Kicked ass !!!

The below story from Reuters ( no author has penned a name) has tried desperately to make whaling sound romantic. I will highlight the crap for you. Just for starters Mr Ryono is one of those bastards whom brutally murder dolphins on the shores of Taiji. You know the ones, they pull dolphins they have herded into nets out of the water by their tails with a crane, drag the still living struggling flopping bodies up concrete boat ramps and slice there throats with knives while they scream amongst there own blood soaked pod of relatives and young. I have no sympathy for these scumbag whaling vermin and no regrets in my hate of them, their town and culture.........



When Tameo Ryono first sailed about five decades ago from the remote Japanese village of Taiji to catch whales, he was filled with pride.

"Whalers were stars here in Taiji. I got what I had dreamed of since I was a little boy," he said at a community centre in Japan's oldest whaling village, nestled in a sprawling national park near the craggy Pacific coast.

"I'm proud of being able to do whaling throughout my life."

But Mr Ryono, 71, looks all but certain to be the last in his family to engage in whaling, as harsh criticism from conservationists and foreign countries and changing appetites at home threaten a way of life whalers say stretches back 400 years.

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) banned commercial whaling in 1986, but is now bitterly divided between countries such as Australia that say all whales still need protection, and those such as Japan that argue some species are abundant enough for limited hunting. The group meets in Chile later this month.

Australia and Japan have agreed not to let the dispute hurt bilateral ties.

The two countries will also work to find a solution to the whaling controversy, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told reporters after meeting Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.

Japan conducts what it calls scientific research whaling in Antarctica. Critics say it is a cover for commercial whaling and that harpooning whales and cutting them up for processing on big factory ships is hardly traditional compared to the methods once used.

Mr Ryono joined the crew of a 490-tonne whaling ship on an Antarctic voyage at age 18, learning his skills from veterans for a decade before he was considered a full-fledged whaler.

His son, however, has not followed suit.

"Everybody of my generation wanted to become whalers," said 42-year-old Fumitoshi Ryono, who instead opted to become a local civil servant in Taiji, 420 kilometres south-west of Tokyo.

"I was hoping to become a whaler when I was a student, but whaling companies were going through restructuring and weren't recruiting whalers those days."

When Tokyo joined the IWC moratorium on commercial whaling in 1987, more than 50 Taiji whalers lost their jobs.

Now only 40 out of Taiji's population of 3,500 are whalers, contributing just a few percent of its tax revenues compared to over 70 per cent in 1966, when the industry was at its peak.

Mr Ryono has no plan to urge his son to take up the harpoon.

"I don't think I should tell my son to become a whaler. That's something he should decide," he said.

Mass ship wreck
For hundreds of years, coastal whaling in Taiji was done from colourful wooden boats using huge rope nets and hand harpoons.

Villagers still recount the mass shipwreck during a storm that killed more than 100 Taiji whalers in 1878, virtually destroying the traditional industry.  (shame it did not kill the lot)

But it was revived in the early 1900s with modern whaling techniques from Norway. Today's coastal whaling now uses steam-powered vessels and gun harpoons.

When Japan began Antarctic whaling in the 1930s, many Taiji men joined the expeditions. These days, whalers in Taiji survive thanks to an annual local government quota that allows them to catch about 2,000 pilot whales and dolphins in coastal waters.

Such species do not fall under IWC restrictions.

But Taiji's bloody semi-annual dolphin "drives" are sometimes filmed surreptitiously and spark impassioned protests from animal rights activists.

Japan wants to expand coastal whaling. Last year, it threatened to quit the IWC after anti-whaling countries blocked its proposal to let four villages, including Taiji, kill minke whales similar to "community whaling" allowed for Alaska natives, who eat whale meat as a staple and use it for cultural practices.

Defiant
Taiji Mayor Kazutaka Sangen has not lost hope of reviving the local whaling industry and keeping the tradition alive.

"Despite various tragedies and hardship, our ancestors did not cut their ties to whales," he said.

"It is Taiji's mission to pass on our whaling techniques and food culture to future generations."

But conservationists are not convinced.

