Killin' the Killers

I can't believe it. We're still oblivious to impending disaster. Once again the killer whale is making the news, though not headlines - bylines. Granted, there are things going on today that warrant serious attention, and perhaps that's the way its always going to play out, but nothing.. and I mean nothing, in the specter of human suffering can garner more feeling from me than the thought of a family group of Orca simply starving to death. As noted in a recent Seattle PI article, a 20 year old male, dubbed Hugo, has dropped off the radar, or sonar . "He is most likely a victim of malnutrition" The PI writes: He was last seen July 15. A picture taken of the whale the day before showed he "was in a very thin condition," equivalent to a person's ribs sticking out, said Rich Osborne, director of The Whale Museum in Friday Harbor.


People! What the F?

We've been raping the seas forever. Has anybody though about shutting down or cutting back the fisheries. I mean all of them. A complete 'Mother of all morotoriums' on taking anything out of the sea or even off the the beaches. At least on a commercial scale. Jail time for offenders. Fines won't cut it any more. Let's be deadly serious about this or we'll all be dead.


This is the reality. Our magical, beautiful oceans are struggling, and our self serving half measures aren't going to fix anything

Our best scientists can't make even close guesses about the size of returning salmon runs. When the estimates are high, the Seiners and gillnetters fill their holds, only to find later that the runs were much smaller than expected. A bit late to throw anything back.

The only solution is to hold back completely - for a time - and just watch. I for one am hoping nature can recover if we keep our bloody hands out of it.

Bottom line. Nothing we're doing or think we can do is helping. We have to hurt a little bit for the long term good. What ever happened to the cod liver oil pill? Nobody liked it but we took it 'cause we were told it was good for us. Well lets apply that philosophy again to this problem. Why is it that our generation is so greedy and needy. Generations before us made sacrifices where necessary. Why can't we? Could you go without sushi for 2 years? You bet. Could your cat do without whatever's in that can that you crack open every day? You bet. Could everything living in the ocean use a 2 year break. You bet. Take it upon yourself to do something. Refrain from buying seafood products at your local store, let the operators know why your not buying it. With lessened demand the supply should slow.