Last week, Australia announced a permanent ban
on enormous fishing vessels known as supertrawlers in its waters.
A temporary ban had been in effect for two years but expired
in November.
Supertrawlers cast massive fishing nets that
indiscriminately kill all marine wildlife in their paths, including sea turtles
and dolphins. In fact, a recent
report exposed that half of all sea animals killed by the commercial
fishing industry are considered by-catch, or useless, and discarded.
The move to ban supertrawlers comes after a massive outcry from
the Australian public and a petition that garnered nearly 65,000 signatures.
While this development will certainly spare countless
animals, we can all do our part to help fish and other sea animals by choosing
delicious and humane vegan foods.