PETA Gets Under Alaskan State Senator's Skin

In January, Alaskan State Rep. Bruce Wehyrauch let People for the Ethical Treatment get under his skin with their anti-salmon message.

In the wake of a study of Scottish farmed salmon that claimed high levels of PBCs and other toxins were found in the farmed fish, PETA urged people to avoid eating fish. In a press release, for example, PETA said,

While eating fish is dangerous for our health, it is always fatal for the fish. A study published last year by the Royal Society confirms what many marine biologists have been saying for years: Fish feel pain, just as all animals do. Fish raised in captivity are confined in crowded, unnatural conditions that cause stress, infection and parasites.

‘Now more than ever, eating fish is like playing Russian roulette with your health’, says PETA Europe Director Dawn Carr. ‘The best way to ensure that you and your family won’t get sick is to go vegetarian.’

This bit of nonsense angered Wehyrauch who apparently did not think PETA had done enough to distinguish between farmed and wild salmon. So, he asked Alaska’s attorney general to investigate whether or not the state would have a legal basis for suing PETA for disparaging salmon in general, which could potentially harm Alaska’s valuable salmon industry.

This seems to be an ongoing problem for Alaskan politicians who choose to follow animal rights nonsense with homegrown stupidity.

Alaskan State Attorney General Gregg Renkes told the Juneau Empire,

The governor’s looking for every opportunity to distinguish Alaska salmon from farmed salmon. We’ll try to see if there is an action that could be filed; it doesn’t jump right out at you.

Of course, there isn’t any action Alaska can take to prevent PETA from saying that people should avoid eating fish, and they come across as idiots for floating the idea that there might be — and, in the process, lend PETA’s views far more legitimacy and credence than they deserve.

Sources:

PETA seafood ad vexes Wehyrauch. Masha Herbst, Juneau Empire, January 18, 2004.

PETA Distributes ‘Emergency Vegetarian Starter Kits’ at Borough Market’s Fish! Restaurant in Answer to Toxic Salmon Fears. Press Release, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, January 9, 2004.

Singapore Researchers Working on Edible Zebrafish Vaccine

Researchers at the National University of Singapore reported in September that they had produced genetically modified zebrafish that produce a vaccine for Hepatitis B in their muscles. Such research could one day pave the way for a cheaply produced, edible vaccine.

Leader researcher and zebrafish Gong Zhiyan concedes that there are still many unknowns about using genetically modified animals like this to produce vaccines. Zhiyan told The BBC,

We haven’t reached the stage yet where we know how many fish you would have to eat for a correct dose of vaccine, but based on the high levels of the protein they produce, it shouldn’t be much.

In addition, the vaccine would have to survive the passage through the digestion system and into the human bloodstream in a usable way.

To that end, the next step in this line of research will be producing and feeding these vaccine-producing zebrafish to animals to see if they confer protection from Hepatitis B when eaten.

Sources:

Edible vaccines ‘could end jabs’. The BBC, September 15, 2003.

U.S. Seafood Consumption Rises to Record Levels in 2002

In September the National Marine Fisheries Service reported that per capita consumption of seafood rose to 15.6 pounds in 2002.

Total seafood consumption increased 7.1 percent to 4.5 billion pounds, making the United States the third largest consumer of seafood products in the world.

Linda Candler, vice president for communications at the National Fisheries Institute, told the Associated Press that seafood consumption grew in the United States in large part due to dietary concerns. “Americans are taking the health message to heart and trying to incorporate more fish in their diet,” Candler told the Associated Press.

Shrimp is the most popular seafood product in the United States, with per capita consumption rising to 3.7 pounds in 2002. Canned tuna was number two with per capita consumption at 3.1 pounds.

Sources:

Americans Ate More Seafood In 2002. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, September 10, 2003.

Americans eating fish at record rates. Randolph E. Schmid, Associated Press, September 10, 2003.

NIH to Fund Zebrafish Laboratory

According to The Scientist, the National Institute of Health will break ground in October on a 5,000 square foot zebrafish lab that will eventually house more than a half million zebrafish. The lab is scheduled to open sometime in 2005.

The zebrafish is growing in importance in a variety of medical research projects as it can be used as a substitute or supplement to mice in an increasing number of animal models, and in addition has a number of advantages that mice lack. Zebrafish are ideal, for example, for research into embryo development because the 200 or so eggs zebrafish lay are relatively large and develop outside the female’s body. Zebrafish are also easier to care for and less expensive to raise than mice.

Work is currently in progress to sequence the zebrafish genome and is expected to be completed by the end of 2005. There are also efforts underway to create gene knockout zebrafish in much the same way that gene knockout mice have been produced to study the effects of specific genes.

So far, animal models using zebrafish have been developed to study everything from deafness to leukemia, and that number will greatly increase in the coming years.

Sources:

NIH to build zebrafish lab. Ted Agres, The Scientist, August 19, 2003.

Vegetarian Society: Fish Is Not Vegetarian

The Publican reports that in August the UK’s Vegetarian Society began an education campaign to highlight the fact that fish is generally not considered vegetarian fare.

The campaign was to focus on restaurants and pubs. According to The Publican,

The campaign has been developed in response to reports from its members of being offered fishy meals in pubs, restaurants and even hospitals. A poll of 1,000 visitors to the society?s website found that ?significant numbers of eating establishments? considered fish to be a veggie dish.

On the other hand, surveys on both sides of the Atlantic show that quite a few self-described vegetarians do no themselves realize that fish is not vegetarian, so the restaurants and others here might simply be trying to meet the demands of those pesky pesco-vegetarians (the fact that there is a specific term for vegetarians who eat fish is, in itself, evidence that we’re dealing with some sort of post-modern version of reality here).

Source:

Fishy campaign from the Vegetarian Society. ThePublican.Com, August 6, 2003.

New York State Assembly Approves Fishing Protection Bill

The New York State Assembly recently approved a bill that would protect the right to fish on all navigable waterways in the state. The bill’s sponsor, Assemblyman Pete Grannis, outlined the need for the bill in a memorandum attached to the bill,

In February, 1997, the NYS Court of Appeals ruled in DOUGLASTON MANOR, INC. V. GEORGE BAHRAKIS that landowners who specifically “own the river bed” can regulate fishing on their property. Historically, NYS law has been interpreted to mean that any navigable waterway could be accessed by the public. The state retains easements that entitle the public to certain recreational uses. Until the DOUGLASTON MANOR decision, fishing was considered to be part of the public trust that was part and parcel of the “navigability” of a waterway.

With its action, the state`s highest court has potentially granted exclusive fishing rights to anyone owning land traversed by a recognized navigable waterway. Under this ruling, while navigable waterways would remain accessible for boating, tubing, etc., all fishing from a boat whether anchored, motoring or simply drifting through, might now be considered trespassing unless prior permission is obtained from the landowner. This restriction will apply to all navigable rivers, including those stocked with fish raised in publicly funded state hatcheries.

. . .

Left unchallenged, this unfortunate ruling may result in the closure of large sections of major rivers to public fishing. This holds particular peril for the vast majority of the state`s roughly 1.1 million licensed fishermen who do not own private fishing rights. Not to be overlooked in this equation is the nearly $15 million these residents pay in annual license fees and in surcharges on the purchase of fishing equipment, which over the years has been instrumental in helping to finance the Salmon River`s climb to the status of a world class fishery.

The bill is now under consideration in the State Senate. You can read the full text of the proposed law here.