Gore Gorges on Overfished Sea Bass

Here's yet another addition to the annals of the "do as I say crowd." The rehearsal dinner for Al Gore's youngest daughter's wedding last week featured, among other items, Chilean sea bass for 75. Sounds yummy!

Unfortunately, Chilean sea bass is considered to be a threatened species, although not yet technically endangered:

Also known as Patagonian toothfish, the species is under pressure from illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing activities in the Southern Ocean, jeopardising the sustainability of remaining stocks.

The species is currently managed by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Living Marine Resources, the body which introduced a catch and trade documentation scheme as an attempt to tackle illegal poaching of this species.

Working with non-government organisations, the Humane Society International's focus is now on pursuit of illegal fishing operators who, in the rush to cash in on the highly valued species, plunder stocks with no regard for sustainability.

Not only that, but as this particular fish is found nowhere near Beverly Hills, where the wedding was held, I'm guessing it was flown in. How much carbon was spewed into the air so that Gore's guests could dine on one of the most sought-after fish in the sea? I'm guessing the busy Gore hasn't had time to read the book promoted by Live Earth organizers called the Global Warming Survival Handbook, which urges us to eat locally:

My favorite tips from the The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook involve shopping locally for food. Tip No. 29 says to count and reduce your food miles. A typical meal travels about 22,000 miles to reach your plate. This produces between four and 17 times as many greenhouse gasses as a meal that is locally supplied. This is how "locavores" came about. They are people who follow the 100-mile diet, where they won't eat anything that has traveled more than 100 miles.

I suppose that's where those carbon credits come in handy.