"The people of Taiji argue that whaling is their culture and tradition. But there is a gap between whaling in the Antarctic Ocean and coastal whaling," Greenpeace Japan executive director Jun Hoshikawa said.

"I wonder how they see this gap. Is whaling in the Antarctic really Taiji's tradition?"

Mr Sangen is struggling to keep pride in whaling alive. The town has launched a program to teach young citizens about whaling.

The mayor also helped put whale meat back in school lunches, reviving a practice encouraged after World War II by US occupation forces to feed a hungry population.

"Unless we revive whale meat school lunches, we will lose our food culture," he said.

But even in Taiji, there are some dissenters. Last year, a local assembly man called for a halt to the school lunches over concerns about high mercury content in the meat.

Despite the criticism, Mr Sangen remains defiant.

"We and our successors will keep telling the world proudly and loudly that Taiji has its long history of whaling and the people of Taiji are catching whales," he said.

- Reuters

Mother Day always reminds me of times we used to wake up early and go burn mum some toast and make a absolute mess. My mum was never a early riser and unless we had reason to wake her we never did. She always stayed up late making sure that everything was ready for the next day washing, ironing making lunches etc She still follows the same pattern to this day and I will always cherish this little poem she taught me..........

They shall grow not old,
As we that are left grow old,
Age shall not weary them,
Nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun,
And in the morning
We will remember them. Lest we Forget

ANZAC DAY

Anzac Day is a National public holiday and is considered one of the most spiritual and solemn days of the year in Australia. I wonder if there is a fish to catch in Anzac Cove. One place I would like to visit.

Bit off the tenor of this site BUT this is my blog.....

All I'm going to say that there is a lot of truth to what our old mate Paul McCartney has to say here. I'm not a vegetarian but understand that meat producing industry is oil and water dependent. This is the era of get big or get out in the farming business and I for one do not believe that is good for any of us, animals included.

Former Beatle Paul McCartney is urging the world to go vegetarian in a bid to fight global warming and is surprised more green groups do not promote it.

In an interview with the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), McCartney said the global meat industry was a major contributor to global warming.

"The biggest change anyone could make in their own lifestyle would be to become vegetarian," McCartney, a long time vegetarian and advocate of vegetarianism, said.

"I would urge everyone to think about taking this simple step to help our precious environment and save it for the children of the future."

McCartney says the amount of land and water used to maintain the meat industry makes it a major contributor to climate change and complains that most environmental groups do not list vegetarianism as one of their top priorities.

"It's very surprising that most major environmental organisations are leaving the option of going vegetarian off their lists of top ways to curtail global warming," he said.

A 2006 United Nations report found that cattle-rearing generated more greenhouse gases than transportation.

- Reuters

http://www.thedaily.com.au/news/2008/apr/02/aap-whalers-attack-australia-over-dugongs/

How can they compare whales to dugongs or aboriginals to sushi munching Japanese city dwellers?

Japanese whalers have attacked the Australian government over its support for harvesting dugongs by indigenous hunters, further intensifying the spat between the two countries over whaling.

In a submission to the International Whaling Commission for its meeting in Chile in June, the Japanese will highlight the killing of dugongs by Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders.

The New Zealand-based spokesman for Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research, Glenn Inwood, said Australia was being hypocritical by supporting the harvesting of dugongs by indigenous hunters, while rejecting all "lethal use" of whales, The Australian reports on Wednesday.

"Japan subscribes to the international principle of sustainable utilisation," the spokesman said.

"The Australian government rejects all lethal uses of whales and yet supports sustainable utilisation of its own national hunting of the Dugongs.

Islander leaders agreed that too many dugongs were being taken for traditional food, The Australian said.

Environment Minister Peter Garrett said there was no analogy between Japanese whaling and the killing of dugongs.

The government was actively engaged in programs to protect dugongs, he said.

