According to a new study out of the far-left University of California, Davis, calling fish “trash” or “rough” is a product of systemic racism.
The study, titled “Goodbye to ‘Rough Fish’: Paradigm Shift in the Conservation of Native Fishes,” was headed up by researchers at UC Davis and assisted by academics at the University of Oklahoma, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and University of Notre Dame. It laments how white people have supposedly “dominated fisheries science and management,” which has led to prejudice.
“Perspectives of white males have overwhelmingly dominated fisheries science and management in the USA,” the researchers argue. “This dynamic is exemplified by bias against ‘rough fish’ — a pejorative ascribing low-to-zero value for countless native fishes. One product of this bias is that biologists have ironically worked against conservation of diverse fishes for over a century, and these problems persist today.”
In qualifying this controversial position, UC Davis ecology professor Andrew Rypel, who was also the lead researcher, told the university’s newspaper, “Sometimes you have to look at that history honestly to figure out what to do.”
According to the study, the terms “rough fish,” “trash fish,” or “coarse fish” have been popularized due to racist white males who have led the conversation around the fishing industry for the past three centuries. Further, the researchers determine that biologists have not tried to conserve “diverse fishes” which is similar to “problems [that] persist today.”
In offering lifestyle alternatives — since the study insinuates fish are moral beings — there are six outlined ideas. This includes telling people to use the term “native fish,” to “correct misinformation” through education and outreach, and to “integrate Indigenous perspectives into fisheries management.”
UC Davis did not respond to a request for comment.
Source: The Federalist
