The Last Vaquita?
Started by jerry · Apr 1, 2016 · 97 replies
Totoaba battle in El Golfo,
Last weekend the Cartel King of stinkin fish bladders was killed in El Golfo de Santa Clara by El Golfo policia in his front yard. Two El Golfo police officers down, one with up to 18 AK rounds en la cabesa. The other critical. The hijo of the king escaped, most likely in among the mass of weekend border crossers like me.
JJ
Last weekend the Cartel King of stinkin fish bladders was killed in El Golfo de Santa Clara by El Golfo policia in his front yard. Two El Golfo police officers down, one with up to 18 AK rounds en la cabesa. The other critical. The hijo of the king escaped, most likely in among the mass of weekend border crossers like me.
JJ
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Jim, sounds like the dead cops got him released earlier in the day from state police.....
Last edited: Apr 2, 2016 at 7:25 AM
Hey Jerry,
Thanks for the update.
The crew of HMS Charlie Sheen's Daddy must really be a whoopin it up tonite!! We see em out there in their boats every time we head down to PP along the Coastal Highway. Typical tree huggin wanna be VIP BS, especially when they are the only ones allowed to be cruzin in the protected zona. Los Marinos Mexicanos must really dig it hanging out with those hairy armpit chickies crewin the two boats. My god do I love wakin up in the morning to the smell of a chick reekin with Patchouli Oil and three month old BO! Takes a month or more to get the stink out of your skin and bloodstream. Kinda like havin a zorillo blast you in the belly and bathing in tomato juice for a month. I plan on headin out there in my "Hammer Time" later this month to incite a confrontation with them just to see how it plays out. I'll keep ya posted.
Later,
JJ
Thanks for the update.
The crew of HMS Charlie Sheen's Daddy must really be a whoopin it up tonite!! We see em out there in their boats every time we head down to PP along the Coastal Highway. Typical tree huggin wanna be VIP BS, especially when they are the only ones allowed to be cruzin in the protected zona. Los Marinos Mexicanos must really dig it hanging out with those hairy armpit chickies crewin the two boats. My god do I love wakin up in the morning to the smell of a chick reekin with Patchouli Oil and three month old BO! Takes a month or more to get the stink out of your skin and bloodstream. Kinda like havin a zorillo blast you in the belly and bathing in tomato juice for a month. I plan on headin out there in my "Hammer Time" later this month to incite a confrontation with them just to see how it plays out. I'll keep ya posted.
Later,
JJ
Jim, be careful up that way...a execution in Sonoyta of sons of two prominent families tied to cartel with a banner appeared Monday
Jungle Jim said:Hey Jerry,
Thanks for the update.
The crew of HMS Charlie Sheen's Daddy must really be a whoopin it up tonite!! We see em out there in their boats every time we head down to PP along the Coastal Highway. Typical tree huggin wanna be VIP BS, especially when they are the only ones allowed to be cruzin in the protected zona. Los Marinos Mexicanos must really dig it hanging out with those hairy armpit chickies crewin the two boats. My god do I love wakin up in the morning to the smell of a chick reekin with Patchouli Oil and three month old BO! Takes a month or more to get the stink out of your skin and bloodstream. Kinda like havin a zorillo blast you in the belly and bathing in tomato juice for a month. I plan on headin out there in my "Hammer Time" later this month to incite a confrontation with them just to see how it plays out. I'll keep ya posted.
Later,
JJ
Do not want to picture why you would have a striped polecat on your lap!
Jungle Jim said:Hey Jerry,
Thanks for the update.
The crew of HMS Charlie Sheen's Daddy must really be a whoopin it up tonite!! We see em out there in their boats every time we head down to PP along the Coastal Highway. Typical tree huggin wanna be VIP BS, especially when they are the only ones allowed to be cruzin in the protected zona. Los Marinos Mexicanos must really dig it hanging out with those hairy armpit chickies crewin the two boats. My god do I love wakin up in the morning to the smell of a chick reekin with Patchouli Oil and three month old BO! Takes a month or more to get the stink out of your skin and bloodstream. Kinda like havin a zorillo blast you in the belly and bathing in tomato juice for a month. I plan on headin out there in my "Hammer Time" later this month to incite a confrontation with them just to see how it plays out. I'll keep ya posted.
Later,
JJ
As far as I can tell, they have actually accomplished something that no one else has been able to up to this point. Who cares if they are 'tree-huggers' or have hairy armpits. They are out there pulling up gill-nets and long-lines ...
