potatoes and mammal liver.

I support everyone's choice to eat as they please excepting cetaceans and primates.I also support the 1st amendment right to say stupid,uninformed and hateful things regarding others choices but have the decency not do so ....much.

 

[acteg]

Great post. Clearly it's something you have put a lot of thought into over the years. I hunt, but try to do so as humanely as possible, take only what I need, and eat everything that I kill.

 

[dmoore19]

Nothing in the poll comes close to fitting for me.

What is the point of the poll? What do you expect to learn from it?

 

[SavageRon]

What is the point of the poll? What do you expect to learn from it?

I'm interested in other people's perspectives on a complicated issue. Partly to figure out where my own direction is going, and maybe a little bit to encourage people to actively consider their own choices; whatever they may be.
The poll was honestly an afterthought, and added mostly because i suspected more people would take a one click alternative to thinking and investing time in typing, so it might give me a vague guesstimation of popular perception.

What about the real issue of the trawlers and their destructive techniques? How can we get more people to support sustainable fisheries?

I think the answer to this question is to start by letting people know what's actually happening out there. Prior to becoming a diver I knew almost nothing about the real issues affecting the underwater world. Boycotts would be fine and well, but if people were aware they might be examining the conundrum themselves the way I am; and sadly I still haven't yet figured out ALL the answers.
But awareness can only lead to contemplation and making EDUCATED choices, and that's the first step in changing attitudes.

If you ARE going to have a discussion about it though, it needs to be an honest one and not one that is designed to polarize people at the outset.

That's my goal here. I'm trying to figure out my own thoughts and looking for exactly the right perspectives that will help me polarize them. in the O.P. I outlined my own considerations on this, and hope no one is going to be judgemental of others while providing their own perspective.
And if a few people who hadn't thought about the impact of their own actions look up some things like shark finning, long lining, and how to destroy reefs with nets, all the better.


A lot of good posts so far.
Thanks all for the input!!!!