Earth and Green Living: Now is the time to start saving Planet Earth and saving Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. DFW Earth is the place to find out how!

Green Earth for DFW Environmentalists

Planet Earth: Overfishing

Planet Earth and 
Green Living in Dallas-Fort Worth:  Over fishing.

Our Environment Is 
Our Life!

Please sign up for free earth newsletter. Use form here

Green Building  
Energy Audits  
Renewable Energy 
Green Remodeling 
Rainwater Harvesting 
Ecovillage 

 

 

Overfishing is a situation where one or more fish stocks are reduced below predefined levels of acceptance by fishing activities. More precise definitions are provided in biology and bioeconomics. Biological overfishing occurs when fishing mortality has reached a level where the stock biomass has negative marginal growth (slowing down biomass growth). Economic or bioeconomic overfishing in addition to the biological dynamics takes into consideration the cost of fishing and defines overfishing as a situation of negative marginal growth of resource rent. A more dynamic definition may also include a relevant discount rate and present value of flow of resource rent over all future catches.

Overfishing therefore may be sustainable, but in a non preferable way. Ultimately overfishing may however lead to depletion in cases of subsidised fisheries, low biological growth rates, critical biomass levels, etc.

Glaring examples exist of the outcomes from overfishing in areas like the North Sea and the East Coast of Canada and the United States. The result has been not only disastrous to fish stocks but also to the fishing communities relying on the harvest.

The ability for nature to restore the fisheries is also dependent on whether the ecosystems are still in a state to allow fish numbers to build again. Dramatic changes in species composition may establish other equilibrium energy flows which involve other species compositions than before.
Overfishing can do more than endanger our food supply. Some scientists say it causes widespread changes in ocean ecology -- degradation of reefs, destruction of bottom grasses, eutrophication of estuaries. Although fertilizer, runoff, sedimentation and exotic species are destroying ecosystems, they argue that overfishing came first -- and if it's controlled, ecosystems often recover. 

fishery: the organized harvest of a certain species of fish or shellfish. We speak of "the Monterey Bay squid fishery" to mean all the squid caught in Monterey Bay.

Overfishing
There's a Limit to Fish in the Sea

Ocean fish are wildlife—the last wild creatures that people hunt on a large scale. Once it seemed the ocean would supply an endless bounty of seafood. Today, we're discovering its limits. Between 1950 and 1994, ocean fishermen increased their catch 400% by doubling the number of boats and using more effective fishing gear. In 1989, the world's catch leveled off at just over 82 million metric tons of fish per year. That's all the ocean can produce. Sending more boats won't help us catch more fish.

Fisheries boom, then bust
Overfishing means catching fish faster than they can reproduce. Overfishing pushes the fish population lower and lower, until fish are so few that fishermen can't make a living any more. Many fisheries have already collapsed, throwing thousands of people out of work. All over the world, fishery after fishery booms as we send in more boats, then busts as the fish population crashes.

Chilean seabass live at least 40 years, orange roughy at least 100. A Pacific rockfish caught in 2001 was 205 years old—born when Washington was still president! Such slow-growing fishes are very vulnerable to overfishing; choose seafood from our Green List instead.
Off New England, cod were once so plentiful that boats had trouble pushing through them. Now the cod are nearly gone, and a centuries-old fishing tradition is ending. Other overfished species include Atlantic swordfish, Atlantic bluefin tuna and many kinds of West Coast rockfish. When one kind of fish is no longer plentiful, fishermen must move on to new species. Monkfish and sharks were once discarded as "trash fish," but now they're valuable—and are themselves overfished! Overfishing has also forced fishermen to look deeper for new species like orange roughy and Chilean seabass.


Around the world, people are eating more seafood than ever before. Demand is increasing due to growing populations, and because health-conscious consumers are choosing seafood more often. To help supply the global demand for seafood, people are raising fish, shrimp and oysters like farmers raise cattle and chickens. Today, almost 20% of our seafood comes from farms. The ecological impact of fish farming depends on which species are raised, how they are raised and where the farm is located.

Fish farms depend on wild fish
While farmed fish and shellfish can supplement our seafood supply, they can't replace the variety and abundance of seafood from the wild. Most seafood farms depend on healthy wild populations to supply eggs or young that the farmers raise for market. Many fish farms also depend on wild fish, like anchovies, as food for the farmed fish.

