Day 1 of the Bassmasters Classic is in the books and although fan favorite Kevin Van Dam is most decidedly in the hunt for his fourth title, it was Aaron Martens of Leeds, Alabama who sits in the catbird seat with a total weight of 20 pounds, 7 ounces. He also took the largest fish of the day with a 5-pound, 9-ounce largemouth. Scott Rook is second in the standings at 19 pounds, 6 ounces and Van Dam is third at 19-3.

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Kiwi (a person from New Zealand – not the fruit) Alan Randle won the New Zealand Havelock Fishing Competition this past week when he successfully battled a 133 kilogram – or in the real world 293 pounds – seven gill shark to his boat. 

Randle told New Zealand’s The Marlborough Express that fighting the leviathan put so much strain on his fingers that he feared his "banjo playing days" might be over.  If you think Randle’s exaggerating, consider that the shark was so heavy – for fish of that area – that the crane at Picton Harbour broke while weighing it.

People around the world are eating more fish than ever, but are fish stocks going to be able to handle the pressure?

According to a report from the United Nations fish consumption increased to about 38 pounds per person globally in 2008. This is up about 1 pound from 2007 (doesn't sound like much, but extrapolate that across the planet and you've got a big number). The data is from three years ago because it takes so long to gather and decipher.

The good news is that much of the fish consumed these days comes from fish farms, and not ocean fisheries. According to the CBC 52.5 million tons of fish is produced by aquaculture or fish farms. This is worth about $98.4 billion dollars.