After reading some of the posts I'm given to have a rant...
As a surfer I have spent a great deal of time out at Piha (Auckland west coast). I have lost count of times I have yelled at people taking bags of marine life from the intertidal. They walk around the rocks to where they can't be seen from the shore and strip mine everthing that can be removed. I can see this as I'm out in the water. It's sickening to witness.
I mean, I could be missing something here, but what exactly do you do with a rubbish sack full of starfish???? Asteroid soup???
All that seems to happen when I yell at them is they look sheepish and then stuff everything into a backpack and scuttle off. I'm going to go into ethnicity but, they also don't appear to be able to speak English. This, of course could just be a temporary lapse. Usually the've gone before I can get back in to confront them too (Piha has really strong rips so it can be difficult to get back in in a hurry).
Piha's pretty dangerous so all I can hope is that they get washed off the rocks and drown. I don't really mean that.....
I'd like to yell at them first.
Incidently, does any one know of a comparable forum for deep-sea fish?
As I'm just starting my PhD on Orange Roughy (Diet, food web interactions) I was thinking of starting an Orange Roughy thread here (if no one minds - given they're 'vertebrate filth' - No, I won't say who called them that). I think there is enough common ground for it to be worthwhile regardless of my obvious bias.
I'm sure you'll all let me know what you think
:P
I thought that was done already...hence me buggering off to the other side of the globe... Somebody lied to me? :x 
