Introduction
Restaurants have different types of menus that customers choose from depending on their tastes and preference. Before reaching the plate, the ingredients undergo several steps, such as harvesting, transportation, and cooking. During this process, there are several environmental impacts associated with them. Chilean sea bass, also known as Patagonian toothfish, is a white and flaky fish rich in flavor. It is found in ocean waters around the shores of Chile. The paper will evaluate the environmental effects of having Chilean sea bass on the menu.
Harvesting of Chilean Sea Bass
The Chilean sea bass is caught using hook lines attached to boats. In most cases, gill nets are used to catch the species. During distant fishing, onboard factory vessels are used to freeze them to ensure they remain consumable after a long duration of transportation. They are placed in freezers to preserve them before reaching the market. Sometimes they are iced to keep them fresh, especially when caught near the shores.
Impacts of Harvesting Chilean Sea Bass
Harvesting of Patagonian toothfish has massive negative impacts on the environment. First, hook-lines may accidentally catch other animals, such as seabirds and turtles. Second, when gillnets are used, other aquatic life can easily be snagged and drowned. Similarly, the fishnets can destroy corals and other fish breeding grounds in the fishing area. The demand for Chilean sea bass is causing overfishing, making the species extinct. The fishing boats spill oil and release carbon dioxide that is harmful to the ecosystem.
Effects of Overfishing
The increase in the human population has led to overwhelming demand for food products. This is causing commercial fishing to be on the rise. The practice is aided by advanced technology making it possible to capture Chilean sea bass species deep underwater. They carry out fishing activities repeatedly, which exhaust the available fishes (Bland et al., 2018). Overfishing endangers the Patagonian toothfish because they are caught at an early stage before reproducing. Furthermore, the activities tamper with the population of the aquatic life by eliminating potential prey.
Destruction of Habitats
Generally, the Chilean sea bass species lives deep and dwells on the seafloor. In order to catch them, people apply fishing practices such as trawling, which pulls across the ocean floor. In the process, oysters, carols, and sponges are destroyed, leaving fishes with limited places to live and reproduce. Furthermore, the equipment removes the most warmth from the sediments, reducing their burrowing activities, which are essential for recycling nutrients into the water. When the warmth is reduced, the level of oxygen along the seabed diminishes, making the place uninhabitable for marine life.
Bycatch Incident
In commercial fishing, bycatch is common since people use vast hook-lines on the seafloor. Other animals, such as turtles, are victims because they get wrapped by the lines when swimming. Some species are also attracted by the baits used to lure Patagonian toothfish; hence they suffer. When gill nets are used, crawling aquatic animals get entangled to the point of death (Marco et al., 2020). Other fish and birds lost their lives in the fishing equipment despite targeting Chilean sea bass.
Impact of Fish Farms on Wild Populations
Fish farms are common and used by commercial fisheries to rear Chilean sea bass in the form of cages placed deep in the oceans. There are large numbers of Patagonian toothfish leading to congestion. They can easily transfer parasites and diseases to wild fishes. Farmed fish releases nutrients and feces simultaneously, causing water pollution. Similarly, the chemical used by farmers, such as pesticides, gets into direct contact with the wild ecosystem, thus causing death. Some wild fish are caught to feed the farmed species reducing the population of wild ones.
Transportation Effects
The process of transporting Patagonian toothfish to the market has several impacts on the environment. They include air pollution from the gases and the greenhouse effect that occurs due to the emission of carbon. Transporting vehicles and boats also produce unbearable noise that interferes with people. Similarly, during transportation, fishing boats destroy some of the fish habitats. Similarly, planes and tracks produce carbon into the atmosphere when transporting the products from processing units to the markets, affecting the overall climate. Large tracks also cause soil erosion when moving the packed commodities.
Availability of Chilean Sea Bass
Consumers can easily purchase the ingredient because no laws and regulations prohibit its consumption. Its taste and flavor make it attractive to people, thus increasing its market demand. It is served in most restaurants worldwide as part of the menu. Seafood seasons have an insignificant impact on its availability because it is common during February and May through December, leaving a window period of three months.
Patagonian toothfish is common in the markets, and consumers can purchase them. They are sold when fresh and frozen, depending on the distance between the source and the marketplace. They are harvested on the Southern waters and areas along the shores of Chile (Sallaberry-Pincheira et al., 2018). They are expensive because they are whitefish and their taste. Mostly they are transported from Chile to the USA, where they are sold in supermarkets. They are also available in other parts of the world, such as Japan and the United Kingdom.
Processing Process and Kitchen
After harvesting the Chilean sea bass, they are taken to processing plants either within the fishing boats or at the shores. During processing, the factories release gases into the atmosphere, which results in air pollution. They also use chemicals that directly discharge into the water, causing harmful effects on aquatic life. The ingredients are packed in plastic materials to remain fresh. The plastics are disposed of in the kitchen, thus finding their way into the surrounding, causing land pollution.
Conclusion
Generally, the type of menu choice has a direct impact on the environment. The processes of obtaining the ingredient directly or indirectly affect the ecosystem. Harvesting of Chilean sea bass causes water pollution through chemicals used by fishing equipment. Fishing gears destroy the habitable places for fish, such as corals and sponges. Patagonian toothfish has a good flavor which makes it an expensive white fish. They are readily available in markets across different countries, such as Canada, the USA, China, and Japan.
References
Bland, L. M., Watermeyer, K. E., Keith, D. A., Nicholson, E., Regan, T. J., & Shannon, L. J. (2018). Assessing risks to marine ecosystems with indicators, ecosystem models and experts. Biological Conservation, 227, 19-28. Web.
Marco, A., Vázquez, C., & Abella-Pérez, E. (2020). Sea turtle bycatch by different types of fisheries in southern Spain. Basic and Applied Herpetology, 34, 33-45. Web.
Sallaberry-Pincheira, P., Galvez, P., Molina-Burgos, B. E., Fernandoy, F., Melendez, R., & Klarian, S. A. (2018). Diet and food consumption of the Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) in South Pacific Antarctic waters. Polar Biology, 41(11), 2379-2385. Web.