Kayak Police Patrol

 Something like 80% of African lion cubs don't make it to maturity in natural conditions. Various eagles with less chicks surviving than hatched. It's how it works and is best left alone. Saving cute things is self indulgent and an insult to nature.
    I can see it for sea otters, actually endangered etc.
 Go sharks! The oceanic equivalent of the condor and as PBS always reminds us, an apex predator that is absolutely important to the health of the whole scene.
    I wonder if there are  two temperaments of GWS- a shore hugging variety, now nearly extinct,  And the migratory variety that we know? Things may become more interesting in the next 10 or 20 years.

  I had a seal put on an aggression display last week for no reason. Broke off 10' away. That happens often . More than 5 years ago it seems. I've seen them change course from like fifty feet away to do that(mock aggression?). Just making themselves feel good I guess.

   It's fun when the 600 pound ones are hunting and start breaching , totally clearing the surface,  and it's 15' away. Something worth actually worrying about. If you've ever wondered what it's like to be sacked by entire NFL line all at once etc.

    

I don't know why we always assume that humans put things "out of whack"... what is the right whack?  Why do we always assume that we are somehow apart from "nature" - that's the biggest conceit ever. We're a part, just like anything else...we have a very odd impact, but we're a part. If we end up being the agent of a mass extinction, then so be it...

The only thing that we are trying to 'save' is the current state of the ecosystems...but that in and of itself is a falsehood. Ecosystems are dynamic - always will be...so in the end the only thing we are trying to do is keep some idealized disneyland state of the globe to support our own desires and species.

If we admit that, then the rest of the 'management' becomes relatively trivial.

I don't know why we always assume that humans put things "out of whack"... what is the right whack?  Why do we always assume that we are somehow apart from "nature" - that's the biggest conceit ever. We're a part, just like anything else...we have a very odd impact, but we're a part. If we end up being the agent of a mass extinction, then so be it...

The only thing that we are trying to 'save' is the current state of the ecosystems...but that in and of itself is a falsehood. Ecosystems are dynamic - always will be...so in the end the only thing we are trying to do is keep some idealized disneyland state of the globe to support our own desires and species.

If we admit that, then the rest of the 'management' becomes relatively trivial.

It is the question that comes up all the time when an "organic" nature guy takes some hardcore medicinal drugs in an attempt to thwart natures plan for his death via disease.  We seem to have no problems managing bacteria, fungus etc so why not most other things?

the only thing we are trying to do is keep some idealized disneyland state of the globe to support our own desires and species.

While I don't know about Disneyland  , certainly we desire to support our own species. Either in the direct sense, like food availability, or the indirect sense like unknown consequences, increased incidence of lime disease as a result of the extinction of the passenger pigeon.

If we end up being the agent of a mass extinction, then so be it...

"Out of whack" seems a fair description of that 


My take on this is that we too often screw up conservation efforts in the same way we too often screw up foreign relations. At some point we decide someone as unsavory as Saddam Hussein can bolster our objectives in a region. So we prop him up, give him WMD and then change administrations a couple times and forget to manage our puppet over time.

Same with seals (sans the WMD).  It's also one of the components of the recent logic used in setting up MPAs that turned me off. There was no metric established to say "we have succeeded" and to allow renewed predation (guys with lines and hooks). We are currently seals defacto primary predator, but the idea of harvesting them, as we would elk, is just too un-Disney  like.

Ben

I've confess that I've only been skimming here - just due to time.  But here's some interesting things about sea-lions ....for what its worth:

Their population on the west coast was down to 1500 animals in the 1920s, due to market hunting, which then ended pretty much after WWII.

A census in the late 1990s put the population at 160,000, which some research indicates may be a low estimate (they're really hard to count).

The phenomenon we are all observing regarding the starving juveniles, according to a Humboldt professor, goes like this:  For the past 2 summers, we have had really good ocean production with subsequent prolific chovie and 'dine production.  The Adult lions have been getting real fat and having lots of sex....woohoo, which then makes many young.  By the time the pups are weaning, the ocean conditions have changed somewhat and the bait (mostly dines at this point) is forced out and deeper.  The is beyond the effective range of all but the hardiest pups, and starvation is the consequence for many weaker ones.

So there it is, good ole natural selection at work.

I like sea-lions and I'm stoked to see them out there, but I'll charge them and yell at them any chance I get.  They're like dogs and you have to speak their language.  Certainly they've recovered enough that they don't need NOAA kids watching out for them  They need to get a real job.