Last edited: May 5, 2016 at 7:05 AM
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Hey everyone,
How are things going recently with the vaquita? Any local news about strandings or dead vaquita? Sea turtles?
Hope to take some cool aerials of Cholla Bay later in January!
How are things going recently with the vaquita? Any local news about strandings or dead vaquita? Sea turtles?
Hope to take some cool aerials of Cholla Bay later in January!
Last month on Friday 29 November we had the most unusual pleasure to watch three Vaquitas, two adults and a juvenile less than three feet long playing in the surf less than 100 feet from shore. They were watching us as well! They followed us in our Wrangler and every time we stopped to photograph a dead sea turtle or pick up some washed up oddity they would stop too. We were combing the beach and dunes about midway up Salinas Point maybe five miles north of the fish camp known as El Jaguey.
We were able to positively identify them as Vaquitas by their short rounded black dorsal fins and we could clearly see their distinctive black and white faces when they were "spy hopping" us. That ten mile stretch of beach had thirty seven dead Olive Ridleys rotting in the sun as well as a very fresh California Sea Lion that had been killed by a Great White Shark. It was missing it's left rear flipper along with a piece of meat as big as two Homer buckets. The teeth marks on the skin and blubber were quite obvious.
There were hundreds of Turkey Vultures feasting on the windfall and we saw about a dozen Black Vultures as well. The pangueros at El Jaguey were targeting Pink Murex Snails with the use of rectangular chicken wire traps. I asked them where the Caracols were heading to and they said Korea. They had 55 gallon steel drums fired up with Mesquite wood and were boiling up the snails in order to pick out the little 3/4 inch diameter piece of meat. They told me that they were getting 500 pesos for a kilo of them which probably equates to around five or six hundred animals. The dirt track behind the camp and on to the village at La Cuerva was just covered with five foot tall heaps of picked out Murex shells probably in the millions. It's really hard to comprehend that there are or were that many Murexes out there in the Gulf.
On our way off of the strand and over the dunes we passed through some of the finest Saguaro, Senita and Bigelow Cholla cactus forest that I've ever seen. We saw a gang of Harris Hawks working together flushing Cottontail Rabbits from the brush.
After getting to the agricultural area mostly asparagus now, we found the processing plant where all of the Murexes were being sold it's near the big microwave tower that you can see from the coastal highway just south of the Herradura gold mine entrance.
I didn't mention the "bycatch" or "collateral kill" involved with the snail traps but it is shocking.
Later,
JJ
We were able to positively identify them as Vaquitas by their short rounded black dorsal fins and we could clearly see their distinctive black and white faces when they were "spy hopping" us. That ten mile stretch of beach had thirty seven dead Olive Ridleys rotting in the sun as well as a very fresh California Sea Lion that had been killed by a Great White Shark. It was missing it's left rear flipper along with a piece of meat as big as two Homer buckets. The teeth marks on the skin and blubber were quite obvious.
There were hundreds of Turkey Vultures feasting on the windfall and we saw about a dozen Black Vultures as well. The pangueros at El Jaguey were targeting Pink Murex Snails with the use of rectangular chicken wire traps. I asked them where the Caracols were heading to and they said Korea. They had 55 gallon steel drums fired up with Mesquite wood and were boiling up the snails in order to pick out the little 3/4 inch diameter piece of meat. They told me that they were getting 500 pesos for a kilo of them which probably equates to around five or six hundred animals. The dirt track behind the camp and on to the village at La Cuerva was just covered with five foot tall heaps of picked out Murex shells probably in the millions. It's really hard to comprehend that there are or were that many Murexes out there in the Gulf.
On our way off of the strand and over the dunes we passed through some of the finest Saguaro, Senita and Bigelow Cholla cactus forest that I've ever seen. We saw a gang of Harris Hawks working together flushing Cottontail Rabbits from the brush.
After getting to the agricultural area mostly asparagus now, we found the processing plant where all of the Murexes were being sold it's near the big microwave tower that you can see from the coastal highway just south of the Herradura gold mine entrance.
I didn't mention the "bycatch" or "collateral kill" involved with the snail traps but it is shocking.
