swami:
you bring up some valid points and i sincerely appreciate your passion. i took the time to dig around, but didnt find any articles talking about ocean depletion of fish due to fish oil. i also want to point out here that at least with the carlsons brand of fish oil, its been purifed (like a number of other brands) so that the mercury and other heavy metals are removed.
although its true that the ocean is in sorry shape and it pains me to see it like that (i fish too and love the ocean), the fish that are caught which are used for the fish oil are most likely not just tossed aside. im sure that the fish is ground up into fish meal. i would guess that its in either cat food, fish food, or it makes up the bulk of fish matter in a cheap frozen box at the local supermarket. corporations may be greedy POSs, but theyre not dumb enough to just squeeze the hell out of a fish and throw the entire fish away. theyll use the rest, especially if they can make a cent from it.
for the record, DHA and EPA, the major components (the latter being the more important one) of fish oil, are NOT found in any nuts or hemp. fatty acids and omega 3, 6, 9 are completely different than DHA and EPA, so dont confuse them.
now, you CAN get your DHA and EPA from algae and apparently, this product just recently hit the market which should satisfy you:
http://www.water4.net/ its pricey, though.
krill oil is another option, but its not vegan. you also have to take a LOT of them to be on par with fish oil:
http://www.physicianformulas.com/sto...name=Krill-Oil
until the price comes down, ive got to stick with the fish oil. besides, this society wont last much longer and most industries will hopefully collapse, including the fish oil industry. things will change for the better for all of us, and i know the ocean and the planet will heal.