KODIAK - Animal rights activists are using the popular animated film "Finding Nemo" to turn kids away from eating fish. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has won permission from Disney Studios to adapt a film poster from the movie that says, "Fish are friends, not food." It's being touted in brochures, six-foot-high fish creatures in parades and displays - even on Nemo pajamas. A spokesman said PETA hopes Nemo will teach children that fish belong in the ocean and not on dinner plates.
Another PETA ploy uses a sexy mermaid holding a sign that says "Don't batter me." PETA claims it is the largest animal rights group in the world, boasting some 600,000 members.
A check of PETA's Web site (fisharefriends.com or fishinghurts.com) reveals some of the most militant, anti-fish flack found anywhere. It says, for example, "the widely held public perception that seafood is healthy is one whopper of a fish story." The Web site tells kids "fish swim in poisonous places you'd never dream of having lunch." That "the flesh of fish is loaded with highly toxic chemical residues, and contain too much protein, fat and cholesterol to be healthy." (PETA even claims that salmon is 52 percent fat.) And that "no increased vigilance to reduce the slimy bacteria on their decomposing and pollution-laden bodies will improve their inadequate nutrition, or reduce the toxic chemicals laced throughout their flesh."
PETA even goes so far as to claim that women who often eat fish are "likely to give birth to sluggish infants with small heads and learning disabilities," and that nursing infants "consume half of their mothers' load of dioxin, PCB's and DDT from fish."
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PETA also adds that fish "may not be cute and cuddly like puppies and kittens but they suffer and experience fear and pain in much the same way." PETA's campaign targets both recreational and commercial fishing to stop the "unnecessary torture of these animals by pointing out the cruelty of fishing and the health risks associated with eating fish." They sure can take the fun out of a great fish story. Sorry Nemo!
On another Nemo note: Trade reports say that children have a tendency to flush their pet fish down the drain to send them safely out into the sea, as shown in the movie. Manufacturers of sewage processing equipment continue to issue press releases telling kids that drain pipes do eventually lead to the ocean, but it is unlikely their fish will make it alive. They explain that the fish would first go through powerful machines that shred solids into tiny particles, followed by chlorine disinfecting.
Too hot for cod
Market analyst Bill Atkinson grew up in Japan and he still spends lots of time there. He provided this perspective for fish sellers who rely on a cold winter for good sales. "The weather in Japan so far this winter has been unseasonably warm, with reports that temperatures are warm enough to go out wearing short-sleeved shirts. This does not bode well for sales of cod, for example, which relies heavily on cold weather to increase the nabemono fish stew meals in the average Japanese household.
"Nabemono fish stews are cooked at the table, with everyone eating from the same bowl in the center of the table. The Japanese consumer doesn't become interested in these meals, however, until the temperatures outside start to plummet, and the consumer looks to the pot bubbling at the table in an effort to get warm. There are indications that temperatures are starting to come down a bit, but it is too early to tell if the weather will cool enough to promote sales of cod and other nabemono species."
Barbie lobster
Practical jokers Jim Bright and Chris Costello never imagined that their idea of dressing a female lobster in a Barbie outfit, complete with pink high heels, would save her from the steam pot. Seafood.com reports the Maine fishermen clad the crustacean and placed her in a friend's trap a few months ago. Barbie Lobster, as she has come to be known, has been hauled up and thrown back at least 10 times. The radios buzz with chatter and laughter each time a new Barbie sighting is reported. The men said they wanted to dress up a jumbo lobster, but it was too fat to fit into the Barbie clothes. Instead, they chose a smaller model.
Costello told the Associated Press that he made a special trip to Wal-Mart to buy the Barbie ensemble: a blue blouse and red and white checkered skirt along with the shoes. "They slipped right on, just like Cinderella," Bright said of the footwear. Costello disagreed, saying it was a challenge to put the high heels on the little lobster legs. There are four legs on each side so the men attached them to the two in the center. "You try squeezing Barbie shoes on a lobster," he said. "That was the most time consuming thing."
Barbie hasn't been seen for the past few weeks. If she survives a few more months she may be home free for another season, Costello said. "We have our spring fashions all ready to go," he said.
Kodiak-based free-lance writer Laine Welch can be reached via e-mail at msfish@ptialaska.net.
