From a series I started, concerning the oceans, water, and our relationships with those things.

Overfishing is destroying the delicate ecosystems in our oceans. Most of our oxygen comes from the ocean. All of the life on this planet is fiercely dependent on our oceans. If our oceans die, we die. Our oceans are dying. Probably at a faster rate than you think.

Most fisheries are cages in the ocean, which are terrible for the ecosystem and the fish you eat. The fish have hosts of diseases, including chlamydia, and are so grotesque you would never consider eating them if you saw the condition they lived in/what they looked like. Their grey and green sick flesh is dyed pink to make you think it looks ‘normal’ and healthy.

More than half of the plastic pollution in the ocean come from the fishing industry. The save-the-ocean-anti-plastic companies focus on how we can, as individuals, contribute less to plastic pollution. None of them talk about the fishing industry because that’s where the bulk of their donations come from. It’s a cover up. They just tell you not to use plastic spoons. It placates the public into thinking we can take control as individuals while they are making dirty back door deals.

There is no such thing as dolphin safe, fair trade or sustainable. Those are labels they pay to put on their products in the hopes that you will blindly consume. There is still by catch. There are still slaves. Ecosystems on our planet are collapsing. They still deal in illegal, non-sustainable exploitative activities. Don’t let those labels fool you.

Native human populations in overfished areas are starving because they can not get food. Their waters are overfished to the point of starvation. Their livelihood has become increasingly dangerous. It is easier to exploit and enslave these people. Some turn to crime and piracy. A lot of the fishing industry exploits labor. Slavery is still a big part of the fishing industry.

No one is regulating this shit. Governments say they are. That’s a lie. Oceans are big. People get bribed. No one checks up. It is very dangerous to speak out against the fishing industry. They don’t want you to know. Now you know.

What can we do? Consume less fish. Be a wiser consumer. Be more self-sustaining. Stop breeding. The world is overpopulated and we are too destructive of a species to keep growing and consuming the way we are. If you do breed, consider the world your children will one day be living in. Raise them to be aware. Raise them to do better.

Medium : Watercolor and mica on paper (You can't see how pretty the mica looks in the photo!)

Will be up for sale as soon as it is framed