Some Environmental good news

[White Doors]

Humpback Whales make population recovery

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Environment/20...5650556-ap.html

very good news indeed.

Edited May 23, 2008 by White Doors

[eyeball]

It is good news and judging by the number of cows we've seen with with calves lately they're still coming on strong. Humpies have been a real boon for us lately, the greys we've been used to watching the last 25 years have become as scarce as hens teeth around the South coast of Vancouver Island. The greys have basically scoured the bottom clean of mysids and amphipods around the rock-piles and mud-flats around here over the last 6 - 7 years - its thought some areas will probably take 10 - 15 years or more to recover.

Another good news story around humbacks on the South coast is that a species of fish they eat, the pilchard or sardine, has also been recovering for about 15 years now. Pilchards, the fish that made Cannery Row famous, basically disapeared everywhere along the coast 70 odd years ago. many believed that overfishing killed them off although a few real oldtimers hereabouts including some native elders talk about pilchards having very long cycles of abundance and scarcity.

I saw schools of these so thick around the boat last summer it looked like it was raining for hundreds of meters in all directions. I haven't seen too many this year yet but we did just have a La Nina and the water's been unusually cool - they prefer warmer temperatures and tend towards gathering in big numbers in sheltered inlets which make for really neat places to watch whales. The real key to whale survival is feed. No feed, no whales its that simple.

I watched a bunch of humbacks feeding on krill offshore today and I'll be heading out tomorrow for another look. Sucks to be me eh?

[charter.rights]

It is good news and judging by the number of cows we've seen with with calves lately they're still coming on strong. Humpies have been a real boon for us lately, the greys we've been used to watching the last 25 years have become as scarce as hens teeth around the South coast of Vancouver Island. The greys have basically scoured the bottom clean of mysids and amphipods around the rock-piles and mud-flats around here over the last 6 - 7 years - its thought some areas will probably take 10 - 15 years or more to recover.

Another good news story around humbacks on the South coast is that a species of fish they eat, the pilchard or sardine, has also been recovering for about 15 years now. Pilchards, the fish that made Cannery Row famous, basically disapeared everywhere along the coast 70 odd years ago. many believed that overfishing killed them off although a few real oldtimers hereabouts including some native elders talk about pilchards having very long cycles of abundance and scarcity.

I saw schools of these so thick around the boat last summer it looked like it was raining for hundreds of meters in all directions. I haven't seen too many this year yet but we did just have a La Nina and the water's been unusually cool - they prefer warmer temperatures and tend towards gathering in big numbers in sheltered inlets which make for really neat places to watch whales. The real key to whale survival is feed. No feed, no whales its that simple.

I watched a bunch of humbacks feeding on krill offshore today and I'll be heading out tomorrow for another look. Sucks to be me eh?

Looks like whale will be back on the sushi menu pretty soon.....

[AngusThermopyle]

Looks like whale will be back on the sushi menu pretty soon.....

Good news, that way there will be more for the ignorant and primitive to kill with impunity. Gotta keep that "traditional" lifestyle going, no matter the cost.

[msj]

Good news, that way there will be more for the ignorant and primitive to kill with impunity. Gotta keep that "traditional" lifestyle going, no matter the cost.

I didn't think you were a vegetarian.

If there were enough whales to support whale sushi I know I would try it.

Why not? I like salmon, tuna, prawn, etc... hell, even beef.

What's the difference?

Do you find whales too cute to eat?

Or are they too "intelligent" to eat?

[AngusThermopyle]

Why not?

You really want to know why?

Simply put they are intelligent. Not intelligent in the concept of inherited behaviour, intelligent in that they have a highly structured form of communication, intelligent in that they have structured social systems and interactions. In fact they display traits indicative of higher brain functions, very similar to those displayed by humans.

