tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9716997.post8510831435004618096..comments2024-03-15T23:30:38.471+11:00Comments on Lindsay's Lobes: End of an eraLindsay Byrneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11030132436987752741noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9716997.post-36560336903906929332011-04-06T10:13:02.797+10:002011-04-06T10:13:02.797+10:00Hi Mecutio,
Thanks for dropping by and adding yo...Hi Mecutio, <br />Thanks for dropping by and adding your interesting stories about your commercial fishing experiences. I am aware of the terrible waste that occurs in such ventures but can be overturned by the application of uncommon common sense. Good for you. I agree with other comments.<br />best wisheslindsaylobehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16774918551798647046noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9716997.post-91198167104775133632011-03-06T03:06:46.050+11:002011-03-06T03:06:46.050+11:00The only whale I've ever seen was a whale shar...The only whale I've ever seen was a whale shark. We were in Florida, on the Treasure Coast, about 5 miles out on a 16-footer. We got out of there pretty quick.<br /><br />I worked commercial fishing vessels for three summers while I was going to school. That, along with some grants from President Clinton, was what put me through college.<br />Over half the time, there will be dolphins, shark, or tuna following the boats.<br />At the time, there were new regulations in effect to protect the sea turtles. The turtles didn't really seem to be at issue to me (nesting sites are more of a concern), but they were out there killing off redfish right and left.<br />It bugged me. One night, I walked out there and just started throwing the redfish back into the water. The rig man, a fellow named Tim that was missing two fingers from an incident with a winch, said, "What you're doing there is pretty effing admirable." After watching me for a couple of minutes, and seeing that I wasn't going to let up, he came over to help.<br />Sometimes, one man's initiative can make a difference, if only a small one.<br />I feel an attachment to dolphins, but sailors often do. Maybe it's something that comes from not seeing sight of land for weeks on end.<br />While I see the whaling as foolish, misguided, and regressive, the Japanese fishing practice regarding dolphins is nothing short of monstrous.<br />I kind of feel that a bit personally, I suppose.<br />But that third summer on the Gulf, I didn't see any bluefin at all. Not a single tuna to be had. And I wonder why nobody was making any noise about it.<br />I remember seeing photos from the early 20th century of sturgeon being pulled from the Great Lakes by a team of horses, and a sturgeon that took over twenty men to hold up. There's not a lot of them out there any more, but there are a number of programs to repopulate the lakes, to limited effect.<br />I'm not so sure that the same type of programs could be effective with whales, but I think it would be well worth the effort.<br />Let's hope this will be put to rest for good this time.Mercutiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13270898097330918764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9716997.post-27535244305956063282011-03-02T21:39:32.333+11:002011-03-02T21:39:32.333+11:00Hi Gary. Grid, Sera & Susan,
Thank for your ...Hi Gary. Grid, Sera & Susan, <br />Thank for your insightful comments. <br />Gary – That is a wonderful enduring legacy and folk can be grateful for the foresight of those who were involved back in those days. The only wealth we have is the land and its resources. Hope you enjoy the music and good fortune flows to you and yours this year<br /><br />Grid. Indeed there is much more to 'the simple life' than many imagine. Although moral bankruptcy has ripples that affect all of us I think the world wide tide is turning in favor of more responsible modes of sustainable farming. <br /><br />Sera -You may have eaten mulberries under the guise of red berries even though, strictly speaking, they are a collective fruit. The red American mulberry fruit is found in your eastern states of Massachusetts to Kansas and on the Gulf coast. Your no doubt aware silk worms only eat the leaves of mulberry trees. The silk is obtained from the cocoons made by the larve of the silkworm- silk production dates to 3000 BC in China. The black mulberry trees were first imported into Britain in the 17th century for the cultivation of silkworms. They were transported here with the First Fleet in 1788- and the trees thrive in the northern regions. <br />In your early colonial times the trees were introduced for the purposes of the silkworm trade and hybridized with your native red mulberry. <br />Vegetarians consume far less resources that anyone else- a fraction of the resources for grain fed beef – which is a point of which you’re no doubt already familiar. Try tasting a mulberry pie? <br /><br /><br />Susan - Hopefully some of the factory farming is dying out in the USA? It seems that would be the last vestige for this heinous practice to continue. <br />I was equally delighted to read about the Japanese fleet leaving the southern ocean last week- I think this is finally the beginning of the end for the Japanese whalers who so called research ship has been active in securing their annual whale ‘ kill’ in the waters of the great southern ocean. <br /><br />Every year we discover just how much more intelligent are animal like dolphins that we previously supposed. Nothing would surprise me. <br />Best wisheslindsaylobehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16774918551798647046noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9716997.post-38407704693125400082011-03-01T14:20:35.719+11:002011-03-01T14:20:35.719+11:00Factory farming is not only an absolute disgrace f...Factory farming is not only an absolute disgrace for the cruelty of the practice but it's also disgusting and dangerous for people living near them. Sludge pond walls frequently break and even when they remain contained the stench from them spreads for miles. When we drove to the west coast 17 years ago our route took us through Iowa where there are lots of factory operations. Last summer that was a major factor in our decision to drive back across the country by a more northerly route.<br /><br />I was so delighted to read about the Japanese fleet leaving the southern last week I wrote my own post about it. <br /><br />Several weeks ago I read an article about a scientist and a dolphin who are working to develop a mutual language. Wouldn't that be wonderful?susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16747450215034568033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9716997.post-8415647509630571212011-02-28T17:20:56.466+11:002011-02-28T17:20:56.466+11:00i don't believe i have ever eaten a mulberry. ...i don't believe i have ever eaten a mulberry. unless it's a different name for another kind of berry?<br /><br />i've been a vegetarian for 20 years. i don't believe in killing animals. it is a moral choice. <br /><br />i support local farming whenever i can. i say 'whenever i can' because it isn't always possible to buy just locally-grown foods. bananas, for instance, don't grow very well in san francisco. <br />stores are getting better at stocking local foods. and there are frequent "farmers markets" events where local produce is sold.<br /><br />last summer, i started growing some of my own vegetables again.Seraphinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06527934346602655741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9716997.post-63947146988083701672011-02-26T10:56:51.481+11:002011-02-26T10:56:51.481+11:00there's much more to 'the simple life'...there's much more to 'the simple life' than many imagine.... and more and more deep thinkers are becoming 'simple minded'. sadly, moral bankruptcy has ripples that affect all of us.gfidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08452490194253665370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9716997.post-33237763550547831212011-02-25T11:09:00.666+11:002011-02-25T11:09:00.666+11:00Thoughtful post Lindsay. You know, BC had a social...Thoughtful post Lindsay. You know, BC had a socialist minded government for a few years in the 70's and it implemented the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR), which mapped every piece of agrigultural land in BC and declared none of it could be used for anything else. Can you imagine?<br /><br />No govt has been able to rescind this (although some have got golf courses included) and we have wonderful farmland protected everywhere.<br /><br />Best to you and yours. I bought a CD from a musician you know very well - came with an origami fortune teller!Garyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15148485566444804108noreply@blogger.com