Farmed shellfish are a Best Choice
Most oysters on the U.S. market, and many of the clams and mussels, are farm-raised. These shellfish filter tiny plankton out of the water for their food, so they need no supplemental feeding. Shellfish can even improve water quality as they clear the water of excess plankton. And because shellfish for human consumption must come from clean water, shellfish farming often spurs efforts to keep coastal waters clean.

Clams are raised in special beds on sandy shores, where their harvest does little to disturb the ecosystem. Oysters and mussels are often raised in bags or cages suspended off the seafloor, doing little damage as they're harvested.

Net-pen farming can be a messy business
Many farmed fish, including most farmed salmon, are raised in net pens, like cattle in a feed lot. Thousands of fish concentrated in one area produce tons of feces, polluting the water. Diseases can spread from fish in the crowded pens to wild fish. Antibiotics and other drugs used to control those diseases leak out into the environment, creating drug-resistant disease organisms. And if farmed fish escape their pens, they can take over habitat from wild fish in the area. While the U.S. has laws to protect the environment around coastal fish farms, many nations that supply farmed fish to U.S. markets do not.

Shrimp farming can harm the coast
In Thailand, Ecuador and many other tropical nations, coastal forests of mangroves once sheltered wild fish and shrimp, which local people caught to feed their families. Mangroves also filter water and protect the coast against storm waves. Many mangrove forests have been cut down and replaced with shrimp farms that supply shrimp to Europe, Japan and America. After a few years, waste products build up in the farm ponds and the farmers have to move on. The local people are left with no shrimp farms—and no mangrove forest.

Far from the sea may be best
The best way to raise fish may be inland, far from coastal waters where wild fish feed and breed. Tilapia, a plant-eating fish, is easy to raise, and produces protein for people without using wild fish as feed. Catfish and trout are raised inland in the United States. All of these fish can be delicious alternatives to ocean-farmed shrimp and salmon. Even shrimp and salmon farming can be moved inland, where wastes are easier to handle. U.S. shrimp farmers are experimenting with enclosed, recirculating systems that filter wastewater and can be located far from the coast.
Monterey Bay Aquarium


THE THREATS TO OUR OCEAN FISHERIES:
Overfishing, Bycatch and Marine Habitat Destruction

Most everyone is familiar with the plight of the great whales, efforts to save endangered sea turtles, and the tragedy of dolphins dying in nets set for tuna. Less well known is that tuna and many other species of marine fish are in deep trouble, too. In fact, an alarming decline in fish populations poses a more disturbing and potentially more dangerous threat to life in the ocean. As fish decline, so does the sea, into a biologically unproductive and unstable environment. Strong conservation measures, and broad-based public support for implementing them, are badly needed.

Once man thought the seas held an endless supply of fish and couldn’t be destroyed. We may no longer believe that, but we continue to behave as if it were true. For decades now we’ve been taking fish from the sea much faster than it can replace them, with dire consequences. According to the National Marine Fisheries Service, 90 fish species found off the shores of the U.S. have been depleted. Many are in danger of being wiped out. Fish and shellfish at risk include bluefin tuna, cod, flounder, swordfish, blue marlin, Atlantic lobster, red snapper, salmon and a number of sharks, to name just a few from a long list that grows longer every year.

The numbers of most species of marine fish are at an all-time low, and the chief culprit is overfishing to meet an unprecedented demand for seafood. Modern, technologically-advanced fishing fleets have the capacity to push most fish populations to the brink. In addition to what is harvested, over 20 million tons of fish and other marine animals - about one-fourth of the global catch - are killed and discarded yearly by fishermen using huge nets, multi-mile longlines and other indiscriminate gear. Some fleets throw away more fish than they keep. This wasted "bykill" is a problem in almost every fishery.

When fish populations decline or collapse, everyone is the poorer. It decreases the supply of protein available from the sea, causes substantial losses to the economy, brings hardship to fishermen, disrupts traditional ways of life and limits recreational opportunities.

The immediate threat posed by overfishing is aggravated by the long-term threat of large-scale changes to marine ecosystems. Most salt water fish spend all or at least part of their lives in coastal waters, where their environment is continually assaulted by pollution and development. The massive destruction of wetlands and other vital habitats directly reduces the number of fish the ocean can support. Without healthy, properly functioning coastal ecosystems, fish cannot grow and reproduce – in a word, they can’t survive.