We get a mixed bag of letters and emails with all sorts of questions and pictures here at River & Reef and www.Gofishaustralia.com.  The latest email we got from Nikki Waters a proud mum and fisherperson from Pottsville in NSW, Australia. Now normally I get a bit jealous when someone submits a fishing picture but this time I'm GREEN with envy.
Flathead are one of my favorite fish and I  spent much of my life fishing for them where I grew up. Later on catching big ones and letting them go was an obsession.
How do you think I feel when I'm sitting nearly 7500 Miles  thats 11950 klms from the nearest flathead fishing and I receive the picture below of Grace Waters,who by the way is 9 years old, holding on to this big flatty!!! Congratulations Grace that's one you should be very proud of and now you have kept one for eating you can feel fine letting the big ones go.

"Hi,
Recently my 9 year daughter Grace Waters caught this 70cm flathead of the bank at Sandon River , near Brooms Head, NSW on the Easter weekend.  I thought you would be interested in using this photo in your next addition…  He was extremely tasty and now my daughter is hooked on fishing!!!!
Kind Regards,
Nikki Waters"


Thanks for sending it to us Nikki!

For you guys in other countries the following describes the Dusky flathead. They are a sucker for a fly also and take lures just as readily.
The regulations for Dusky Flathead in NSW for those whom are interested, a limit of 10 , minimum size 36cm and only 1 over 70cm in possession.  (10 is way too many for anyone and I personally think it should 2.)

Distribution - Dusky flathead are found in estuaries and coastal bays, from Cairns in Queensland to the Gippsland Lakes in Victoria. They occur over sand, mud, gravel and seagrass and can inhabit estuarine waters up to the tidal limit. They are more commonly caught during the summer months.

Size - Maximum 15kg and a length of 1.5m.

Characteristics - Colour varies from sandy with brown spots and blotches to dark brown/black with white spots. They have a distinctive black spot on their caudal fins. Dark bars are often visible across the rear of the body. The preopercular spines on each side of the head are very sharp and should be avoided when handling the fish.

Confusing species - Distinguished from other flathead by the black spot at the caudal end of the tail.

HER  DIARY:

Tonight:  I  thought my husband was acting weird.  We had made plans to meet  at a bar to  have a drink. I was shopping with my friends all day long so I thought he was  upset at the fact that I was a bit late but he made no comment  on it.   Conversation wasn't flowing, so I suggested that we go somewhere quiet so we  could talk.  He agreed but he didn't say much. I asked him what was wrong;  he said, "Nothing."  I asked him if it was my fault that he was  upset.  He said he wasn't upset, that it had nothing to do with me, and not  to  worry about it.  On the way home, I told him that I loved him.  He  smiled slightly, and kept driving. I can't explain his behavior. I don't know  why he  didn't say, "I love you, too."  When we got home, I felt as if I had  lost him completely, as if he wanted nothing to do with me anymore. He just sat  there quietly, and watched TV.  He continued to seem distant and absent.  Finally, with silence all around us, I decided to go to bed. About 15 minutes  later, he came to bed.  To my surprise, he responded to my caress, and we  made love.  But I still felt that he was distracted, and his thoughts were  somewhere else.  He fell asleep - I cried. I don't know what to do. I'm  almost sure that his thoughts are with someone else.  My life is a  disaster.  

 
HIS DIARY:  

Missed a big trout today but at least I got  laid. 

Happy Easter !!
                    *
I find it mildly amusing that introduced Rabbits caused so much damage to the Australian environment and now the "Rabbits" are protecting one of the worlds greatest assets. No rabbit proof fence wanted here.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/23/2197001.htm

A small, brown and relatively boring fish could be the answer to improving damaged parts of the Great Barrier Reef off eastern Australia.

Professor David Bellwood from the Center for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University in far north Queensland says "rabbit fish" have been filmed eating the weed that can sometimes smother young corals and destroy reefs.

He says they worked at 10 times the rate of other weed eaters such as parrot and surgeon fish.

Professor Bellwood says populations of rabbit fish in Australian waters are still in relatively good shape but it is vital they are looked after.

"The best thing we can do to help them out is to protect their environment," he said.

"We don't fish these fish in Australia but we can certainly destroy the habitat that they need to survive and a lot of that is going to be impacted by costal development so we should be careful."

Why did Peter Garrett take this advice about Bluefin Tuna?? These fish are on the verge of total collapse.