Scaling Back the Big Tuna

On July 2, 2005 Dan Dillion caught a whale of a tuna fish. In an inlet off of the Atlantic Ocean, Dillion reeled in an 873 pound bluefin tuna. The catch more than doubled Delaware's previous state record. A quarter ton of fish! Holy mackerel, well almost. How much tuna fish and grilled tuna steaks has Dillion been chowing down on? He isn't biting and here is why.

Reportedly, the big fish contained exceedingly high doses of mercury that make it not only illegal to sell but it could be considered unconscionable to give away to sworn enemies. Studies have shown mercury harms brain development. Consumption of tainted seafood should only occur in small dosages while children and pregnant women need to be even more careful. Fish stories don't get much bigger or worse for the environment than this precautionary tail. The mercury readings, however, didn't stop Dan Dillion from having an inlet shop carve it up into 500 pounds of steaks then hosting a wild tuna party. Talk about a 'if you see food don't eat it party.' that sends everyone home reeling. The party invitations might have suggested for hungry guests to bring their own metal detectors and a bag lunch just in case.

I imagine the granddaddy fish enduring its toxicity to trawl the waters watching other fish die of unnatural causes year upon year. I bet he probably lost a ton of friends in the Valdez oil spill alone. So I wonder if that dying tuna propped a snicker on his scaly face when he was hauled aboard the vessel after a 75 minute struggle. In his grandness, maybe the big fish somehow knew he could not be eaten by his captors without causing concern about mercury poisoning.

I argue that the less industrialized a nation, the more beautiful its bodies of water. Industrial pollution is a major culprit for degrading ocean water quality on the planet we call home. In other words, mankind is defecating in its own backyard. While deemed illegal now, straight pipes running from homes used to pump human waste into tributaries which polluted the ocean. When the cheery TV show Love Boat graced the silver screen, unregulated cruise ships emptied garbage into the deep blue sea. We are paying for our past sins gill-ty as charged. Call it a catch-22 but Dan Dillion took a hit for the team.

I have no beefs with sports fishing if the bounty taken from the sea is consumed. If it can't be eaten, what exactly is the point? A hundred years from now, I worry that the oceans will resemble brackish water and people will start dying from eating a single mercurial seafood hors d'oeuvre. In that doomsday scenario, the arrogance of mankind may be more likely to list creatures like tuna as a predator then take social responsibility for his rape of the earth? It is food for thought. Put down the knife and fork because it is only food for thought.