In Ottawa, we are more than a thousand miles from the sea, and people who live here could be fairly described as "oblivious" of the hazards related to life on the coast. Recently, when the loss of a fishing boat and her crew in a typical early autumn storm off Newfoundland made national news, I was irked by the way the news readers kept yammering about the search-and-rescue team and the status of its mission -- "So, Peter, after 24 hours, are they still calling this a rescue, or is now more of a recovery effort?"

At the fishmonger's, lately, I've noticed that fish that doesn't come from a farm operation is labelled "wild caught", to appeal to those who disdain the products of aquaculture. But nothing comes without risk. Fish farming is an environmental threat, to be sure, but every fish taken at sea comes to table at some risk to the people who bring it to shore.