In Reply to: Re: it was like shooting a cow in a pasture... posted by HoloD on February 22, 2008 at 11:09:34:

Nope, not a vegan or even a vegetarian. I hunt fish and bugs and other edibles from the sea. The big difference is that I eat what I shoot, and only shoot what I can eat. I don’t pick the biggest of any species for many reasons, not the least of which is that apex creatures of any species are the best of that gene pool, the creatures that we should do our best to protect in the interest of wise conservation of the resource. If our “conservationist” friend will sit down and eat what he shot (the marlin), I’ll sit down and eat what I shoot (my 2-pound calico). Oh, wait! I forgot. This wasn’t a “mine is bigger than yours” thing, this was an altruistic, conservationist–minded effort to supply protein to the poor and orphanages of the area. Right. I can almost say that without laughing.

Let me relate a quick marlin story. Years ago before Cabo became the tourist hell is has become, I was working on a 90-foot private yacht whose owner elected to spend some time there. At one point, I took one of the owner’s guests – no names, but an ex-governor of California – out fishing in our 22-foot tender. He had caught a couple of 10 to 15 pound dorado which were going to be dinner that night; he was so proud. Then, on the way back into the cape, still trolling, he got hooked up to a little striped marlin, maybe 100-125 pounds. It was a jumper and put up a heck of a fight. When the fish tired and was brought along side I reached down to cut the leader, but the ex-gov said he wanted the fish. I explained that they were not good eating, but he insisted, saying instead that he’d have it mounted. Fine. I gaffed the fish and we headed in with the 2 mahi’s and the marlin. By the time we got back, jacked the fish up on a gantry and took the mandatory hero pictures, ex-gov had changed his mind. "I don’t want the fish, give it to the locals." Right! Any “locals” along a coast line particularly at Cabo eat far better fish than marlin. The locals laughed. They didn’t want any marlin when they had bullet yellow-fin, dorado, grouper, pargo and myriad other better eating fish right off the beach. So all that "protein" was dumped off the commercial dock and was crab food. That was a stupid incident that I’ve always felt terrible about.

I can also talk about some of the free-diving spearfishing tournaments I’ve seen where the only way the locals got their protein was culling through the carcasses left on the beach. The divers were more honest then anyway. Those guys were out front with that they were there to kill the biggest and the most and if the locals could use some of the massacre at the end, well more power to them.

Palming off a creature like the marlin to “churches and orphanages” is an attempt to make the kill alright. A very poor way to justify a thoughtless action that was fed by the need to be able to walk into a bar and say, “mine is bigger than yours.”

• Re: Speaking of cows in a pasture, we all know BS when we hear/see it... Rob 04:17:38 02/23/08 (1)
  • Re: Re: Speaking of cows in a pasture, we all know BS when we hear/see it... Patrick 08:43:52 02/25/08 (0)