Later,
JJ
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Great post Jim, I could read this kinda stuff all day. Salinas Point is a great place, can't wait to get back down there. Really cool story about seeing the vaquitas, didn't know they ventured that far south. Sure hope they don't run into any of the damn gill nets that seem to be everywhere. As for the Asians passion for "seafood" I am as usual just shaking my head. Gonna be hard to stop the destruction until something changes.
Thanks Shark..........
As for the collateral kill that was hopelessly doomed for only being guilty of venturing into those chicken wire traps, I must say I'm no snowflake-weenie type but I always feel sad then pissed when I see it. Those pangueros could easily free those unwanted animals but I guess time-is-money to them as well.
Their fishing method is to drop those baited wire traps out there somewhere south of Isla San Jorge with a 1/4" poly line and a colored identifying float, usually a one liter plastic soda bottle. They drop thirty or forty of them in a line a hundred feet or so apart. The next day they pull em all up and stack them on the panga and boot scoot back to El Jaguey where a pickup truck with a really shitty rusted out old trailer is waiting for them in the surf. They run up onto the trailer and the truck pulls em up to the fish camp where another truck is waiting for them with plastic trays maybe two feet square and a foot tall. The pangueros open up one side of the trap, pick out the Murexes and dump the "bad" stuff into the hull of the boat. Of course most of the bad stuff is still alive and kicking. The guys with the trays keep a tally of each boats take then head inland where the 55 gallon drums are boiling and waiting. The meat pickers are women and kids whom I first thought were the families of the pangueros but later to find out are paid laborers from the farming villages over near the highway.
Anyways, as the traps are neatly stacked back onto the panga they are re-baited by picking through the by-catch, slash up a fish or two and toss em in as bait. As the truck trailers them back to the sea they shovel out all of the "junk" along the beach, of course they could do this once on the water but I believe they do it deliberately so as not to have to catch them again. The fresh meat on the beach attracts hundreds of Gulls, Pelicans and Vultures. There seems to more by-catch than money making stuff, similar to the disproportionate kill that the shrimp trawlers are so famous for.
I made some notes that day listing the unfortunates still squirming on the beach, most were small to mid-sized fish to include puffers, porcupine fish, triggers, lizard fish, sea robins and snake eels. Crustaceans included, blue crabs, box crabs and a lot of large hermit crabs.
This type of trapping is the reason why around most Caribbean islands there are no reef fish larger than the openings on a chicken wire trap!
Later,
JJ
As for the collateral kill that was hopelessly doomed for only being guilty of venturing into those chicken wire traps, I must say I'm no snowflake-weenie type but I always feel sad then pissed when I see it. Those pangueros could easily free those unwanted animals but I guess time-is-money to them as well.
Their fishing method is to drop those baited wire traps out there somewhere south of Isla San Jorge with a 1/4" poly line and a colored identifying float, usually a one liter plastic soda bottle. They drop thirty or forty of them in a line a hundred feet or so apart. The next day they pull em all up and stack them on the panga and boot scoot back to El Jaguey where a pickup truck with a really shitty rusted out old trailer is waiting for them in the surf. They run up onto the trailer and the truck pulls em up to the fish camp where another truck is waiting for them with plastic trays maybe two feet square and a foot tall. The pangueros open up one side of the trap, pick out the Murexes and dump the "bad" stuff into the hull of the boat. Of course most of the bad stuff is still alive and kicking. The guys with the trays keep a tally of each boats take then head inland where the 55 gallon drums are boiling and waiting. The meat pickers are women and kids whom I first thought were the families of the pangueros but later to find out are paid laborers from the farming villages over near the highway.
Anyways, as the traps are neatly stacked back onto the panga they are re-baited by picking through the by-catch, slash up a fish or two and toss em in as bait. As the truck trailers them back to the sea they shovel out all of the "junk" along the beach, of course they could do this once on the water but I believe they do it deliberately so as not to have to catch them again. The fresh meat on the beach attracts hundreds of Gulls, Pelicans and Vultures. There seems to more by-catch than money making stuff, similar to the disproportionate kill that the shrimp trawlers are so famous for.
I made some notes that day listing the unfortunates still squirming on the beach, most were small to mid-sized fish to include puffers, porcupine fish, triggers, lizard fish, sea robins and snake eels. Crustaceans included, blue crabs, box crabs and a lot of large hermit crabs.
This type of trapping is the reason why around most Caribbean islands there are no reef fish larger than the openings on a chicken wire trap!
