[Vision2020] Al Gore's Fish Dinner Turns Out Green

[Tom Hansen]

After all those so many attacks on Al Gore, how many retractions are we
likely to see?

My guess is none - not even from our local Blight-Mind blogster, Dale
Courtney.

>From the Telegraph Medial Group at:

http://tinyurl.com/ysuyzc

"But the fish enjoyed by the Gores were not endangered or illegally caught."

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Al Gore's fish dinner turns out green
By Catherine Elsworth

Al Gore, the world's most high profile green campaigner, was at the centre
of an embarrassing row yesterday after the serving of a rare fish at his
daughter's Beverly Hills wedding.

Just one week after Live Earth, his global musical spectacular to raise
awareness of environmental issues, the former vice-president attended a
rehearsal dinner for his daughter's marriage that featured Chilean sea bass.
Sarah Gore, 28, a medical student, was married to the Los Angeles
businessman Bill Lee at the Beverly Hills Hotel on July 14. 

The night before the wedding, People magazine reported, the Gores were at a
dinner for 75 at the nearby Crustacean restaurant where a six-course tasting
menu included Chilean sea bass - also known as Patagonian toothfish.

The reaction was swift: writing in in the Australian Daily Telegraph,
Rebecca Keeble of Humane Society International, a conservation pressure
group, complained of the danger to the species from "from illegal,
unregulated and unreported fishing activities".

She noted that "more than 50 per cent of toothfish traded is illegally
caught, and includes juveniles vital to the ongoing toothfish population".
She called on the US government to help crack down on illegal fishing by
sanctioning Spain for allowing its nationals to fish illegally for the
species in conservation areas.

And in the meantime, she acidly suggested, "Al Gore could choose something
else to eat". Her attack on the former vice-president, and his implied
hypocrisy, were rapidly picked up by bloggers around the world.

But the fish enjoyed by the Gores were not endangered or illegally caught.

Rather, the restaurant later confirmed, they had come from one of the
world's few well-managed, sustainable populations of toothfish, and caught
and documented in compliance with Marine Stewardship Council regulations.
The Gores' spokesman, Kalee Kreider, admitted that the fish has been on the
menu, but said: "The Gores absolutely agree with this humane society and the
rest of the environmental community about illegally caught Chilean sea bass.

"The problem is huge. This is unfortunate, we have been in touch with the
society today. The really important thing is that people become more aware
of this issue."

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"We're a town of about 23,000 with 10,000 college students. The college
students are not very active in local elections (thank goodness!)."

- Dale Courtney (March 28, 2007)