In 1782, six years after the Declaration of Independence was signed and a new nation was born, Congress chose the bald eagle to be the national emblem of the United States. Today, the eagle is printed, painted and carved on everything having anything to do with our government. But how often do Americans even notice… [read more]
Meet the market squid
Introducing the market squid, a very common cephalopod along California’s coast. And little did you know that market squid have mating orgies sometimes right along the coast in public! According to the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s website, market squid swarm into shallow waters, mate like crazy, then females lay delicate rod-shaped capsules each containing 180 to… [read more]
Shovelnose guitarfish
Meet the shovelnose guitarfish or Rhinobatos productus, a common resident off California’s southern coast. This was another cool creature caught by the trap set in Long Beach Harbor near the breakwall on Cabrillo Aquarium’s See the Sea trip. According to Probably More Than You Want to Know About the Fishes of the Pacific Coast by… [read more]
Hagfish: things that make you go eew
I was recently introduced to the Pacific hagfish, a little known creature that inhabits mud on the ocean floor near Baja California all the way up the coast to Alaska. This was one of the many creatures caught on the Cabrillo Aquarium’s “Catalina Above and Below” trip off Los Angeles’ coast. As you can tell… [read more]
Death by fishing net
Fishing nets are designed to catch and kill fish, I get it. But a fishing net is supposed to be used by fishermen, I mean fisherpeople, to catch fish and then it’s supposed to be removed from the ocean until next time. But alas, all too often fishing nets become a unique weapon of mass… [read more]
Dolphins vs. fisheries = no contest
The idea of dolphins stealing fish from fisheries comes up a lot and is a concept I’ve always found puzzling. Because if we manage our resources properly and only take a sustainable amount of fish from the sea, which should take into consideration animals that also rely on fish in the sea, then there shouldn’t… [read more]
Bycatch: very bad indeed
Bycatch is the term used to describe animals caught in fishing nets that weren’t the target, but ended up being captured anyway. A real bummer. This issue really hit the scene in the 1980s when “dolphin-safe” canned tuna became part of the public’s consciousness, thanks to an excellent education campaign. According to the Encyclopedia of… [read more]