Report: Ocean debris will likely worsen

 

Birds and turtles are developing digestive problems as their stomachs fill with plastic they mistakenly believe is food. The endangered Hawaiian monk seal population is struggling as many of the mammals get entangled in improperly discarded fishing nets.

These examples underscore that efforts to prevent and reduce ocean debris are inadequate and the problem will likely worsen, according to a congressionally mandated report released Friday.

The report by the National Research Council recommends the U.S. take the lead in coordinating regional management of marine debris. It said international maritime regulations should be changed to ban the dumping of trash into the ocean.

The report focused on marine debris discharged at sea, though it noted some ocean debris is generated on land as well.

“Despite all regulations and limitations over the last 20 years, there are still large quantities of waste and litter in the oceans,” said Keith Criddle, chair of the committee that wrote the report and a University of Alaska professor.

The study recommended Congress designate a lead agency to address problems like derelict fishing gear, ship waste and abandoned vessels. International regulations also should be modified to prohibit the discharge of all garbage at sea.

Other findings in the report:

- Ports should have adequate facilities for accepting and managing vessel waste.

- Ships should have incentives to dispose of their waste in port.

- Marine debris responsibilities are spread across organizations, slowing progress.

- The national Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration should develop fishing gear making protocols to reduce gear loss and abandonment.

 

Vocabulary

 

ocean debris – океанический мусор

endangered Hawaiian monk – на грани уничтожения Гавайский тюлень-монах

underscore – подчеркнуть, сделать ударение

designate – назначать, определять

discharge garbage – сброс мусора

fishing gear – рыболовные снасти

 

Read the text and answer the following questions:

1. Why do animals have digestive problems?

2. What is the report focused on?

3. What does the report recommend?

Fishery products

 

The primary mode of processing fishery products is now freezing, which has increased in importance over the years and is used for 23% of fishery production. Fresh products account for 20% of global production followed by curing and canning at 15% and 12%. Curing implies preservation practices like drying, smoking and salting, which like canning, avoid the need for refrigeration. The remaining 30% of fishery production is used industrially, mainly in the form of fish meal and is not directly eaten by people.

Among the majority of fishery products (those used directly as food), there is a wide range in the portion of the product that is consumed. Larger fishes range from 25% to 75% edible portion of the total weight. In other word’s fishes with big heads and fins like rockfish might yield fillets that weigh only one fourth the weight of the live fishes but meatier fishes like salmon yield up to three quarters edible weight. Of course, small fishes like anchovies and sardines are eaten whole, either dried or canned. Among shellfish, shrimp have about 50% edible portion while oysters may have only about 7%. Seaweed products are usually 100% edible.

There are over 200 taxonomic families of animals and plants that yield fishery products. These organisms include algae, fin fish, crustaceans, mollusks, mammals and others. In most cases, it is the muscle tissue of an animal that is eaten, cooked or uncooked, but there are as many variations for eating fishes and shell fishes as one can imagine. Often we consume fishery products without realizing it, unless we read labels very carefully. Substances extracted from seaweeds occur in a wide range of food and nonfood products.

Among sea urchins, sturgeon, herring and other fishes, the eggs (caviar) or gonads can be important products. This brings us to the three “s” words in fishery products: sushi, sashimi and surimi. Sushi refers to a rice preparation that is sticky and slightly sweet (sour) over which various fishery products, usually raw, are placed. Sea urchin roe, raw squid, fish roe, boiled octopus, raw shrimp and raw pieces of fish of many kinds (frequently salmon) are served with sushi rice in sushi bars. Often the sushi preparations are wrapped with a type of seaweed called nori. Sushi bars are now popular in the USA and many countries around the world including Russia.

Sashimi refers to fish or other sea food that is thinly sliced and eaten raw. Eating sashimi is a long-held dietary practice in Asia and is gaining popularity in the United States. The prime fish for sashimi is either tuna or salmon, but many types of fishes and shall fishes are used. The sea is usually dipped in soy sauce and wasabi, a green Japanese horse radish paste. The consumption of uncooked fishes raises the issue of parasites that might infect humans and lead to health problems. Carefully prepared sea food sashimi is generally safe to eat. While sushi and sashimi are becoming much more familiar to western nations as tastes in food are broadening, the big news that is changing the global marketing of fishery products in recent years is surimi.

Surimi is a processed fish product pioneered by the Japanese. The surimi process utilizes relatively inexpensive marine fishes with white flesh like Alaska pollock. The making of surimi is essentially a high-technology industrial process that results in a minced and gelled fish protein product that can be modified by the addition of flavorings and textures into countless consumer products. The surimi revolution in fishery products has only begun. Many of these products are analogues of other seafood, such as crab. Surimi can be processed at sea, stored by freezing for long periods and yields products of high and predictable quality for different markets around the world.

 

Vocabulary

fishery products - продукты рыболовства

to cure - обрабатывать

to imply – заключать в себе, значить,

rock fish – морской ерш, морской окунь

anchovy – анчоус

salmon – лосось

herring - сельдь

crustaceans - ракообразные

to yield – добывать, приносить, давать урожай

shrimp – креветка

shellfish – ракообразные, моллюски

seaweed=algae – водоросли

tuna - тунец

sturgeon – осетр

pollock – сайда, минтай

drying – вяление

canning - консервирование

curing – копчение, вяление

muscle tissue – мышечная ткань

fish roe – икра рыб

horse radish - хрен

 

Read the text and answer the following questions:

 

1. How are the fishery products processed?

2. What organisms included into taxonomic families that yield fishery products?

3. What does sushi refer to? How is it served?

4. What does sashimi refer to? How is it served?

5. What is surimi?

6. What are your favorite fish products?