It's A Kid Thing

PARENTS HAVE FUN TOO

Hockey On Hold, (Briefly)

'smores is more

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.. It has all the look of a medieval revel. The evening is warm, (18° F,) and the wind is a gentle zephyr that flutters the banners at the entrance to the town skating rink.
.. "Official" parents and sponsors arrive about dusk and set up the tables and fire pits. The ice is checked for rocks, pebbles, twigs, and other debris, (a task made a bit more difficult than usual by the 1" of fine powder that fell in the morning.)
.. This is the time for gossip and information exchange, (the post office is closed and it's dinner time for most families.)
.. This is also the time for a bit of relaxed skating by mom's and dad's after a full Saturday at the beginning of the busy winter visitation season.
.. Hockey is on hold for the week and there is a bit of hustle and bustle as the roads are plowed, the sound system set up, the graham crackers located, the chocolate unwrapped and broken, the marshmallows corralled, and the fires started.
.. The kids arrive first, way before the 6 O'clock start time. They scramble for the best skates, (free for anyone under 12 years of age.) They sit in the snow and giggle as they pull on boots full of snow in their dash to get to the ice.
.. Of course there's a few preteen boys testing the surface for "shoe sliding." (not too good with the fresh snow.)

.. As the appointed hour draws near the "unofficial" families arrive to help with the finishing touches.
.. Willow branches are loaded with frozen marshmallows, crackers and chocolate aligned, drink buckets positioned carefully on the tables, fires poked and prodded, and conversations started, (as more kids scramble for skates.)
.. There is no "official program," no opening ceremonies, no band; just a gradual accumulation of the neighbors and a few curious tourists.
.. There is a small glitch in setting up the sound system; someone put a lock on the power pole breaker box; (how big-city of them.)

.. The first wave of skaters has abandoned the ice and is lining up for the marshmallows and other 'smores fixin's.
.. Smoke begins to rise as the fires are poked and prodded into beds of coals for the perfect roasting arrangement.
.. There are older kids now taking over the sledding hill and the ice rink. Some of the older kids give lessons in the art of burning, (or not burning,) marshmallows.

.. Mom's assist the very wee kids with skates and as the gathering approaches the status of a crowd a low hubbub is heard around the fires and the rink as the mixing and mingling begins.
.. This is similar to some of the few remaining block parties in the upper Midwest.
.. This is similar to a stroll around the plaza in old rural Mexico. This is distinctly a neighborhood event; and in our case the neighborhood is the whole town. Bits of news filter through the crowd.

.. "The traveling girls basketball team has posted a victory, the boys are down by 20 points."
.. "There seems to be a gathering of large Brown Trout near the ice fishing holes at the 'narrows' out on Hebgen Lake. One of the neighborhood kids escaped serious injury after challenging a tree at speed with a snow machine."
.. "The incoming, (and once previous mayor,) is taking the reins of the city and doing a fine job. He couldn't make it tonight because he's fixing a snow van for tomorrow's park tour."

.. "The police chief is meeting with department personnel in an effort to settle some complaints within the department. He and the disgruntled will probably come together - it's not too big a deal."
.. "Who is going to be the new judge? It's time to select the person to fill the spot for another term. Three candidates are being considered: the current judge, a former judge, and the city court clerk from Belgrade."
.. "The state of Montana is considering managing bison as a big game animal." This is a bit of buzz that seems to keep cropping up as the marshmallows are roasted.
.. And so it goes. The jungle telegraph is hot and heavy in the conversation groups around the rink. Skating, fancy and floppy is at full swing. Teen-aged girls cluster and giggle. The boys race and pound the boards. Parents and older folks take a twirl or two and "remember when."
.. The evening is a success. Information has been exchanged. Gossip has grown and been smothered. The kids had a good time away from the laptops and TV's, and homework; the hockey nets remained buried in the snow.

.. Then there's the clean-up. It's started by the "unofficial" families: picking up debris, candy wrappers, napkins and such.
.. Then the "officials" begin: amidst the goodbye's, the sound system is packed, the drink jugs packed, the fires banked and watered. The nudging and clock mentioning is more frequent, and the tables are removed. It's a flurry of "see ya's" and "put-it-there's."
.. Finally the rink is cleared, the snow hill is devoid of sledders, and only the dedicated remain. Lights out!
.. There is an eerie silence and a few headlights pierce the clearing in the pines. The shadows are long and stark: it's now official - the skating season has begun.

