Three Simple Ways to Act More Sustainably

Written by Ryan Gentry

When most people think about sustainability and ocean conservation, they think about the big picture. They think about urchin overpopulation and abalone numbers, salmon spawning habits, coral bleaching, turtles, whales and shark fin trades. It is fantastic that these topics are becoming more common and widely discussed and that will hopefully mean we can make progress in the right direction. But we aren’t here to talk about the big picture. We are here to talk about the little things. The things that people do every time they walk in and out of nature, every time they take from its bounty and even the methods that they follow at home. These are the things that are majorly unsustainable and yet, we are all guilty of committing them at one time or another.

Tread Responsibly

As nature enthusiasts, we seek to find that which has not already been found. The untouched fishing hole, the less dived reef or pinnacle, or even the best place to photograph the sunset. In this quest, we tend to stray off the beaten path and drag ourselves through brush, foliage, succulents and countless numbers of root beds and fauna. Climbing over rocks can be just as damaging, knocking off wildlife, disrupting animal dens and in coastal situations removing crustaceans and shellfish. Now I am not one to tell you to never venture from the defined trails, but I will ask you to watch where you step. As I stated before, you could be damaging many life forms on your way in and out to those spots, but if that doesn’t coerce you, think about it from a more personal standpoint. If you aren’t careful about the way you get to your new spot or even worse, favorite spot, you could be inadvertently giving away the path to the next passerby. Most of us aren’t as sneaky as we would like to think and all it takes is footprints in the mud, a broken branch or bent over weeds and we are also a lot less attentive not the way out, then someone who is looking for the first time. Not only do you not want to give away your spot, but also, by giving people the idea of going down the same path, you exasperate the damage done as it quickly becomes a well traveled path and visited hot spot. In the end, being a little more cautious, treading lightly and carefully around nature may be a huge help to the wildlife residents and to keeping your spot a secret.

Know your Targets

You ever walk through the woods with someone who seems to know everything about every plant and animal you see? Don’t worry, you don’t have to be that person. However, there are several things you should know if you are headed into nature to hunt, fish or harvest any natural resource. First, be sure it is legal to be where you are, doing what you’re doing. Furthermore, knowing the breeding habits of the animals you are hunting is key to making sure you're limiting the disruption of that reproductive cycle. You may love to spear massive lingcod, but in the fall when they move in shallow, they are breeding and a large portion of the lings taken are unfortunately pregnant females. Now, will shooting a pregnant female throw the ecosystem into a furious state of decline? No, thankfully we have some of the best regulated fisheries and the regulations are put in place to ensure there won’t be a furious state of decline. However, being conscious of the breeding cycle of fish like lingcod and cabezon, you might consider passing up the shot every other time which could add between 150,000 to 300,000 eggs per living female. There are other fish to make tacos out of and knowing how and when to take each is another small way to contribute to a healthy and sustainable ecosystem. The second part of this is knowing what animal does what for the ecosystem, the California Sheephead is a favorite of fishermen especially when they reach a larger size. Lately, this has become a touchy subject when it comes to Northern California as one of the favorite food sources of the Sheephead is the purple urchin which are ravaging the declining kelp beds off of the Golden State’s shores. Again, the one fish you take isn’t going to clear a whole cove, but if you are taking them every time you go and lining you cooler with you and your buddies limit, you could be unknowingly hurting the natural predation of the one of the most devastating creatures on the ocean floor today.

At Home 

I first heard the term “Freezer Management” from author and host of the show Meateater, Steven Rinella. He was talking about how he rotates his harvested gamed around in the freezer and practices a first in first out method of consumption. He practices it religiously to the point of not hunting with people who don’t abide by the same method. Even though his freezer holds a large amount of big game, fishermen should hold the same principles. In short, going out, filling the cooler and not properly preserving and utilizing you catch is an active form of waste and a direct removal from any sustainability practices you may think you have. It is our responsibility as fishermen, hunters and foragers to process our catch in the most effective way possible, plan out the meals tat we can use in the time frame that will keep without being frozen, then package and freeze the rest accordingly. Of course, there are always disasters and a few reasons that we may have to clean out the fridge, but if you are constantly throwing wild game in the trash due it turning in the fridge, or freezer burn or because it is old, we ask that you strongly reconsider how much fish you are taking home with you and suggest that you cut it down until you find the amount that you will use consistently with out waste. 

Conclusion

I didn’t write this to guilt trip people into being more sustainable, but because more often then not, people get caught up in the larger and more fashionable conservation and environmentalism issues. While focusing on the big picture problems is great and there are many topics that you can get behind, it’s the little things that we can all get behind that will make a more effective impact, help save the sports and animals we love as well as help to show everyone outside the community that we are as serious about preserving and respecting nature as we are about putting food on the table.