Just as ominous are unforeseen and possibly permanent changes in the ocean food chains caused by overfishing. Overkill at the top – widespread depletion of the ocean’s apex predators, the sharks, tunas and billfishes – can upset predator-prey relationships that took millions of years to evolve. Depleting fish populations can alter and diminish the genetic and species diversity of the ocean world.
National Coalition for Marine Conservation 

Once vibrant wildernesses teeming with diverse marine life, many of today's ocean ecosystems face the devastating effects of overfishing. A number of species have gone ecologically extinct-causing dramatic changes in ocean ecosystems. Rebuilding overfished species will actually increase the amount of fish that can be caught sustainably.

Overfishing occurs when fish are caught faster than they can reproduce. . Many marine scientists now believe that overfishing is the biggest human impact on the world's oceans. A recent study in the prestigious journal Science showed that overfishing makes ocean ecosystems more vulnerable to harm from other human impacts like pollution.

Evidence of overfishing abounds throughout U.S. waters, including the near-disappearance of fish that were once abundant, and the shrinking sizes of average-sized fish. Today, many fish are caught before they are old enough to reproduce.

Overfishing probably contributes to declines of marine birds and mammals, by reducing their food supplies. Depletion of fish populations is actually an accepted goal for most fishery managers. Fishermen are encouraged to achieve maximum exploitation by "fishing down" populations to about half their original size. Such goals ignore the role of fish as an integral part of marine food webs. 
Ocean Conservancy


The Overfishing Dilemma

Once regarded as an unlimited resource, the oceans of the world have fallen prey to destructive fishing practices. Once a colorful underwater jungle full of diversity, many of today's oceans are feeling the effects of overfishing, which occurs when fish are caught faster than they can reproduce. Many of the most abundant fishing waters are now void, victims of regional extinction.

The results of overfishing and irresponsible fishing practices:



Reduction of food supplies for marine mammals and other sea life.


Fish can no longer be found in once abundant habitats and fishing zones


Shrinking of the average fish size (many fish are now being harvested before they reach breeding age and/or size)

Disruption of the food chain (The ocean ecosystem is a delicate balance in which all species play an important role in its success. Eliminating crucial pieces of this ecosystem affects the overall health and safety of our oceans. In fact, the impact may not be realized until it is too late to correct the situation.)

The importance of responsible fishing practices, and the rebuilding of overfished species provides the following:



Improves the health of the oceans


Increases sustainable fish stocks


Increases the number of fish that can be harvested with out significantly damaging populations


Protects the livelihoods of fishermen and those dependent on the fishing industry


Protects ocean ecosystems from other damaging human impacts (i.e. pollution)


Ensures the survival of marine birds and mammals

How You Can Help!

Sea Food Surveillance: Buying safe seafood is a simple way to tell the fishing industry you will not support unsafe fishing practices and support the protection of marine mammals and sea life. Visit our Sea Food Surveillance and learn which seafood choices are ecologically responsible.
Endangered Creatures, Habitats & Organisms Fund, Inc.

Centuries of overfishing by man have emptied the world's oceans of giant fish, whales and other large sea creatures, destroying coastal environments.


It hasn't been generally understood how much has been lost and what might be regained

Jeremy Jackson, report co-author
So says a report by 14 universities and international scientific bodies, which takes a historical perspective on the declining health of the sea.

It paints a picture of coasts once teeming with herds of walrus-like mammals, tens of millions of sea turtles and shoals of giant cod.

Today, whales, manatees, sea cows, monk seals and many other large animals have disappeared altogether in many waters.

Changing oceans

The key cause, the authors say, is human exploitation of marine bounty from prehistoric times until the present day.

"Virtually all coastal ocean communities were dominated by very large populations of very large animals," said Jeremy Jackson, lead author of the report. "What you would have seen around the coast would have been dramatically different from what you see today."

Chesapeake Bay BBC
Chesapeake Bay: The whales and large sharks have gone
It is the virtual disappearance of key marine creatures such as cod, oysters and sea turtles that has led to the recent collapse of coastal ecosystems, he told BBC News Online.

Professor Jackson, of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, US, brought together a team of historians, palaeontologists, archaeologists and biologists to create a historical view of the oceans.

They investigated fossil records, historical archives, archaeological data and ecological studies from the past century to track ecological changes.

