Mossman Eats Cozumel Day Three

[cvchief]

Jeez this went from gluttony to depression quick....

 

[AdivingBel]

Yeah...I was really enjoying the food porn, but sometimes you have to pause and take stock. All things in moderation. :sigh:

 

[Scared Silly]

FWIW ... I like to look at the Seafood Watch guide. For Grouper their answer is - it depends:

Seafood Search | Seafood Watch | Monterey Bay Aquarium

Red/Black Grouper reasonable. "Grouper" not so good.

 

[Mike]

Your link also takes you to Tilapia, which is the most common fish substituted for not just grouper but just about every fish on a menu you can think of.

You've got pork - 'the other white meat' and you've got Tilapia - 'the fish you're probably really eating and don't know it'. In Mexico though I don't think Tilapia is that prevalent, while it might not really be grouper, you probably at least are ending up eating something that was freshly caught at least, probably snapper of some sort. Cerviche, I wouldn't even want to venture a guess at what that ends up being, I wouldn't even bother asking.

One of my favorite dives at Coz was Tormentos with a nice current and a pack of about 10 big groupers that would follow us along like puppy dogs.
According to the DM, they ALL got speared by poachers and the next time we came they were gone and ended up on some restaurant menu never to return. What a shame.

Well, it's a shame they are gone, but all that was lost were some fish looking for a free handout, they aren't tame like puppy dogs, they are just groupers who have been fed by the dive masters and they associate divers with a fee lion fish meal. It won't take very long to make more behave like that, provided there are some groupers around to feed.

 

[cvchief]

All things in moderation. :sigh:

Communist....

 

[AdivingBel]

Originally Posted by AdivingBel
All things in moderation.

Communist....

Well...maybe not where margaritas are concerned...comrade (plus I'll share)

 

[ronski101]

Why would you think the grouper was poached in the marine park? Most of the waters surrounding Cozumel are not a marine park. I don't think that grouper can tell the difference.

BTW, it is completely legal for Chinese to take shark fins in most of the waters of the world. Does that make it right?

Gee, the Tormentos dive site where the 10 groupers were speared is smack in the middle of the Cozumel marine park unless it got moved????? I love the way people justify their actions and point the finger else ware by saying "well look over there those guys are doing it too".......that makes it ok doesn't it??????

 

[jd950]

Is there a reason you value the reefs and the oceans over the rainforests? Beef farming is pretty devastating to them. Is it because you can't scuba dive in a rainforest? The Yungas rainforest (since you mentioned Argentina) is being threatened both by grazing cattle and by all consuming soy bean crops to feed cattle world wide. The loss of biodiversity in this environment is no different than the loss of biodiversity on a reef.

To some extent, ignorance...I was unaware Argentinian beef consumption affected rainforests; I will look into that and may make changes in my actions. Beyond that, three things; First I can only fight so many battles and the oceans and reefs are a big concern of mine and it is hard to keep up with every environmental issue and to separate real from imaginary/extremist issues. Second, most "beef" I buy at home is U.S. produced organic (no hormones) bison and grass-fed organic beef. We need to improve our labeling laws so it is easier to make informed choices. Argentinian beef only comes up when I travel and then not often. Third, at least to me, there is a direct connection when talking seafood. The fish themselves are threatened and I can clearly see and understand the effect of their depletion on reefs and other marine life, and there really is not much of a contrary argument. No legit source claims depletion of threatened species is not a problem. Other issues are less clear to me. For example in just a very brief look I found an article that indicated soybean production was a bigger threat to the Yungas rainforest than cattle grazing but Brazilian beef production is causing huge damage, so tofu and Brazilian beef is worse than Argentinian beef? Confusing. Even rum is condemned for environmental reasons. I just read most produce is shipped an average of 2000 miles before being consumed, so that isn't perfect either.

Thankfully, whisky has little environmental evil attached to it, so I will drink more Scotch, less rum and eat less, well, everything. I am beginning to think cannibalism is the only environmentally sound food strategy. That would add a whole new meaning to the terms "American food," "I feel like having Mexican tonight" or "I love sushi."

 

[Mossman]

Gee, the Tormentos dive site where the 10 groupers were speared is smack in the middle of the Cozumel marine park unless it got moved????? I love the way people justify their actions and point the finger else ware by saying "well look over there those guys are doing it too".......that makes it ok doesn't it??????

I love the way people take an anecdote and turn it into a generality. Some grouper were illegally poached, therefore all grouper must be illegally poached.

You have issues, ronski101. I hope you can get them sorted out someday.

---------- Post added July 16th, 2014 at 08:21 AM ----------

Thankfully, whisky has little environmental evil attached to it, so I will drink more Scotch

Actually the peatland ecosystem is the "most efficient carbon sink on the planet" (Wikipedia) so your Scotch drinking contributes to global warming. Shame on you!

BTW, I was informed by an island resident that Kris does NOT serve grouper at either Kinta or Kondesa. I was apparently misinformed.

So, in the words of Ms. Emily Litella, "never mind".

 

[Skittl1321]

For example in just a very brief look I found an article that indicated soybean production was a bigger threat to the Yungas rainforest than cattle grazing but Brazilian beef production is causing huge damage, so tofu and Brazilian beef is worse than Argentinian beef?

Brazilian cattle grazing is causing immense harm on the Amazonian rainforest. But you mentioned argentina, so I gave an argentinian example. However, saying tofu is worse is definitely a fallacy. First- most of that soy bean that is being grown is grown to feed cows, not people. So even if it is not cattle grazing that is detroying the Yungas, it is the cattle that are doing it.

Now lets say people are eating the soy- it is still better, because it is a more direct protein source. Right now they grow soy to feed cattle (which need a lot of food) to feed humans. A lot less soy would need to be grown if people would eat it directly.

The most sustainable protein source would be farmed insects, but I think it is a LONG time before Americans become comfortable with that...