Later,
JJ
Great posts amigo! As bad as this is the human side is just about as bad.The Chinese/Korean packer is tied to " Los Rummas" see this old storyhttp://elzeta1000.blogspot.com/2012/03/ataca-policia-federal-los-rumas-en-la.html
They now control all the fishing camps from Salinas Point to Tanques south of Desemboque.The pecaderos can no longer sell their own catch.The boys from Sinaloa rule these fish camps and beat the fishermen if they are caught selling on there own.For example if a large grouper would fetch 400 pesos in the fish market in RP or from a independent buyer they now get 200 as Rummas sets the prices,charges fees for bribes paid to the Marines,gas and other expenses...it is almost not worth fishing but if you are not producing a gancho de helgado or three is your penalty....those sorters are making a few bucks a day....
They now control all the fishing camps from Salinas Point to Tanques south of Desemboque.The pecaderos can no longer sell their own catch.The boys from Sinaloa rule these fish camps and beat the fishermen if they are caught selling on there own.For example if a large grouper would fetch 400 pesos in the fish market in RP or from a independent buyer they now get 200 as Rummas sets the prices,charges fees for bribes paid to the Marines,gas and other expenses...it is almost not worth fishing but if you are not producing a gancho de helgado or three is your penalty....those sorters are making a few bucks a day....
Hey Jerry..................
Really glad your back, thought that you had retired to Edmonton or Red Deer. I'm sure that you have seen that this forum has been infiltrated by some really low life infantile sewer mouthed midget minded jerks that spew not even one shred of subject matter related to Rocky Point, Sonora or anywhere in Mexico. Their five word posts are a wonderment. Our moderator seems to connect with them somehow.
Anyway, I've managed to become friendly with the initially gruff and stink-eyed pangueros at EL Jaguey. We bought some really awesome huge Gulf Blue Shrimp from them last May and they now let me pick through their by-catch for any tasty tidbits at no cost. Several times last summer we bought small but fresh Sierras from them. Those big baseball sized deep water Hermit Crabs that they toss from their Blue Crab and Murex traps are a taste delight. We steam em and twist em out of their shells then dip em in hot garlic butter. Their corkscrew tails are solid meat and they are as delicious as any fresh lobster and FREE!
Lately no one at that campo has given us any bad vibes at all, and they recognize my red Wrangler when I drive up and continue with their work. Most of them are very talkative and seem to enjoy our interest in their operation. They have no problems with my wife taking photos and we always give out a few cold TKT's. They do have a little shack where they sell sodas and snacks and we always buy a bag of chips or something. Their dog pack is loud and defensive at first but calm down fast and go right back to the snooze mode in a few minutes.
I'll be down yer way next weekend, maybe see ya then.
JJ
Really glad your back, thought that you had retired to Edmonton or Red Deer. I'm sure that you have seen that this forum has been infiltrated by some really low life infantile sewer mouthed midget minded jerks that spew not even one shred of subject matter related to Rocky Point, Sonora or anywhere in Mexico. Their five word posts are a wonderment. Our moderator seems to connect with them somehow.
Anyway, I've managed to become friendly with the initially gruff and stink-eyed pangueros at EL Jaguey. We bought some really awesome huge Gulf Blue Shrimp from them last May and they now let me pick through their by-catch for any tasty tidbits at no cost. Several times last summer we bought small but fresh Sierras from them. Those big baseball sized deep water Hermit Crabs that they toss from their Blue Crab and Murex traps are a taste delight. We steam em and twist em out of their shells then dip em in hot garlic butter. Their corkscrew tails are solid meat and they are as delicious as any fresh lobster and FREE!
Lately no one at that campo has given us any bad vibes at all, and they recognize my red Wrangler when I drive up and continue with their work. Most of them are very talkative and seem to enjoy our interest in their operation. They have no problems with my wife taking photos and we always give out a few cold TKT's. They do have a little shack where they sell sodas and snacks and we always buy a bag of chips or something. Their dog pack is loud and defensive at first but calm down fast and go right back to the snooze mode in a few minutes.
I'll be down yer way next weekend, maybe see ya then.
JJ
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Great people down that way dealing with problems that would sink my battleship fast!
Same kinda problems that plague the Mexican people everywhere. Sucks. What's it gonna take???
Sounds like a new mission for Seen-Yore-O-Bama.......
JJ
JJ
Jungle Jim said:Sounds like a new mission for Seen-Yore-O-Bama.......
