The state of the rest of the world’s fisheries is far less pretty. Widespread overfishing and shrinking global fish stocks, rising health concerns associated with toxic contamination (including mercury and plastic) of wild fish, and increasing sustainability and health concerns around aquaculture are just some of the challenges now facing the global marine industry. As prominent US marine biologist Dr. Sylvia Earle told the UN in 2015, “The ocean is large and resilient, but it is not too big to fail.”
That’s where “clean fish” come in. Without the ocean pillage or negative health impacts currently associated with captured and farmed fish, cell-grown fish can undoubtedly help ease some of the pressure on the world’s natural ecosystems. “We want to show the public we are doing this for the right reasons, and that we are working on clean fish primarily as a conservation issue” says Finless Foods’ Mike Selden. “Yes, fish is a high-value product. But I also think it is important people know we’re doing this as a conservation issue. Bluefin tuna species are on and off the threatened species list, partially because it’s so expensive. We can take the pressure off these increasingly rare and wild populations.”
Vestigial structuresserve little or no present purpose for an organism. The human tail, which is reduced to the tailbone during development, is one example.
