Plenty more fish in the sea?

We aren’t doing enough.

 

From our office it’s possible to take a short walk down to Sydney’s world famous fish market and enjoy a lunch there. There’s amazing variety, popular favourites, great quality food at reasonable prices and of course most of it was in the ocean hours and certainly not more than a day before you see it in your plastic take-away box or bowl.

Today though I went there for lunch and felt horribly guilty and overwhelmingly sad. It wasn’t only to do with the fact that last night I watched Steve Irwin’s last TV film before he tragically died from an encounter with a stingray, but as much to do with Philippe Cousteau’s ninety second finishing piece that showed us yet again the despicable horrors and crimes we commit hourly to the oceans of the planet.

Everyone’s well aware of the destruction and damage we do to our forests, whether they are rain, tropical, ancient or just forests we want to take out to build houses on the message is clear and many people around the globe are actively doing a lot to replace and replant these beautiful places.

Same goes for the mis-treatment of other natural eco-systems and institutions abound with people trying to make a difference. Everyone is also more than well aware of the overall global warming issue with gas emissions, so much so that I’m saying nothing.

But the oceans seem to be escaping this kind of repair attitude. Maybe it’s their sheer size and vastness that leads people to generally think that nothing needs doing, after all they’re so big they’ll never suffer from us taking a few fish out. Or maybe it’s just the inaccessibility for most people that mean we are ignoring something as important to humankind’s existence as the sun itself.

Perhaps it’s because most of us never even go near the sea except on a ferryboat somewhere, let alone under it that leads to this catastrophic oversight in how we treat it. When the earth stopping news arrives, I can see the reaction on people’s faces now – I never knew it was so important; can’t we do something to bring the fish back?

No you can’t is the simple answer – once they’re gone, that’s it, they’re gone. In a recent article the scientists have announced that the green sawfish, once found in coastal waters off Queensland and last seen in New South Wales in 1972 should be reclassified as “presumed extinct” because it’s gone. In another newsclip scientists announce that Hortle’s whip ray is among more than twenty previously undiscovered species of shark and ray found around the waters of Indonesia. Found mainly in the fisherman’s catches at fish markets it adds. And sadly we’ll never identify them all before the next species is gone, if the way we treat “bycatch” continues.

And I guarantee there are millions who not only wouldn’t have a clue what a green sawfish is but who would not care less how important it is, or was. Same for the new findings, so what? Proof indeed, if ever it was needed that the damage is done. It’s only a matter of time before this damage manifests itself to those people who don’t care because perhaps that time has already run out. What do you think of that? Those millions of people are what makes it all such a seemingly one sided effort to try and save the oceans from a filthy destruction.

And which is the reason for the opening sentence in this piece because no matter which way we look at it to take out millions and millions of tonnes of living resources from seventy per cent of the world’s surface and replace it with millions of tones of indestructible plastic garbage, concrete barrels of toxic waste, general household rubbish and billions of litres of effluent can only lead to irreversible damage and the end of the most complex life support system the planet has and all because we aren’t doing enough. And I’m ashamed to say, my conversations among people I meet indicate the majority don’t really care enough.

So don’t kid yourself with the old favourite, “well most people are doing something, so it should be alright, shouldn’t it?” Because that’s a load of bollocks. It’s dangerously close to being too late.

I’m not writing this to make people actually do anything about the situation; it’s too worrying to care about what anyone else does to tell the truth and in today’s fiersome chaotic lifestyles we all lead it’s hard to know where to start if you did want to make a difference.

I know everybody has their own agenda with life and maybe there’s more being done than I think, certainly the world’s politicians haven’t wasted time creating and then jumping on the Climate Bandwagon but it was just an observation; we simply aren’t doing enough, because maybe there aren’t actually plenty more fish in the sea…

Settling down

Settling well after the wrench from his little world with kindergarten, Pesche and the Swiss farm. 

Geht’s gut nachdem verwechseln vom Kindergarten, sein Freund Pesche und die Schweizer Bauernhof. 

Quiet time with cartoons after a busy day at school. 

Ruhe mit Fernseher und cartoons nach einen beshaftige Tag in die Schule. 

The big boys hi-5 him, he never wears his hat, already popular with them all. 

Die grosser Jungs grusst ihm ganz kool mit hi-5, er tragt niemals sein Hutte, jeder kennt ihm schon. 

Uniform has shool-day marks, a bit of pen, some packed lunch or fruito, signs of encounters, scuffs from the day. 

Die Schulekleidung hat viele dreckige flecken von sein Arbeitstag, stift, mittagessen und generell sachen. 

Snuggles with doh-doh on the couch next to me, I wonder what lies ahead of him. 

Er cuschelt sein ‘doh-doh’ und streichelt nahe bei mir, Ich frage
mich, was vor ihm liegt. 

He smiles at me often and says, “Dad, you’re my champion”. 

Er laechelt oft und sagt ”Papa du bist Meister”. 

Swims like a fish with facemask or without, routine is doing him good, very good, as he learns each day and picks up new words and phrases. He still thinks, or rather says 2 is 3 but he knows his colours now. 

Scwimmt wie ein Fisch mit oder ohne Brillen,  der Programm tut ihm gut, sehr gut, weil er lernt jeden Tag etwas neu vom Woerter und lesen. Er denkt immer noch, nein er sagt immer noch dass 2 ist 3, aber er kennt nun die Farben. 

In a matter of weeks he will turn 5. He sits and avidly leafs through the pages of books understanding mechanical things like boats, submarines, cars and of course tractors. 

Er hat bald schon 5 Jahr. Er sitzt und lest gerne Buecher mit mechanische sachen vie Baggern, U-Boots und sicherlich Trekkers 

He sits riveted by DVDs of his Dad and friends underwater among sharks dolphins and coral reefs. 

Er sieht auch DVDs an vom Papa und seinen Tauchkollegin, unterwasser mit Haien, Delphinen und Korallenriffen. 

He has a thousand questions about everything. If it doesn’t live then how does it work, if it doesn’t work then what’s it for? And woebetide you if you don’t know the answers. 

Er hat tausende Fragen vom alles. Wenn es nicht lebendig ist, dann wie functionert es, wenn es kein Maschinen ist, dann was ist der Punkt. Wenn Du nicht die Antwort hast dann kriegst Du aerger. 

Sometimes he gets up early to have breakfast before I go off for the train. He talks about school, practices his new sounds, points out a full stop when we read a book. 

Manchmal er steht fruh auf dass wir zusammen fruehstuecken kann, bevor ich los gehe zum Bahnhof. Er redet vom die Schule, sein schule Arbeit und er lest gerne Buecher. 

My Son teaches me something every day. 

Mein Sohne lernt mir etwas jeden Tag.

Done a bunk?

Right,

Sorry to have been away from the controls for a while but there’s been some pressing requirements for me to do some actual work. Pressing requirement is an understatement; everybody thinks mobile phones are more important that open heart surgery but unfortunately it pays the bills, keeps the taxman happy and might – I stress might – buy me a boat.

Anyway, fear not there is more on the way and even if autumn has arrived, the State elections have elected the same weasel for another few years and Sid has done a bunk from the bathroom, I have not abandoned you.

 Wait ’til I tell ‘em what I really think…