Giant turtles

The study suggests that there were once 40 million giant green turtles in the Caribbean alone, while estuaries such as Chesapeake Bay in North America would have been teeming with whales and large sharks.

Shellfish were in such abundance that they interfered with navigation and there were enough oyster reefs in Chesapeake Bay to filter all the water in three days.

Whales BBC
People are not aware of how much has been lost, say researchers
"In Maine, we have evidence from Indian middens dating back 5,000 years that our coastal zone was dominated by large predatory fish such as cod," said co-author Robert Steneck from the University of Maine Darling Marine Center, Walpole, US.

"The average size of cod for thousands of years was about a metre long," he added, "which is impressive considering the fishers used crude hooks made of deer bone with line made of deer intestines."

The researchers say that overfishing precedes pollution, destruction of habitats, disease, and human-induced climate change. This historical perspective could suggest new goals for coastal management and restoration, they add.

"It hasn't been generally understood how much has been lost and what might be regained," said Professor Jackson.

The research is published in the journal Science. 

Overfishing Long Ago Tied to Modern Ecosystem Collapse

Hillary Mayell
for National Geographic News
August 7, 2001

Overfishing that took place hundreds if not thousands of years ago is a key culprit in the collapse of coastal marine ecosystems today, an international group of researchers reports.

Up until now, scientists have tied the current collapse of the world's coastal ecosystems almost entirely to recent human impacts—pollution, increased nutrient runoff, and climate change.

Fishing Boat

Fishing Boat in Clarence
Strait, Alaska

A fishing boat trawls for salmon in Ketchikan, Alaska.

Photograph by Kevin Fleming/CORBIS
EarthPulse

More News
Adventure & Exploration

Archaeology & Paleontology

Kids News

Animals & Nature

Science & Technology

People & Culture

The Environment

Travel

National Geographic Channel



Special Series
Emerging Explorers

TravelWatch

National Geographic Out There

Oceans

Pulse of the Planet


By looking at historical evidence, the researchers were able to draw a picture of ancient oceans teeming with life in an abundance heretofore unimagined.

The picture today is dramatically different: dying coral reefs, dwindling populations of marine mammals, fish, and shellfish, shrinking seagrass beds, increased invasions of alien species, noxious algal blooms, and more virulent and frequent outbreaks of disease.

This current state of affairs can be attributed at least in part to the actions of aboriginal coastal populations, say the authors of the two-year study, which was published August 3 in Science.

"Up until now weve been attributing the collapse of coral reef ecosystems to pollution and global warming," said co-author Karen Bjorndal, a marine ecologist at the University of Florida's Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research. "While that's certainly a factor and something society must address, ecosystem collapse was set in motion long before modern activities contributed."

The authors hope their work will help reorient current conservation and restoration practices away from quota systems and no-fishing zones to a more broad-based ecosystem approach.

"We need to change the way we think about our coastal seas—not pristine, but damaged, and equally not hopeless, but salvageable," said co-author Roger Bradbury of the Australian National University in Canberra.

Long-Term Domino Effect

In their report, the authors note that large marine vertebrates—whales, manatees, dugongs, sea cows, monk seals, crocodiles, codfish, jewfish, swordfish, sea turtles, sharks, and rays—are now functionally or entirely extinct in most coastal marine ecosystems.

They found that the depletion of these species through overfishing and overharvesting sets off a domino effect that can have impacts even centuries later.

To draw a picture of what marine ecosystems looked like eons ago, the 19 researchers who contributed to the study examined marine sediment evidence from about 125,000 years ago, archaeological information from early human coastal settlements some 10,000 years ago, and European trade records from the 15th century to the present.

In every case they looked at, overfishing by humans preceded ecosystem collapse.

Removing important marine species has a profound effect on the food chain, which ultimately leads to ecosystem breakdown, the authors say. The impacts of historic depopulation of sea turtles is one example.

"The accepted wisdom among sea turtle researchers has always been that sea turtle stocks were in pretty good shape when Columbus arrived, and that it wasn't until the Europeans started to arrive that the populations began to crash," Bjorndal explained.

When the scientists examined archaeological evidence of coastal Amerindian settlements, they found that sea turtles were an important food source for the people who lived there. Over the 100 to 200 years that followed, the amount of turtle remains found in ancient trash dumps diminished until there were no more traces of sea turtles as a food source.

The findings challenge a common assumption held by marine biologists that the consumption or use of a species by indigenous groups generally has a negligible or strictly localized impact.