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Short Time Coming

KISS YOUR FELT GOODBYE

And Your Ass Too ?

will you sterilize your rubbers ?

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.. Briefly: Montana introduces legislation to ban felt soled waders. Check out the posts at The Trout Underground and comments at The Headhunter. Read carefully the comment by Earl James. We're not home free yet!

.. The tons of soil and supposed included micro organisms moved around by wading fishers is documented in a masters thesis from MSU, (LINK.)
.. The proposed amended Montana Legislation is HERE. And, just like the U.S. Congress exempts itself from many of the laws it makes, Montana exempts it's employees and emergency personnel from the ban. Is there a message here?
.. We're sure that this is not a cure all; and, further believe that the wader manufacturers still need to go a long way into providing better gripping rubber, (or whatever,) soles.
.. We predict that sales of the wading staff will skyrocket in the near future.
.. We also predict that there will now be less cleaning of wading gear, (including the newly-sold wading staffs,) than prior to the legislation
.. How about some legislation mandating the cleaning of wading gear? See how far that boat floats!

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So's You'll Know

FRANKENFISH ABOUT HERE

Frankenfishers To Follow ?

what's next ?

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.. In a June post we noted in our "Pure Shit Department" that transgenic trout would be here before you could blink an eye. It's happening as you read this.
.. According to a recent post in grist the FDA, (yes, our very own,) is about to accept the new fish as just fine for commercial production. These piscene  freaks are about to hit the waterways because of "Junk Science."

.. We, (yes you, your neighbors, our neighbors, and us,) have allowed this to progress to the point of no return by failing to take action to protect our fisheries. This is an invasive species of the most heinous type. This is a threat that can't be solved by the cute switch away from felt soles on waders.
.. When these critters are unleashed in the environment, (despite all assurances to the contrary - can you say Jurassic Park?) they will destroy both fresh water and marine fisheries. This is a situation about to make the BP fuck up fiasco look like child's play.
.. As pointed out in an excellent blog post by Jill Richardson, ". . .  if sloppy and dishonest science is all that's required to pass a product through the U.S. regulatory system, what other disasters lie in our future?"
.. Should you, like us, choose to resist this latest bullshit scientific advance, the FDA is accepting comments about it's stupidity decision. The note in the Federal Register a couple of weeks ago directs us to the morass of red tape we need to negotiate to make a comment.
.. The conscientious efforts of Jill Richardson are laudable and we thank her for a concise statement of the "The Creepy Science Behind Genetically Engineered "Frankenfish" About to Enter Our Food Supply Unlabeled."
.. In a move that shows great insight into the problem, Washington, Oregon, and Maryland have banned genetically altered fish in order to protect their native species. California on the other hand, is set to issue permits for research and production of similar critters - LINK.
.. By the way, if you're not of a contrarian mentality like we are, please read the note on the FDA website about all the wonderful advantages that this development will bring to the world. Yes, our very own FDA just loves this stuff and has been touting it for 5 years. Does something smell fishy to you?
.. Way back in 2006 we noted in a post the attempts of science to produce fish specifically adapted to Yellowstone National Park. That note explored the relationship between the pout fish, ice cream, and life at high temperatures. And the beat goes on!

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.. Change.org and Food & Water Watch have started a petition to curtail this action. This petition takes the form of a letter to the President of the United States. Should you choose to sign the petition to that effect just click on the widget below.

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Petitions by Change.org|Start a Petition »

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.. For their take on the situation read the note HERE.

Fishing the web, you never know what you will catch

Here are a couple of items that got my attention in the news. The first is a "Man caught fishing for womens panties". This one really got me laughing. I guess you would call that panty poaching.

The second one is from Blogfish, a fish, ocean, conservation blog that I follow. Fishing protest not for the squeamish is about a shark fishing protest.

For the original story:

Artist hangs herself from hooks in protest at shark treatment
An artist pierced her skin with shark hooks and hung herself from a shop ceiling in protest at the treatment of the animal.

"Alice Newstead took the drastic action in protest at the practice of finning – where sharks are impaled on hooks, before their fins are sliced off to harvest meat for shark fin soup. The sharks are then thrown back into the ocean still alive. "

I feel that she got her point across. Mainly because the news wire picked it up as well as the blog world. She has drawn attention to an issue and got the public involved.

What do you think? Did it work or just a side show?

Panty on and hanging from a hook.

