Can we protect marine environement?

[Iguana Don]

Goz,
This is true, no BS.
I used to have this GF that lived in Minnesota & she loved shrimp linquinee. She was unable to get it up there. So, having an active mind as I do. Went to Wal Mart, bought one of those qt. Thermos Bottles. Went to resturant an ordered her favorite dish. Put in into Thermos and are you ready for this.

Fed Ex, next day air. Arrived to her in time for lunch.
Boy did this make "brownie points"

Let me know & we'll try it.

Don

Spell check would be nice.

 

[gozumutti]

Hahaha Don

I certainly hope the lady knew to appreciate it!

I will wait, though, until next time I get to Florida and/or Maryland. The seafood in Egypt (as was all food) was pretty disgusting, so I could not splurge there either :-(

I grew up with shellfish ... one DOES miss it. I can get fresh oysters from time to time, and then I make oyster stew..*burp*

I haven't tasted crayfish in 15 years though...

thanks for the offer though
gozu

 

[Mario S Caner]

Don,
I'm truely impressed with your... *ehem, motivation to make your lady friend happy. LOL!

Gozumutti,
You do get vacations don't you... well fly out here and find someone whom is willing to open up a satellite or franchise... (I won't say the word) specialty restaurant... and be the first and only one in your present town to offer it. Theme restaurants in foreign countries usually do very well ya know! This way you'll be a partner in your own business that'll make both your wallet and your tummy happy! The best part is that since you're helping with location selection and all, it could be just a stone's throw from your home.

 

[bio guy]

Don

It's more the fact that these new crayfish outcompete and destroy the native species, upsetting what has taken 1000's of years to become stable. They also have a habit of destroying vegetation. Actually, according to the 2 year-old distribution maps for the Rusty I was able to find, I shouldn't have found any in the region of the great lakes I was in....I'll have to check that out with some people who study them directly.

The crayfish you have in your local area are probably a native species, and are part of a balanced ecosystem.

By the way...I typed rusty crayfish into one of the search engines and it came up with a link to a seafood distribution chain......well I guess anything tastes good with enough butter...lol

Unfortunately I'm not going to be able to get to DEMA. I actually have never gone, but the more I hear people talking about it on the board...the more I want to go...

Cheers

Bio guy

 

[Iguana Don]

Bio Guy,
DEMA just happens to be in the heart of Cajun Country this year and what better place to discover one of natures most abundant and tasty food sources than in New Orleans. Depending on where you live, seek out a Cajun resturant and try them.

Don #21

BTW, once the large fish population in an area find out they are there, won't this balance out?

 

[bio guy]

Don #21

You make a good point...A hungry bass isn't going to pass up a crayfish meal,and rusty's have proven to be good fishing bait, but it goes a little deeper. The rusty's have been shown to be less likely to be preyed upon due to the fact that they are large and stand up against an attacker. They have been observed attacking smaller fish(bluegills) while they are nesting and eating their eggs. They also have a voracious appetite for many small inverts when they are young...substantially more than native species. They also destory aquatic plants, thereby degrading aquatic habitats.

Any organism in its natural habitat is kept in check by numerous pressures(predation, food availability, species interactions, parasites, disease etc, etc). When it is put into an new environment without those natural pressures, and if the conditions are favourable, the populations explode, before falling into a new equilibrium with the environment. It is this explosion that often puts native species in jeopardy.

I don't know if I answered your question. No self-respecting 5 lb lunker of a bass is going to let a crayfish get the better of it...but thus far it doesn't seem to be enough to keep them in check in a new environment.

Cheers
Bio guy

 

[Thistle]

Never been to Red Sea yet but I plan to. I guess I was looking for more exotic and remote destination first.
I think this is one of the reasons for which the environmental laws are not respected. Too many people around, too much money involved ....
I think this is also up to dive operators in the area. A friend told me about diving with a swiss diving operator once. By mistake he broke a piece of corral. he was out the same day, they did not allow him to dive any more with the. He went to the Italians (no offense ment to anyone, I really love the Italians), no questions asked, no problems... People do not care because they do not have a good motivation that could balance the one setting their actual course of action.

 

[gozumutti]

Dear V

Balance a course of action? You are right. As I said in an earlier mail, people agree with environmental protection in general, but don't feel that it extends to them personally.

The biggest problem faced in ANY area is an unwillingness to THINK - and form a projection of the consequences of one's own behavior.
No - we let the other guy do it for us.

How many of us take a bus/train to work instead of driving, even where it would be more practical.

How many of us recycle religiously, pay attention to packaging (including writing nasty letters to food companies to draw their attention to their sinful packaging practices).

How many of us who DO drive get our cars serviced religiously in order to cut down on toxic emissions.

This list is endless. My point is, not all of us can join Greenpeace and throw our bodies in the path of supertankers in the North Sea, but WE CAN DO OUR PART...many single grains of sand make a beach.

My children will not see the planet as I saw it 20 years ago. Heaven only knows what my grandchildren will see, even if there is anything left....

Sorry to be so gloomy, but I am so tired of the filth and the short-sightedness. It seems so nihilistic...

*gozu in a funk*


P.S. Dive in the Red Sea. It is gorgeous. Let's just try and keep it that way.

 

[Mario S Caner]

Gozumutti, You've written a very thought provoking post. I couldn't agree with you more. Though we do our part in our household, there are probably a number of other things that we could do to further contribute to conservationalism. We will be looking into other avenues to broaden our horizons. Thanks for the wake-up call.

 

[Mrs. don]

Your interest in your environment seems to be very passionate. I really did not fully understand the damage being done to aquatic enviornments until I started diving. Now I take every chance I get to help. Last fall my daughter and I participated in one of the local lake clean up session. I now try to be very conscious of the environment and pick both on land and in the water. I am trying hard to drill this into my children so that they too may also enjoy the truly awesome aquatic environment.

I think that the fire of conservation must start with a spark. If each one of tries our best to instill this those we come in contact it will help. My only hope is that the level of awareness does not come too late.