High agricultural productivities of modern societies have made hunting on land (the seasonal shooting of some wild mammals and birds) a marginal source of nutrition in all affluent societies. Wild meat, mostly illegally hunted, is still more common throughout sub-Saharan Africa, but with rapidly growing populations even there it has ceased to be a major source of animal protein. By contrast, marine hunting has never been practiced more widely and more intensively than it is today, as huge fleets of ships—ranging from large modern floating factories to decrepit small boats—scour the world’s
...more
