by Rémy Dambron
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| A new study in the journal Current Biology has published some stark news: one third of the world’s Chondrichthyan fishes – sharks, rays, and chimaeras – are threatened with extinction according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List criteria. —Forbes, September 15, 2021 |
They arrive in massive ships
industrialized killing machines perfected
for the hunt.
Nets stretching far and wide
enough to ensnare an island,
sprawling from the wakes of the stern like
giant mechanical tentacles
baited with the flesh of bonita, king mackerel, ladyfish
eager to grab hold
of any life form that touches it.
Sea turtles, dolphins
blue fin tuna, birds, even whales
an endless list
all by the day falling prey
to the savage entanglement
collateral damage, what they call bycatch.
As if this were somehow normal,
fisherman reeling in their lines
knives at the ready
taking seconds to sever the sharks’ limbs,
stacking them up into piles
like gambling chips on a casino floor
waiting for the highest bidder,
who will market them to purveyors
who will sell them to chefs
who will prepare them for servers
who will present them to fancy diners
high-profile entrepreneurs,
hedge funders and yacht goers,
the power hungry and privileged
plotting the expansion of their empires,
anxious to boost their status
by flaunting one hundred dollars
for a bowl of distasteful soup.
While somewhere, off the coast
not far from their lavish banquet
bleeding bodies slide down a ramp
back into the sea from which they were poached
helpless,
unable to maneuver.
Hearts still pumping.
Eyes still watching.
Electroreceptors still firing,
fully processing the repugnance
of their own slaughter
as their living remains plummet,
down into the deep.
Author's note: It may be hard to find compassion for ocean life when the lives of humans, every day, are being attacked by disease, violence, and unconstitutional legislation. But to dismiss the perils of our environment is to turn a blind eye to a global crisis that, on its own, poses the greatest threat to our collective existence.
Rémy Dambron is an author and activist whose work focuses primarily on denouncing political corruption and advocating for social and environmental justice. His poetry has appeared on What Rough Beast, The New Verse News, Poets Reading the News, and Writers Resist.