SCHOOL OF THOUGHT: Wrestling with the unshakable feeling that you just can’t give up ‘seafood’? We get it, we’ve all been there. For many people considering switching to veganism, giving up aquatic animals is a major challenge. So it might help to learn about this shocking procedure carried out in almost all prawn farms around the world.

From bottle tops on beaches to microplastics in bodies, marine debris infiltrates the environment, animals and humans, posing an ever-growing threat to all life on our planet.

A Guardian article out this week has highlighted the sad story of two right whales in the Gulf of St Lawrence seen entangled in fishing gear, bringing to light the controversy at the heart of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and its so-called ‘blue tick ecolabel’ that certifies fisheries responsible for killing endangered species.

A recent BBC story describes how grazing cattle are helping the rare pearl-bordered fritillary butterfly to thrive in a Scottish forest. While large grazing herbivores do play a role in keeping some ecosystems healthy and supporting other species, do they need to be ones that will end up on someone’s plate?

In response to the recent revelation that some Subway tuna sandwiches contained no trace of tuna DNA, plant-based ‘seafood’ brand Good Catch has taken to the streets of London in its OurWay food to hand out free fish-free subs in a direct challenge to the sandwich chain.

A coalition of more than 20 animal and conservation organisations from around the world have signed an open declaration calling for urgent action including a drastic change in consumer attitudes towards fish and other marine species caught or farmed for our consumption.

More than a billion marine animals have cooked to death due to the intense heatwave that battered western Canada at the end of June. Here are the links between commercial fishing and the climate crisis.

As lobsters look set to be recognised under the Animal Sentience Bill, we look at the scientific evidence that they can feel pain when being boiled alive.

A study by researchers from New York University and Yale University has found that we have little to no understanding whatsoever of the welfare needs of most species of farmed fish. While the way we treat animals in any kind of farm is redundant when they should not be there in the first place, this news perfectly demonstrates our disconnect with sentient beings who feel pain and have a capacity to experience suffering.

Ironically, the fishing industry is quite literally conspiring to head-off the bombshell that will hit them when the long-awaited and highly anticipated documentary Seaspiracy debuts next week. Thanks to Plant Based News for drawing attention to leaked documents provided to them, we now know the extent to which the industry is worried.

Those prawn balls you tucked into last night may not have been prawn at all, maybe not even “seafood”, according to an investigation by the Guardian newspaper. Fish fraud is rife across the world and has implications for omnivores who say they can’t switch to vegan and be without their favourite piece of dead fish.

The role of fish in the diet continues to be a topic of scientific study and debate. So, as Dr Shireen Kassam from Plant-Based Health Professionals UK asks, do humans need to eat fish for health?