Cheers

How to drive dolphins to extinction

The destructive power of human being is amazing. It is not bad enough that we over fish until a species is almost extinct, now these guys are trying to kill off a species we don't even eat.

Then these "fishermen" go on to say, "The Federation of Commercial Fishermen and a number of fishing companies challenged the restrictions, saying they would cost jobs in areas where the dolphins were never seen. The federation did not want to harm the dolphins but sought seasonal relief where jobs were under immediate threat."

What are we talking about here, 10-20 jobs. Let get real, these jobs are on their way out anyways. With the predatory fishing practices and greed these guys have already fished themselves out of a job. Time to find something else to do.








So you ask what is it that this fight is over. The first is the Hector Dolphin. "The Hector's dolphin is only found off the coast of New Zealand, which means it is endemic to New Zealand.
The Hector's dolphin is the rarest dolphin in the world - not a title to envy! "

The second is the Maui Dolphin. "Numbering around 110, the Maui's dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori maui) is the world's smallest and rarest marine dolphin. Maui's dolphins are generally found along the North West coast of the North Island of New Zealand, between New Plymouth and Dargaville.

So there is only a few of these little dolphins in existence and what do people want to do to protect them, nothing. Lets just string up a big ol' net and catch them all and be done with it. You gotta love commercial fisherman and politicians. This scenario seems pretty straight forward, protect the Hector and Maui dolphins or they will be extinct. End of story. So by the response of the New Zealand High Court I guess we will just kill them all off. Nice work in the land of the long white cloud and extinct dolphins.

Let's hope some common sense and rational thinking infests their pea brains and they do the right thing.

If you are interested in helping save these dolphins take action here.

Save the Dolphins
Cheers

Duh, even a 10 year old can figure this out.

Sometimes what you read about just makes you go, “Duh! Like this is something new.” For instance I just read an article titled “Fishing ban brings seas to life”. This article is all about how a no fish zone created 5 years ago and is now full of lobster and fish. Now what the hell do these people think. Humans have been hitting the oceans hard with commercial fishing and of course that has depleted stocks. Now common sense says if you stop the commercial fishing then the stocks, if not completely wiped out, will come back with time. Why do we need a scientist to tell us this?
In one article titled “Ban Spurs Dramatic Fish Recovery in Australia” , Sweatman, a reef ecologist at the Australian Institute of Marine Science, said "My 10-year-old son saw the graphs and said, If you stop fishing, don't you expect to find more fish?
If a 10 year old can come to that conclusion then what the hell is wrong with the policy makers.
Now I am an angler and a bit of a fanatic about it and as much as I don't like it, no take zones do help. The problem I see is that the no take zones usually affect the recreational angler and not the commercial angler. What kind of hog wash is that? Who does more damage, the angler with a rod taking home a feed or the trawler scraping the bottom of all life forms and taking tons of fish? Seems like a pretty easy question even for a policy maker. Ah, but then politics comes into play and of course with politics comes money and interest groups, and with money comes corruption. To bad for the fish and to bad for us anglers trying to get a feed and have some fun.
Maybe one day the people who make policies will hold an open discussion with a few 10 year olds and actually listen to what they have to say. And maybe, if that happens we might see our fish stocks come back. And maybe, if that happens, nah, that’s asking a little too much.
Tight lines and policy changes

E. Asia fleets to suspend tuna fishing / Fuel costs hit Japan, China, ROK, Taiwan

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Tuna-fishing boat operators' organizations in Japan, China, South Korea and Taiwan have agreed to suspend operations for several months in the face of soaring fuel costs, sources said Saturday.
The economic conditions made it difficult for tuna fishermen to make ends meet, while the measure also is expected to help declining populations of the fish to recover, according to the sources.
The suspension is expected to result in higher prices for bigeye and yellowfin tuna, which are mainly consumed as raw fish and processed into canned food. Read the full story

In the guise of increased fuel cost and helping tuna stocks the East Asian fleet is suspending some tuna fishing. Read between the lines and it is more like they want to see the price of tuna increase and therefore increase profits.

"The temporary tuna-fishing stoppage is expected not only to reduce Japan's tuna catch but also cut supply of the fish from China, South Korea and Taiwan, which account for about half the tuna imported by Japan. "
"Therefore, the planned suspension is expected to affect tuna prices in the mid- to long term. "

Profit will always be the driving force for any move made by these commercial fleets.