| This aint exactly rocket scientry boys...I picked up | | | | and follow the string to their whereabouts? Or, |
| a copy of The Oregonian this morning and read a | | | | perhaps we can hire a "private scuba investigator" |
| story about how the ocean conditions this year | | | | (scuba Dick??) to put a tail on them--maybe take |
| are killing off seabirds in record numbers. Murres | | | | a few photos of them?? Have they fallen into the |
| and cormorants are washing up on shore like | | | | Marianas trench? What if they are just |
| pieces of Northwestern forest driftwood, mainly | | | | "vacationing" in Iceland until the waters get cooler? |
| due to starvation.Most biologists are blaming a lack | | | | When I get hot during the summer--I go where |
| of cooling ocean winds which are causing warmer | | | | it is cooler!Again, we have no clear idea why or |
| Pacific ocean temperatures, which are causing a | | | | where the fish are disappearing--but we are |
| lack of phytoplankton production, (which then | | | | pretty certain that global warming is causing |
| need to stirred up from the ocean bottom by the | | | | it.!!??!!??You can't tell me that putting "chips" or |
| wind),which are causing Anchovys and Sardines to | | | | some other sort of "homing" device into schools |
| die, which are causing the birds to go without | | | | of migrating fish,especially since most fish start |
| food.......which is causing the birds to | | | | out in the controlled environments of fish |
| die!Whew.Scientists seem to have a pretty good | | | | hatcherys, is not a "doable" project.If there is |
| grasp on this theory, and even though solution | | | | enough cause for concern, and enough reason to |
| wise,they are pretty much held at the mercy of | | | | throw billions of dollars at studying ozone layers, |
| Mother Nature, the explanation still makes perfect | | | | and studying why Coho are diminishing--after the |
| sense.Of course, any discussion of warming of | | | | fact-- then there certainly is reason enough to do |
| anything on this planet wouldn't be | | | | it before hand.I for one would gladly pay .50 cents |
| complete--without the blaming of global warming. | | | | more on my fishing license to help pay for 10,000 |
| Which of course has been blamed for everything | | | | or so chips and a few monitoring devices. AND |
| short of the scalding temperatures of McDonalds | | | | you can't tell me that the Oregon sportfishing, |
| coffee.The Oregonian's article mentioned global | | | | boat building,commercial fishing industry, and |
| warming on several occasions, and biologists and | | | | tourism industry don't have a vested interest in |
| scientists would not rule this out as a possible | | | | protecting fish and finding out more about their |
| contributing factor in the changing oceanic | | | | migration habits. No fish--no fishermen--no money |
| conditions this summer.Enter the Coho.Biologists | | | | spent.Heck, put 'em in all the fish --then you will |
| have also recorded fewer catches of Coho | | | | know exactly when the fish are caught,where |
| Salmon on the Oregon coast with numbers down | | | | they go to spawn, and how long Uncle Bill has |
| from 44,000 fish last year to about 5700 this | | | | been keeping that Salmon in his freezer.As far as |
| year. Marine biologists have also stated that the | | | | the ozone is concerned, I think we all have a |
| size of the fish has generally been smaller, again, | | | | vested interest in that study.Let's learn about our |
| with one theory being that there is less food for | | | | own planet before we check out the cause and |
| the Coho to feed on--therefore less growth. | | | | effect of weightlessness on a can of Coca-Cola!!I |
| Where the fish are or where they have gone is a | | | | can see it now: New from Coca- Cola... "Coke |
| complete mystery. As one wildlife biologist said " it | | | | ultralight... all the taste with none of the weight"...I |
| is a big ocean nobody really knows".O.K., this is | | | | am not saying that space exploration is not viable |
| where I get confused.We have the ocean-- which | | | | and important, and I am certainly convinced that |
| past history has told us is affected greatly by | | | | one day, much like the discovery of any new |
| currents and temperature.We have this great big | | | | frontier,people will inhabit some place in space. |
| giant gaping hole in our ozone-which nobody can | | | | HOWEVER, I think it a little premature to abandon |
| agree on how to check or what the cause and | | | | Earth and pack up the old intergalactic covered |
| effect is from it. Or how to fix it.We have a | | | | wagons.So, it seems when it comes to ozones |
| space shuttle which we can determine has a small | | | | and fish migration and what goes on in the "deep |
| yet dangerous crack in it's insulation--millions of | | | | blue sea"--we ought to know just as much as we |
| miles out in space. Yet we have the ability to | | | | know about a crack in a space shuttles |
| repair it.We literally have the technolology to put a | | | | insulation!!What do you think?In the meantime, I'll |
| fish on the moon.......But we can't figure out where | | | | be outside cooking my breakfast on the hood of |
| thousands of Salmon migrate to- right here on | | | | my car--because MAN it's hot out.......damn global |
| our home planet??"It's a big ocean nobody really | | | | warming!A.J. KlottAuthor, writer of fishing |
| knows."Now forgive my feeble mind for working | | | | humor,and "fly tack" peddler.A.J. writes about the |
| this way, but I am thinking that this great | | | | people,characters and modern day events that |
| mystery of where fish travel and where they | | | | surround the fishing world. His first book is due |
| wind up --is really something that we can control | | | | out in December of 2005. |
| and find out.Maybe we can tie a string to their fins | | | | |