Sea Bass or Atlantic Salmon?

[Kortney Birch]

When comparing Sea Bass and Atlantic salmon for aquaculture with Francis Galton’s criteria, it is visible that neither fish is truly a perfect candidate. Looking at the list of criteria: hardy, endowed with an inborn liking for man, comfort-loving, able to breed freely, and needful of only a minimal amount of tending, it is clear that fish don’t really fit in completely… First off, the Atlantic salmon is pretty hardy, including their meat and eggs, so they at least pass the first step. Looking at the Sea Bass on the other hand, they are relatively weak and only one or two of the million eggs laid reach adulthood. Because nearly 99% of this population will die off, it is safe to say that the Sea Bass completely fails the first step. For “endowed with an inborn liking for man,” I feel that fish especially don’t come close to fitting in this category because fish are usually labeled as “stupid.” Again, comfort-loving does not describe a fish because people with pet fish don’t generally need to pet their fish for them to be happy; any aquaculture Atlantic salmon or Sea Bass would just really want food, a suitable environment, and mates for reproduction. On the fourth requirement, the Sea Bass especially would not come close because in many cases they shut down their reproductive systems completely while in captivity (Greenberg 92). Even for Atlantic salmon, they wouldn’t really have freedom for breeding if they were in a farm. Lastly, the tending amounts. The Atlantic salmon would definitely be a better candidate than the fragile Sea Bass. A juvenile Bass is pretty much unprepared for life in many aspects, therefore, they would require constant attention since they are perciforms. I can confidently say that neither of these fish pass Galton’s odd “test” for aquaculture. Really, no animal belongs in captivity.

[kmingo2]

I agree with your idea that neither of these fish pass Galton’s test for captivity, but I do believe there are some animals that are better suited for captivity thrive in those circumstance like dogs.

[hmhellen]

I agree that neither of these fish really fit Galton’s criteria but I do not agree with your last statement. Many species of domesticated animal would not survive long outside of captivity. Maybe it would have been better if our ancestors had never domesticated wolves or cattle but at this point, it is too late and these species rely on us.

[sdensmore]

Absolutely loved reading your forum, everything you stated and said I completely agree on, especially the fact that no animal belongs in captivity and not to mention the saying pet fish don’t require petting to be content.

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