Presidential National Emergency Declarations and California Governor Executive Orders, such as ones we are currently living through during this Coronavirus social experiment might open paths to secure food supplies for people having trouble coming up with enough good protein for themselves and their families.
Possibilities come to mind such as opening areas which are normally closed to hunting. This action would allow hunting to help families cope with food shortages or money shortages to pay for dwindling food supplies.
Hunting was one of the four original and primary ways for people to get food. The other three being fishing, farming/ranchin, and foraging.
Hunting is still a viable way to get fresh meat that hasn’t been handled by various people along the way to the consumer. Gun and ammo stores should be considered essential businesses and allowed to remain open to provide for the needs of hunters.
Bait and tackle stores are included among essential businesses because they are retail establishments selling food (including redworms and nightcrawlers) for pets including reptiles and birds, and because they provide necessities for commercial fishers and recreational fishers trying to get meat for the family.
Santa Barbara has Hook, Line & Sinker on Calle Real between upper State Street and Hwy. 154.
Areas closed to hunting and areas closed to fishing hold the promise of food security. Chris Goldblatt, ocean futurist, executive director of Fish Reef Project (www.fishreef.org) and author of “Ecotocracy” and other fascinating books, wrote the following post which provides good protein-rich food for thought.
From Chris Goldblatt: “Should Marine Protected Areas be seen as a strategic food reserve in times of national emergency?
“On a recent trip to the Cook Islands, where the government treated me very well when investigating adding new reefs as food security, they mentioned how marine protected areas (Raui) had a long history under the Maori culture. But they were also a viable means to cache food supply for bad weather and or feed visiting tribes. So, in essence, they were used for food security as well as conservation.
“With so much of our coastal areas now closed even to subsistence fishing, is it reasonable to allow harvest inside MPAs for pure personal consumption during times of national crisis when regular food supplies run low or may be contaminated?
“Some laws on the books, would suggest such actions are in fact legal if deemed a true necessity to survival. One thing is certain, the more that viable fishing grounds are closed, the more pressure is put on the remaining open areas to produce the same amount of protein.
“Thus, enhancing the open areas perhaps by adding new reefs structure, in the end serves the marine protected area by drawing pressure away from them as the protein needs of man will always be met one way or another.”
— Capt. David Bacon operates WaveWalker Charters and is president of SOFTIN Inc., a nonprofit organization providing seafaring opportunities for those in need. Visit softininc.blogspot.com to learn more about the organization and how you can help. Click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.