By the way, Sushi is fish. Whales are not fish, didn't you know that? Whales are mammals, air breathers who give birth to live young, they also have nostrils and are generally acknowledged as being our very distant ancestors. These facts may not sit well with you and you may deny them but none the less they remain facts.

Now, do you have any more silly and uninformed questions to ask?

[msj]

You really want to know why?

Simply put they are intelligent. Not intelligent in the concept of inherited behaviour, intelligent in that they have a highly structured form of communication, intelligent in that they have structured social systems and interactions. In fact they display traits indicative of higher brain functions, very similar to those displayed by humans.

By the way, Sushi is fish. Whales are not fish, didn't you know that? Whales are mammals, air breathers who give birth to live young, they also have nostrils and are generally acknowledged as being our very distant ancestors. These facts may not sit well with you and you may deny them but none the less they remain facts.

Now, do you have any more silly and uninformed questions to ask?

So, you can decide what I can eat based on what you perceive to be the intelligence of the animal?

So, tuna ain't intelligent enough so that's ok to eat. Salmon, nope. Cow, pig, chicken, deer, rabbit, moose - too dumb, obviously.

As for sushi only being fish: you haven't been out in a while - you can get beef "sushi" and a variety of other types that are non-fish - avocado, yam, and asparagus "sushi" are some of my favourites.

Now, about whales - yes I believe in evolution.

The question comes down to where one draws the line on "common decent." I draw the line at apes, chimps etc... they are too genetically close to humans for my liking - but I admit that this may not be a rational reason to not to eat such animals.

[eyeball]

Looks like whale will be back on the sushi menu pretty soon.....

Maybe, but what I've heard is that younger generations are losing the taste for muktuk or iithtup as whale-meat is called around here. On another note, the whalers have been applying a little greenwash to their product lately.

The survey, focused on whale boats' fuel use, showed that a kilo (2.2 lbs) of whale meat represented just 1.9 kilo (4.2 lbs) of greenhouse gases against 15.8 for beef, 6.4 for pork and 4.6 for chicken.

Eat a whale and save the planet

[AngusThermopyle]

So, you can decide what I can eat based on what you perceive to be the intelligence of the animal?

First. Where did I ever suggest what you should eat, where did I say "eat this but not this"? Honestly, I don't give a flying f*ck what you eat. Did you think that I did?

As for the rest of your post. What you "perceive" and what is fact are not necessarily related. Because we are linked to the Apes and it is not to your liking does not invalidate the fact. Your perceptions have absolutely no relevance to reality, reality is, your perceptions are subject to your opinion, not fact.

Nice try though, unfortunately using specious arguements does not impart validity to the point you are attempting to articulate.

[msj]

First. Where did I ever suggest what you should eat, where did I say "eat this but not this"? Honestly, I don't give a flying f*ck what you eat. Did you think that I did?

Fair enough. Poor choice of words on my part.

Lets rephrase:

So your perception of the intelligence of an animal informs your opinion about the people who harvest that animal?

So, a rancher/farmer/fisher is okay because they are harvesting "dumb" animals but if you hunt whales then you are "ignorant" and "primitive" because whales are "intelligent" and are our "ancestors."

As for the rest of your post. What you "perceive" and what is fact are not necessarily related. Because we are linked to the Apes and it is not to your liking does not invalidate the fact. Your perceptions have absolutely no relevance to reality, reality is, your perceptions are subject to your opinion, not fact.

I note that I never suggested my preference for animals or my dislike for apes was a fact (hence my words "for my liking").

It clearly is an opinion and likely not even a "rational" one (as explicitly stated).

Nice try though, unfortunately using specious arguements does not impart validity to the point you are attempting to articulate.

The only points I am trying to make are:

1) A whale hunter is not necessarily any more or less ignorant/primitive than any other farmer/fisher/etc...

2) Sushi, in common usage, goes well beyond only having fish in it.

3) The extent of an animal being our "ancestor" doesn't exactly lead to rational opinions (hence my dislike of eating apes).