Over 15 years of ocean science and conservation online
Currently, a commenter on multiple blogs within our network and beyond is fallaciously attributing a quote to myself and WhySharksMatter. For the record, the quote attributed to me here, to WhySharksMatter here (please note this is an identical quote attributed to both of us at different times, and the same quote is again attributed to a third party … Read More “A brief note on libel” »
Disturbed by some of the booths at the Rocks market, Charlie checks out some living Australian animals at Sydney Wildlife World.
Charlie also found ground up shark cartilage for sale as a dietary supplement.
The Oceans4Ever Summer SharkTakular is now over. I was honored to participate and I hope that Alexa and Cindy will continue this tradition in the future. In case anyone missed one, here are links to the SharkTakular posts (except for the ones I wrote, those will be resposted here in their entirety). Introductory post Conservation … Read More “Summer SharkTakular links” »
Southern Fried Science readers should drop some knowledge on your linguistically challenged brethren. Hat tip @jebyrnes.
“The commons petition the King, complaining that where in creeks and havens of the sea there used to be plenteous fishing, to the profit of the Kingdom, certain fishermen, for several years past have subtily contrived an instrument called the “wondyrechaun” made in the manner of an oyster dredge, but which is considerably longer, upon which instrument is attached a net so close meshed that no fish, be it ever so small which enters therein can escape, but must stay and be taken.
And that the great and long iron of the wondyrechaun runs so heavily and hardly over the ground when fishing that it destroys the flowers of the land below water there, and also the spat of oysters, mussels and other fish upon which the great fish are accustomed to be fed and nourished. By which instrument in many places, the fishermen take such quantity of small fish that they do not know what to do with them; and that they feed and fat their pigs with them, to the great damage of the commons of the realm and the destruction of the fisheries, and they pray for a remedy.”
Petition by the Commons to King Edward III, 1376 (from The Unnatural History of the Sea)
This petition, penned in 1376, reveals a depth of understanding that we often don’t attribute to 14th century fishermen. Habitat destruction, overfishing, bycatch, even common pool resources are all clearly described here. In it, the Commons protests a new and efficient, though inaccurate fishing tool, the ‘wondyrechaun’, and begs King Edward III to ban it. This is the first historical record of the ‘wondyrechaun’, what today is called a beam trawl. Everything you need to know to understand why the world’s fisheries are in trouble is contained within the single fact that, in 1376, at it’s very inception, the people begged the king to ban it’s use, and 700 years later, the beam trawl survives.
Other items at the Rocks market were more troubling .WhySharksMatter counted jaws from 11 species of shark at this booth.
I used to feel warm and fuzzy inside when I saw the dolphin-safe logo on my tuna. I felt like a decision I made was helping the environment- like I was making a difference.
The commonly believed narrative about dolphin-safe tuna goes something like this: Lots of dolphins were being killed by tuna fishermen, outraged environmentalists led a massive PR campaign, legions of adorable children wrote to their elected officials, elected officials changed the rules to protect dolphins, and everything is better now. Hooray, we saved an innocent species and helped the environment!
That narrative is a great story. It shows that if a few people who care can convince others that their cause is just, there’s no limit to what we can accomplish. It’s inspiring. Too bad it’s not really true. As it turns out, we made things worse- a LOT worse.
Read More “Dolphin-safe tuna: conservation success story or ecological disaster?” »
After looking both left and right, Charlie arrives at the Rocks artist market in Sydney. He was quite pleased with some of the items for sale.