"We had always thought that the impact of subsistence-level fishing would be limited to a local area," said Bjorndal. "But sea turtles travel long distances to forage for food and then return to their nesting site. By overharvesting the species at a local level, the Amerindians had a region-wide impact on the ecosystem."

Now, several hundred years later, the depletion of sea turtle populations is having a profound effect on the health of coral reefs in the Caribbean, Bjorndal said.

Sea turtles were one of many species that controlled the growth of algae. Other algae-eating species were also slowly eliminated over time, until only the sea urchin remained. In the 1980s, sea urchin populations plummeted following a well-documented outbreak of disease.

With no plant-grazing species left, the reefs were swamped by an overgrowth of algae, which killed many corals and prevented new ones from growing.

Common Pattern

The researchers found the same pattern in all the other cases they studied.

Co-author Jim Estes, a research ecologist with the Western Ecological Research Center in Santa Cruz, California, described the chain of events that occurred in the North Pacific after aboriginal Aleuts greatly reduced sea otter populations starting about 2,500 years ago.

Sea otters are the major predators of sea urchins. As their major predators were removed from the ecosystem, sea urchin populations soared.

Overgrazing by the sea urchins eventually killed off the kelp beds, resulting in changes in wave action, water quality, and siltation rates. These changes, in turn, had a major impact on other near-shore flora and fauna.

In another instance, the Chesapeake Bay now has vast areas in which algae is so abundant that the level of oxygen in the water is inadequate to support other organisms. The authors tie this process, known as eutrophication, in part to the collapse of oyster populations caused by overfishing in the 19th century.

Management Implications

"Our study shows that marine ecosystem collapse is not entirely due to recent factors, and that to really understand what's happening we need to view the problem in its proper historical perspective," said Bjorndal.

Estes said the emphasis on recent human activities as the cause of ecosystem collapse may have arisen in part because ecological data on coastal marine systems has only been collected and studied since the 1950s. As a result, researchers' insight is limited mainly to the recent structure and function of ecosystems.

The new report points to the need to manage marine ecosystems for long-term effects and not just immediate problems.

"For ecosystem restoration and management to be effective, we need to go back far enough in time to truly identify the problems and set our goals appropriately," said Bjorndal.

The study also highlights the importance of maintaining the biodiversity of an ecosystem, she added.

"It's not enough to bring back one species," said Bjorndal.


Remodel Your Home
to be GREEN!

Life in an Ecovillage:
Is Ecohousing for you?
More information
here.

About Green Building  
and Energy Efficient 
Homes in DFW

Renewable Energy
in DFW
Solar Energy

Green Building
in North Texas

Earth Events

 

Green Building
DFW Website
and Info
Green Remodeling

Free
Earth Newsletter:
Green Living
  Published by email only
  Published once/twice a month in Dallas-Fort Worth

Use form here.

Includes:
Green Living:
Restaurants, Articles,  Calendar with events, meetings and green building and remodeling events.

Your private information is never shared.

 

DFW Earth and Green Living for Dallas-Fort Worth Environmentalists.


The Organic Food Guide
 A practical guide to and how organic foods are related to nutrition and health. Understand why organic foods are so important, both for our health and for our environment. 

More Information

 

 

"In a healthy marine ecosystem, there are a suite of animals that fill the same ecological niche," she said. "The loss of redundancy—where numerous species fill the same environmental niche—leaves an ecosystem extremely vulnerable." 
National Geographic


More information about Planet Earth and Green Living.

Thanks for stopping by.
Check back often for more earth articles and information.


Transition into Organic Foods
Interested in changing your eating habits? This educational and fact-filled book is a simple read with easy to understand differences between conventional, organic, and natural foods.

More Information

 


Live Green!

Home

Contact Dallas-Fort Worth Earth and receive free email newsletter

Use form here.

DFW Net Mall
DFW Singles

 

Calendar for Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex

Calendar

March 2010 

This calendar covers an extended period of time. Changes happen. If we are informed of new events or changes, they will be posted here and designated Changed. But we don't always get notified so please call number listed before driving to an event.

And remember we can still have bad weather this month so events might change.

