[k7sune]

I was just reading how fishing industry’s longlines have caught many dolphins and other bycatches. It would be great to be able to give them warnings, or even better, to ask them to keep other big animals away from the longlines.

[gazebo64]

I know this comment is totally innocent but it does kind of bum me out to be at a point in time where instead of addressing our impact on the environment directly, we're trying to make computers that can talk to dolphins so we can tell them to stay out of the way lol

[kuhewa]

You don't tend to hear about it and not that there isn't still progress to be made, but there has been tonnes of progress on fisheries interactions with protected bycatch species. For ex the infamous dolphin problem in the eastern tropical Pacific purse seine tuna fishery is down 99.8% from its peak to the point populations are recovering, despite the fishery intentionally setting on dolphin schools to catch > 150,000 t of yellowfin tuna per year.

Pelagic gillnets are probably the gear that still have the most issues with dolphin bycatch, and acoustic pingers that play a loud ultrasonic tone when they detect an echolocation click are already used to reduce interactions in some fisheries.

[renewiltord]

One of the things I think is amazing is that people will say “here’s a way to make the world better” and others will react with “it’s so sad that you propose making the world better instead of making it perfect”. I think it’s great.

[9dev]

Or, like, we could stop ravaging the oceans by industrial fishing, stop pretending magical technology will save the day, and try to limit our resource consumption to sustainable levels?

Humanity’s relationship with animals is so schizophrenic. On the one hand, let’s try to learn how to talk to cute dolphins and chat with them what it’s like to swim!, and on the other, well yeah that steak on my table may have once lead a subjective experience before it was slaughtered, and mass-farming it wrecks the ecosystem I depend on to live, but gosh it’s so tasty, I can’t give that up!

[efitz]

Humans are omnivores. I am unapologetic about obeying biological imperatives to eat other animals.

At the same time, I want to be as humane as practical; I don’t want to cause needless suffering to any creature. If I kill a bug, I don’t want it to suffer. Same with food animals.

The more like me an animal is, the less I want to eat it.

There are a lot of humans. Any action to forcefully reduce the number of humans or to forcefully reduce birth rates is almost certainly way more morally abhorrent to me, than doing what is necessary to feed those humans.

[JSteph22]

>we could stop ravaging the oceans by industrial fishing

To do this likely would require large-scale war.

[singleshot_]

I suppose this isn’t exactly what you were getting at, but now I can’t help but wonder exactly how delicious a dolphin is.

[theyinwhy]

Dear Mr Dolphin, can you please tell the large sharks to not go that way?

- No, f... the sharks!

[addicted]

Or, you know, don’t fish at all so we don’t kill possibly trillions of sentient fish every year for no necessary reason whatsoever?

Side bonus, we also don’t kill the highly sentient and highly intelligent creatures you’re concerned about.

[nandomrumber]

3 billion people get at least 20% of their protein from fish, and roughly 500 million rely on fishing for a pay check.[1]

Those people can all just starve, and you're fine with that?

1. https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/will-there-be-enough-f...