JJ
Some stuff just can't be fixed...you just wait it out....but still what a place...friends took this today while on a multi generational all terrain ride to the spit
Apparently some of the ghost nets have been removed, but after reading Jungle Jim's report, not enough have been removed.
http://rockypoint360.com/ghost-nets-removed-from-upper-gulf-of-california/
http://rockypoint360.com/ghost-nets-removed-from-upper-gulf-of-california/
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Hola Miramar..............
I'm sure that the net removal in that article was only conducted in the so called "Protected Zone" north of Cholla Bay and on up to El Golfo.
Anything goes out of Bahia San Jorge and on southwards. There are no restrictions or enforcement of any kind unless accompanied by a well armed military contingency and they are the last guys looking for an altercation. Especially, as Jerry noted above that the "Wild Bunch" who control that area already have the military in their pockets. To get a "feel" of the situation, just take a little day trip down to the big fish camp on the beach at El Desemboque, not your average "Sun-N-Fun" family on the beach kinda destination to say the least.
The fact is that there is so much abandoned and discarded fishing gear out there that in my opinion it has become useful habitat for a lot of animals that otherwise could have never got a foothold on the flat slick "parking lot" bottom that the trawlers have so effectively manicured over the years. When the stuff washes up on the beach, especially if it's been out there for awhile, it's usually loaded with life. Those unfortunates that lost their life entangled in the mess become a windfall for all sorts of other critters.
Do a little scuba dive on the outer edges of Isla San Jorge and you will get an idea what goes on. The trawlers seriously avoid any type of bottom structure since a hang-up could mean the loss of thousands of dollars worth of gear. They do get hung-up though and the junk stays out there for years. There is a little underwater pinnacle out there that is only visible at low tide, AKA: The Widow Maker. It is usually surrounded with hung-up nets and a just few years back, the remains of a trawler that ended up in Davey Jones Locker when it got in too close. It used to be a popular dive spot with some depth, wild ripping currents and lots of big Groupers. It's still a good spot for a close-in troll with a deep diving lure that will bring in a good one with every pass.
A few things to consider about the "ghost nets", most of that stuff is made of the crappiest materials made that really won't last long in the conditions out there. Once the floats (soda pop bottles) that suspend the nets get swamped and sink or are torn off by high tides or rough seas, they then allow the net to sink to the bottom and is no longer a threat to anything in the water column. The crab traps they use are made of of the cheapest off-the-shelf chicken wire that corrodes away to nothing after a few weeks in salt water. Once on the bottom, the monofilament of the nets quickly becomes covered with encrusting algae then all sorts of animals and just gets heavier and heavier. I regularly see washed up lengths of old mono nets with invertebrates as big as adult Pearl Oysters and black Mussels attached to them, those things aren't a threat to any Vaquita or Giant Sea Bass.
Just my dumb ass "blow hard" opinion...
JJ
I'm sure that the net removal in that article was only conducted in the so called "Protected Zone" north of Cholla Bay and on up to El Golfo.
Anything goes out of Bahia San Jorge and on southwards. There are no restrictions or enforcement of any kind unless accompanied by a well armed military contingency and they are the last guys looking for an altercation. Especially, as Jerry noted above that the "Wild Bunch" who control that area already have the military in their pockets. To get a "feel" of the situation, just take a little day trip down to the big fish camp on the beach at El Desemboque, not your average "Sun-N-Fun" family on the beach kinda destination to say the least.
The fact is that there is so much abandoned and discarded fishing gear out there that in my opinion it has become useful habitat for a lot of animals that otherwise could have never got a foothold on the flat slick "parking lot" bottom that the trawlers have so effectively manicured over the years. When the stuff washes up on the beach, especially if it's been out there for awhile, it's usually loaded with life. Those unfortunates that lost their life entangled in the mess become a windfall for all sorts of other critters.
Do a little scuba dive on the outer edges of Isla San Jorge and you will get an idea what goes on. The trawlers seriously avoid any type of bottom structure since a hang-up could mean the loss of thousands of dollars worth of gear. They do get hung-up though and the junk stays out there for years. There is a little underwater pinnacle out there that is only visible at low tide, AKA: The Widow Maker. It is usually surrounded with hung-up nets and a just few years back, the remains of a trawler that ended up in Davey Jones Locker when it got in too close. It used to be a popular dive spot with some depth, wild ripping currents and lots of big Groupers. It's still a good spot for a close-in troll with a deep diving lure that will bring in a good one with every pass.