Sun, Mar 14 - Guided walk at Texas Texas Buckeye Trail, 700 Bexar St, Dallas 75215, about 4 miles south of downtown. Learn about the Trinity bottomland, see buckeyes in bloom, and enjoy a moment in the great North Texas outdoors. Cancel if weather is unfriendly or Trinity is flooded in that area. Check with jdflood@airmail.net or 9732 557-1144. Guided by North Texas Master Naturalists at 10 am & 1 pm Free

Sun, Mar 14 - Dallas Trekkers group walks at White Rock Lake at 8 m. Meet at Doctors Hospital, 9330 Poppy Drive, Dallas.  972-489-3072 for more information. Small charge.

Sun, Mar 14 - Family Nature Walks at Connemara Meadow Preserve, Alma and Bethany Drives in Allen. The two-hour event begins at 2:00 pm at the main parking lot with a suggested donation of $10 per family. Please register by phone to 214-351-0990 . 

Mon, Mar 15 - The Dallas Chapter of Native Plant Society meets. Social time begins at 6:30 with refreshments at the back. A speaker is scheduled at 7:30 pm. REI store, located on the north side of LBJ between Midway and Welch. Take the stairs to the second floor and turn left to find the meeting rooms. Free

NEW Tuesday, Mar 16 - North Texas Clean Air Task Force, a new group is initiating a DFW public hearing on the proposed new EPA ozone pollution standard at Arlington City Hall, 101 W. Abram Street, Arlington from 3pm to 7 pm. We need you to join us in this effort to ensure a large and compelling response that is heard all the way down in Austin. Call for information. or to volunteer to speak for five minutes or less. 972 251-1532 or 817 545-0140

Wed, Mar 17 - Denton Organic Society meeting at 7 pm. Denton Senior Center, 509 N. Bell Av, Denton. 940-382-8551.  

Wed, Mar 17 - Rev. Paul John Roach of the Interfaith Environmental Alliance of Tarrant County, a group of churches working on environmental concerns, who will be speaking on the IEA's work. General Meeting of the Greater Fort Worth Sierra Club, 7 pm. Brief business meeting followed by speaker. Location: Ft Worth Botanic Gardens, Main Garden Center, 817 871-7686, 3220 Botanic Garden Boulevard at University, north of I-30, Fort Worth. Free

Thu, Mar 18 - Dallas Downriver Club monthly meeting at 7 pm, 3701 N. Buckner Blvd. (just north of IH 30 and south of John West Road) Dallas, 75228 

Sat, Mar 20 - Bicycle Ride around White Rock Lake. Meet at 9:30 AM at the Stone Tables near Lake Highlands Drive and Buckner Blvd. This will be a leisurely trip of 9 miles in about 1-1/2 hours. Any bike and any body is welcome but you must wear an approved helmet. The trip will be canceled if it is raining at White Rock Lake. Optional brunch afterwards. Mark Adams leads this. 972 658-128. Free

NEW Sat, Mar 20 -  - Animal Connection of Texas sponsors Petland puppy mill protests which are held in 5 locations every Saturday. For more information, contact petlandgoingdown@sbcglobal.net

NEW Sat, Sun, Mar 21-22 - Family camp-out with Texas Outdoor Family workshops designed to familiarize families with the outdoors and teach them how to tent camp, cook outdoors and get the most out of their outdoor experience. Ray Roberts Lake’s Isle du Bois Unit near Pilot Point. For information and reservations with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, contact by phone, Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. at (512) 389-8903. By email, tofsp@tpwd.state.tx.us

Sun, Mar 21 - All-vegan, all-you-can-eat buffet from 12 noon until 2 pm. Prices have been lowered--it is a bargain. New Start Veg, (972 243-0507) 2330 Royal Lane, ste 900, Dallas 75229. Just west of I-35 on the south side of Royal. Call for info:  James Bisby 469-371-1938

Tue, Mar 23 - Fort Worth Organic Club meets at 7 pm. at Fort Worth Botanic Garden, 3220 Botanic Garden Blvd., Fort Worth, north of I-30, turn left into main entrance from University. Free. 

Tue, Mar 23 - Tarrant County Interfaith Environmental Alliance meets at 7 pm at Unity Church of Fort Worth, 5051 Trail Lake Drive, Fort Worth, TX 76133

Thu, Mar 25  - Arlington Organic Gardening Club Monthly Meeting. Bob Duncan Community Center Garden Room, 2800 S. Center St. in Arlington. 7 pm. Free.

