Many of us have seen Pixar’s newest blockbuster Finding Dory. Children everywhere are delighting in Ellen DeGeneres’ endearing, ditzy character and her epic adventure. Dory is an animated blue tang fish and there is concern that people will want to have a “Dory” of their own, which is a very bad idea. Every blue tang brought into a fish store must be first taken from the ocean which will potentially decimate the blue tang population. And many of them don’t survive the capture. This CNN interview with Matt Ferroni at the Camden Adventure Aquarium tells us that it’s so much better to teach the next generation about conservation, and we agree.
Why should we care so much about fish, other than they help keep our planet in balance and create a beautiful, colorful, diverse world? John Balcombe, director of animal sentience for the Humane Society Institute for Science and Policy, has just written a wonderful book, What a Fish Knows: The Inner Life of our Underwater Cousins. He was recently interviewed on NPR’s Fresh Air and a thoroughly engaging conversation ensued. John has written convincingly that fish are sentient, feel pain, recognize specific people and, unlike Dory, have memories.
What a joy it is to learn so much about these wonderful beings.
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