Prerequisites: None

Exam Type: No Exam

Every problem on land is worse at sea—but for the most part, these problems escape the attention of regulators, legal advocates, and the general public. The fishing of wild fish is driving species to extinction, while aquaculture, often touted as a solution to feeding the world, amounts to floating factory farms, or aquatic industrial animal agriculture, with all the associated harms to animals, the environment, and humans who work in the industry and consume the fish produced. Fish are sentient creatures, and suffer and feel pain, but their welfare is on almost nobody’s agenda. Fishing ships, especially distant-water ships, are now known to be sites of major human rights abuses, including labor trafficking and debt bondage. The common practice of trawling, which involves dragging heavy nets along the ocean floor to entrap fish, harms marine life and marine ecosystems. The amount of CO2 released when the seafloor is damaged through trawling is compared to clear cutting forests for extractive terrestrial industries. It is estimated that every day, approximately 2,000 truckloads of plastic are dumped into oceans, rivers, and lakes. Ocean temperatures are increasing, and the climate crisis is as profound and urgent at sea as it is on land. This Reading Group will explore these and other dimensions of the outlaw ocean and consider efforts that are underway by individuals and organizations around the world to bring these problems to public attention and to take steps towards improvements.

Note: This reading group will meet on the following dates: TBD.