NEW Sat, Mar 27 - Southlake Green Day from 10 am - 5 pm. Southlake Town Square. Vendors and speakers. Howard Garrett is the keynote speaker on organic gardening.  Other speakers/topics Tim Yatko on composting and Terry Jensen on renewable energy. Square is located on Southlake Blvd just east of North Carroll Av. 

NEW Sat, Mar 27 -  - Animal Connection of Texas sponsors Petland puppy mill protests which are held in 5 locations every Saturday. For more information, contact petlandgoingdown@sbcglobal.net

Changed Sun, Mar 28 - Dallas Organic Gardening Club Monthly Meeting. Northaven Gardens, 7700 Northaven Road, Dallas. 2 pm. Free. This group did meet on Thursday, now meeting on Sunday at a different location.

NEW Sun, Mar 28 - Black Vegetarian Society of Texas monthly luncheon, 1:30 pm, at Queen of Sheba Restaurant, 14875 Inwood Rd, Addison, 972.980.9450. Event is free except for cost of your food and beverage.

Sat, Apr 3 - Fort Worth Vegetarian Society monthly dinner at Spiral Diner, 6:30 pm. 1314 W Magnolia at 6th, Fort Worth. No reservation necessary; look for FWVS sign. Event is free except for cost of your food and beverage.

Sat, Apr 3 - SPCA of Texas’ Pet Grief recovery program for those grieving the loss of a beloved companion animal. Meet at 1 pm at the conference room at SPCA of Texas, 2400 Lone Star Drive, Dallas. Free.

Cancel because it is Easter Sunday: Sun, Apr 4 -Vegan Buffet every first Sunday at Papaya Garden, 1201 W. Airport Frwy #100, 817 684-9378, Euless on the corner of Airport Fwy (Hwy 183) and Industrial (FM157 also known as Collins in Arlington). Thai, plant-based, and all-you-can-eat buffet is served from 11:30 am to 2:00 pm. Larger restaurant, more room, good food. Ask for Terry at the door to meet/converse with an interesting group of people. Or sit with your friends and family. Event is free except for your cost of food and beverage. Organizer: Terry Jensen 817 545-0140 or 972 251-1532. Pay only for what you eat/drink. Next Vegan Buffet at Papaya Garden is May 2.


Copyright © DFW Earth Now 2001-2010 All rights reserved

Directions to Papaya Garden, 817 684-9378, located on the southwest corner of Airport Fwy and Industrian in Euless. Restaurant is located across from Ross and actually faces Industrial. 1201 W. Airport Frwy #100,  Euless, near the south entrance to DFW Airport. Airport Fwy is Hwy 183 and Industrial is FM157, From Dallas take Hwy 183 and turn left on Industrial. From Fort Worth, take Hwy 183 and turn right on Industrial. From Arlington, come up FM 157 which is also known as North Collins in Arlington.

Botanic Garden, 817 871-7686, 3220 Botanic Garden Boulevard at University, Fort Worth. 
Directions

Driving west from downtown Fort Worth, take the University exit and turn north or right. The Garden has two entrances on your left about 1.5 miles north of I-30. The Garden Center is located at the second entrance. When you enter the building ask for the Sierra Club or turn right to find the Azalea Room.

Directions to Kalachandji's  214 821-1048, 5430 Gurley Av, Dallas. Exit I-30 at Grand Av, turn northeast. Turn left 3 blocks at Beacon St and left again at Gurley. Restaurant is located in the temple building. Kalachandji Park is to right of temple.

Directions to Spiral Diner, 1314 W. Magnolia Av, NE corner at 6th, 817 332-8834, Fort Worth. Going west from downtown Fort Worth on I-30, exit on 8th and turn left. Turn left on Magnolia and Spiral Diner will be on your left.

Directions & Map to Healthy Approach Market--now called Sunflower Shoppe, 5100 Hwy 121 Colleyville 76034. From Hwy 121 in Grapevine, exit Hall-Johnson Road and remain on west access road, From Hwy 121 north from Airport Freeway, exit Hall-Johnson Road and turn left under freeway to west access road.

Stay on west access road past Gateway Dr and past Rio Mambo and Mac restaurants. Immediately past the restaurants, turn right into Healthy Approach parking lot. Sign is hard to see because of trees. If you reach Glade Rd, you have passed entrance to Healthy Approach.

Community room is on second floor with stairs in the far right hand corner of the restaurant. Telephone number of store is 817 399-9100. See map below: