Low cost labor and untaxed fuel cause migrations of frozen fish

By Marc

Some of the world's sea creatures make incredible migrations to feed or mate.  Tuna, for example, swim back and forth across the Atlantic or Pacific.  In the globalized economy, some fish go on long migrations even after they have been frozen.

The new book "Bottomfeeder," by Taras Grescoe provides a fascinating look at the state of the world's oceans (I reviewed the book over at The Ethicurean). The book is a compelling combination of nature, history, politics, and culinary arts.  If you want to understand more about why certain fish are rated "best," "good," or "avoid" on lists like the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch list, "Bottomfeeder" is a must read.

Near the end of the book, Grescoe visits a fish processing facility in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.  Some of the fish that go through the plant have been on long migrations before arriving and some fish continue their migration after processing.

About the plant's operations, Grescoe writes:

High Liner's fish sticks were made from pollock that was caught, filleted, chopped up and frozen in factory vessels on the Bering Sea. It arrived at High Liner, after being trucked across Canada in frozen pre-minced blocks, with the skin and fat removed. By the time they got to this factory, where they were sawn into oblong portions, covered in batter and bread, and deep-fried, they had already traveled 4,300 miles. In the worst case scenario, a salmon farmed on the Chilean coast would be sent by container ship to Dalian, China to be filleted, then shipped back across the Pacific to Vancouver. From there it would cross Canada by truck, be processed and packaged in Lunenburg, and go right back out the door. If it ended up in a supermarket in, say, San Diego, that salmon would have traveled 22,300 miles, a distance close to the circumference of the earth.

Although these journeys might seem crazy, I have no doubt that they make financial sense in today's business environment where there is little, if any, cost to emit carbon dioxide.

Labor costs are much lower in China, according to a recent article in the New York Times. The article states that "Norwegian cod costs a manufacturer $1.36 a pound to process in Europe, but only 23 cents a pound in Asia."  The relative labor costs for Canada and China are probably similarly out of balance. (As an aside about China, I urge you to visit the website of Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky. In the last few years he has assembled an amazing collection of photos of China's industrial revolution   — click on the CHINA link on the left side of the page.  For example, this photo shows a chicken processing plant. Burtynsky's work has also been captured in the film Manufactured Landscapes.)

In addition to lower overseas labor costs, there is another financial reason to ship food around the world:  the fuel is untaxed.  The New York Times article explains:

Under longstanding trade agreements, fuel for international freight carried by sea and air is not taxed. Now, many economists, environmental advocates and politicians say it is time to make shippers and shoppers pay for the pollution, through taxes or other measures.

[snip]

Under a little-known international treaty called the Convention on International Civil Aviation, signed in Chicago in 1944 to help the fledgling airline industry, fuel for international travel and transport of goods, including food, is exempt from taxes, unlike trucks, cars and buses. There is also no tax on fuel used by ocean freighters.

An international trading system that is outside the reach of any government presents a challenge to climate change regulations, so governments — especially in Europe — are working with the International Maritime Organization to create a system whereby international trade can be incorporated into national and regional climate change and pollution regulations. Such modifications to agreements will be another step towards a full accounting of the environmental costs of international trade.

Marc lives in Berkeley, California and writes Mental Masala, a freshly-ground blend of food, history, travel, history, and nature.

Photo credit: Kevin's Flickr collection, subject to a Creative Commons License.

Comments

[Joe]

It is a shame that the rising fuel cost are a result of suppliers raising prices (and not taxes). This means, of course, that now taxes are even harder to impose and the profits are going to the oil industry as opposed to governments, organizations, or industries focusing on finding, developing, and promoting alternatives...
Not that any of this really addresses the additional complexities of globalized (and largely unregulated) trade.

Still I wonder, which is worse: a fish stick (w/ 5000+ miles behind it) or sushi in Chicago?

[Mark]

Nice Comment and a very informative post i must say.

First time visitor to your blog ... and am feeling the need to read a few more posts.

Mark
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[mike byford]

It is actually worse than this as aviation also pays no VAT in Europe thereby making it even cheaper than any other form of transport.
But yet again the USA and its sponsors the oil industry are refusing to consider fuel duty or VAT.
The EU wants to but hasn't got the guts to front upto the USA so plays at it by proposing co2 emissions trading.
What bunkum
Until the population of the USA are made to accept that aviation is not a divine right but a planetary disaster nothing will change and all commodities will be flown ever increasing distance with commensurate atmospheric and noise pollution

[Leslie]

It frustrates me to no end that even though we live less than 15 miles from the ocean (southern DE) we have almost no local commercial fishing on any scale. We traditionally eat more fish and shrimp than any other meat protein and yet we're not really able to do that and still eat local.

I'm currently visiting NC and plan to bring home 10lbs of trout that is farmed, with an acceptable but not perfect feed. That is the best we've been able to come up with so far. As much as I'm clear on how it's absolutely not "local" I'm also considering buying a bunch of wild-caught boat-frozen Alaskan salmon, from one of the places that allow you to buy it directly from the fishermen (and women), just to give us some wild-caught fish that at least isn't being shipped to China to be processed.