Don't budge one inch for NOAA, they're not a law enforcement agency. In my opinion, NOAA is an anti-fishing organization against most types  of human activity on the water.
It's people like "Volunteer Jerry" that are pushing for these unwarranted fishery closures all across the state.

Yeah but really its just therapy for him.
 Many eco-types are not really there for the environment so much as themselves.
Cherry-picking soft, easy issues where there is no risk and no cost is an exercise in self validation and feel-good affirmation as a "good person".

The only thing wrong with it I guess is its kinda like wasting time playing the flute as Rome burns. There are real issues and the good-time Jerrys amongst us miss every one of them.
"Saving" sea lions ?
 Egads...if that were the issue , I mean really the issue he needs to get some floating "sealion milk" barge to artifically feed em and kill a few thousand sardines to hand out up and down the length of the breakwater.
Oooops
 Sorry to give out any ideas.
 Steve
ps.
 All along the Eastern coast in late summer millions of Florida species of tropical fish are born and begin to grow out. Then comes the winter cold and they all die.
Should they be saved?
 Collected and transported to Key Largo? Why not.
 I can think of dozens of bogus issues to play with here.  And seriously...a good grant writer could get some of them funded!
 Sincerely,
 Steve

 
 
 

Good ole Jer-dog has sure got a whole lotta airtime on here.

If only the dude knew what a "star" he's become thanks to Calbear.

Remember who put YOU on the map now that you're famous baby!

Baby, as in crying diaper kind not girly kind.      jim

The phenomenon we are all observing regarding the starving juveniles, according to a Humboldt professor, goes like this:  For the past 2 summers, we have had really good ocean production with subsequent prolific chovie and 'dine production.  The Adult lions have been getting real fat and having lots of sex....woohoo, which then makes many young.  By the time the pups are weaning, the ocean conditions have changed somewhat and the bait (mostly dines at this point) is forced out and deeper.  The is beyond the effective range of all but the hardiest pups, and starvation is the consequence for many weaker ones.

funny enough that been my "laymans theory" Ive spat out to all who have questioned me about all starving pups. I voiced it to the left over crowd at the HMB tourney. The kicker for the pups this year is the relative lack of slower moving cho and the abundance of fast mack n dines...

Enviros blame commercial overfishing. Ton's of fish out there. We know that. I don't know why but here's a article with some guessing as to why. Maybe a combo of higher than normal birthrate leading to too many mouths to feed with the available fish within range of the haul outs. Interesting that they are dumping Jerry's Kidz from Monterey up here at P.R. jim

http://blogs.kqed.org/climatewatch/2009/07/02/starving-sea-lions-a-climate-connection

Whoa! what a bunch of whack jobs in the commentary section...

so, are fishermen the only ones who remember that survival of the fittest, aka, natural selection, is what controls critter populations?

Beuller??

My favorite way to deal with people like this or any jacka$$ is to act like you can't see or hear them. Don't look toward them or acknowledge them in any way. That will upset someone more than screaming profaniites at them and they can't accuse you of saying anything wrong.

The other one that really gets people goat is to respond with sentences that are completely irrelevant to what they are discussing. For example:

"Hello my name is Jerry Jacka$$. Did you know you are not supposed to fish within 100' of the pier?"

My reply: "Do you like PBJ or egg sandwich?"

Him: "I said you can't fish withing 100 feet of the pier."

Me: "My uncle has a minature train set"

Him: "I will call DFG if you don't move."

Me: "Cows are outstanding in their own field."

These soft headed types will argue with you all day. You will not convince them of anything but you can frustrate them and have fun at the same time.


 

The other one that really gets people goat is to respond with sentences that are completely irrelevant to what they are discussing.

This is exactly how my girlfriend deals with the numerous folks lining the street by where she works standing around with their clipboard waiting for someone to sign their petition.  Highly entertaining!

Him: "I will call DFG if you don't move."
Me: "Cows are outstanding in their own field."

Now THAT truly made me laugh out loud! Thanks for the laugh Merv!

Him: "I will call DFG if you don't move."

Me: "Cows are outstanding in their own field."
 

My dog looked at me with that look of "why is he laughing at that gizmo again?".
Amph, these are wise words I will have to meditate on. It seems to me many of us have a far better handle on their inner rage and a far superior developed sense of humor than myself.