Hate mail for like-minded conservationists

[nanoteuthis]

An Antarctic iceberg the size of Jamaica broke in two! And both halves are dragging across the ocean floor!

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1068041214750_34/?hub=SciTech

Uh-oh, eventually this may not be good news for those of us who live in coastal areas.

 

[Jean]

do two rhode islands make a new zealand?

A New Zealand NORTH Island maybe The MAINLAND is bigger

Actually NZ has the fourth largest EEZ in the world (Todays bit of useless information!!)
THink of all the potentially undiscovered cephs out there

J

 

[nanoteuthis]

[Actually NZ has the fourth largest EEZ in the world (Todays bit of useless information!!)
THink of all the potentially undiscovered cephs out there

Here I go sounding stupid again, but what's an EEZ?

 

[Steve O'Shea]

Hiya Tani - it's basically a management term - stands for 'Exclusive Economic Zone'. Means you can't come inside 200 miles from the NZ mainland (and offshore islands) and start drilling for oil, fishing for whatever, or doing whatever you like without Government permission/permit to do so. Outside the EEZ is International waters (and seabed) - that's pretty much open season.

... and that's a rather simplistic, somewhat cynical definition of an EEZ

 

[Fujisawas Sake]

It is a very sick world in which we live (the photographers are the good guys!)

Steve (and others)

Dudes, have any of you ever worked at a wildlife refuge? Well, a few years ago I managed to intern at Merritt Island Wildlife refuge in Florida, and what I saw about the effects of pollution made me shudder. My bosses and acquaintances ocasionally give me s**t about cutting up those little plastic rings that hold soda cans (or the occasional four-pack of Cup Ozeki sake) together. I show them photos of seabirds, fish, and such actually having those things wrapped around their necks. Its bad. Hell, sea turtles eat plastic bags thinking that they're eating jellies. Seals around here get caught in nets, or come up to the highway during catastrophic molt season... Its sad...

Sushi and Sake (from a recycleable bottle)

John

 

[Jean]

Here I go sounding stupid again, but what's an EEZ?

Sorry Tani, you don't sound stupid..............it's my fault for forgetting that not everyone speaks "managementese"


J

 

[nanoteuthis]

Perhaps of interest:

Welcome to Ecofish!

 

[um...]

More potential great news for marine mammals:

Defence bill erodes marine protection

I was going to call this legislation depressingly callous, but then it occurred to me how much the Marine Mammal Protection Act has eroded America's ability to defend herself over the past 30 years ( ).

I'm not sure if the "loosening of restrictions on the sound-generating devices with which [oceanographers] conduct undersea geological studies" is much of a mitigating factor.

 

[Steve O'Shea]

Here's a transcript of a lovely letter published in Letters to the Editor, 'Seafood New Zealand, November 2003':

Dear Editor,
A recent 'Sunday' doco on tele had me amused at first. Here was Steve O'Shea, a giant squid expert raving over a carcass. He was climbing on it, tasting it, poking and proding it. It was almost carnal and darn near necrophilial. So wound up spiritually is he with these denizens of the deep he took two years to get over the death of a larvae [sic]. Two years! What ever, I thought. The guy's certainly passionate about his subject and I have no problem with that at all.

However, his parting shot on the documentary was to call all fishermen criminals.

He then went on to say we should all be locked up in prison for what we're doing "out there". That made my blood boil. Her indoors [?sic - I guess he means his wife], on seeing my state of apoplexy passed a comment along the lines of "Steady dear, you'll spill my wine."

I found O'Shea's statements irresponsible, incorrect and offensive. His words not what I would expect from a scientific, and balanced, mind. It also highlights his complete lack of knowledge regarding the fishing industry and the environment.

Steve O'Shea has spoken out loudly and irrationally in the past about our industry. Talk about biting the hand that feeds him. If it wasn't for the fishing industry he wouldn't have received the hundred or so specimens that he has. I have personally brought home several but I won't be any more.

Twice bitten, twice shy. Steve O'Shea, his mate over in Oz at that university and Discovery Channel can go to he**. Others, perhaps National Geographic will gladly take them off my hands.

Chris Carey
Fisherman

Hmmmm. Unbalanced and

 

[Jean]

OUCH!


Never mind Steve, you got my vote we lunatics have to stick together!

J

 

[um...]

Get a lot of fan mail like that? I'd frame 'em all.

("tasting it"? )

 

[Steve O'Shea]

... I'll certainly frame that one, when I get a copy of the magazine. Pity we only have plural ; a single foot would be a more appropriate response to this nonsense.

I call him a criminal ... and he got nasty, hurting my feelings by to all and sundry that I'm an unbalanced . People believe this sort of thing you know .... when it's written there in black and white. So it was written, so it becomes gospel.

Unbalanced means unpredictable

Tsk tsk tsk.

 

[tonmo]

Yes, a single foot, being applied to a particular body part, that would best express my thoughts on this.

Fisherman Carey is welcome to come here and expound on his position on this matter....

 

[um...]

Yes, a single foot, being applied to a particular body part, that would best express my thoughts on this.

Fisherman Carey is welcome to come here and expound on his position on this matter....

Ooh, that'd be so much fun! Chris could tell us how he's actually doing the world a valuable service by removing all those pesky marine organisms from the sea, thus making room for us to dump more of our garbage in there.

 

[Melissa]

There was a short piece about overfishing on the BBC World News this morning. It went along the lines of "the world is running out of fish" and mentioned cod specifically. Drastic restrictions on cod fishing in the North Sea may be on the horizon.

Melissa