A few things to consider about the "ghost nets", most of that stuff is made of the crappiest materials made that really won't last long in the conditions out there. Once the floats (soda pop bottles) that suspend the nets get swamped and sink or are torn off by high tides or rough seas, they then allow the net to sink to the bottom and is no longer a threat to anything in the water column. The crab traps they use are made of of the cheapest off-the-shelf chicken wire that corrodes away to nothing after a few weeks in salt water. Once on the bottom, the monofilament of the nets quickly becomes covered with encrusting algae then all sorts of animals and just gets heavier and heavier. I regularly see washed up lengths of old mono nets with invertebrates as big as adult Pearl Oysters and black Mussels attached to them, those things aren't a threat to any Vaquita or Giant Sea Bass.
Just my dumb ass "blow hard" opinion...
JJ
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Good points but something seems to have happened to cause the size of grouper caught ten years ago to be about half that these days...I don't say this as a expert fisherman...just a guy that mooches a ride occasionally..
A little about fishing with nets around Puerto Penasco........
I'll not get in to the trawlers here as I've been over it plenty in previous posts.
Depending on what type high profile collateral kill being discussed, Vaquitas, Totoabas, or Sea Turtles the comercial pangas boats are the worst offenders. They typically use two types of monofilament based nets, tangle nets for shrimp and gill nets for fish.
The tangle type is basically a curtain of loosely matted mono with a few knots here and there to keep it sheet like when draped along a line suspended with soda pop bottle floats. The rig may be anchored a one end to keep it from drifting with the extreme local tides, or have a radio beacon on the rig using a stick or length of pvc pipe. This type of rig is what brings in most of the super-sized Gulf Blue Shrimp and they are usually set in relatively shallow water and don't reach the bottom. The shrimp come up from the bottom at night and feed on plankton. Do a night dive on any sandy bottom out there to observe this. I've had pretty good luck catching them at night off of Sandy Beach with a powerful dive light and a live bait net.
The swimming feeding shrimp contact the loose monofilament and their spiny heads, tails and legs get entangled and that's were they stay until the pangueros return the next day and pull em up. Back in the 70's I would get good hauls from the pangueros after getting them to come to shore as they were returning to their camps to unload. Even in those days they never had any sort of exceptional hauls, maybe forty or fifty big shrimp. Few if any of those huge shrimp are ever available in RP as they are worth much more to when sold to the overseas customers. I don't believe the tangle nets are responsible for very much by-catch as they are checked daily and are relatively visible to passing fish. They do catch diving birds, especially Loons and Grebes seeking smaller fish and shrimp.
Gill nets are a whole other issue. The gill net as the name suggests catches fish after their heads pass through a pre-determined opening of monofilament then if they try to back out they are stopped and held in place by their gills. Now of course this won't catch every fish that comes in contact since a lot of fish have heads bigger than their bodies or are small enough to just swim through the opening. Gill nets target certain types of fish and in the northern Sea of Cortez those fish are Corvinas and their big cousin the Totoaba. Last summer I saw the pangueros at El Jaguey coming in with hundreds of pounds of Corvinas on every boat. Every fish was almost the exact same size as they were limited by the size of the holes in the gill nets.
They had a few Sierras, Mexican Barracudas and Cabrillas but 99% of the catch was Corvinas. Another thing to consider is that the fish that they are targeting are all migrating schooling types. Just imagine what a Sea Lion does when it comes across a half mile of gill net loaded with fresh fish. Just go out to Isla San Jorge to see the results, there are always a few Sea Lions there, especially younger ones with a bloody necklace of monofilament cutting through their skins facing certain death.
Well, I gotta throw some fresh Sea Lion steaks on the bar-be-cue, more later,
JJ
PS......Hey Joe why so quiet?
Just ignore those dead beats from the Rotting Rats forum below as they are pretty hard pressed to spew out more than a five word response to anything we have to say here.
Gotta pick up my new 2017 Gen2 Ford Raptor S-Crew manana.
I'll not get in to the trawlers here as I've been over it plenty in previous posts.
Depending on what type high profile collateral kill being discussed, Vaquitas, Totoabas, or Sea Turtles the comercial pangas boats are the worst offenders. They typically use two types of monofilament based nets, tangle nets for shrimp and gill nets for fish.
The tangle type is basically a curtain of loosely matted mono with a few knots here and there to keep it sheet like when draped along a line suspended with soda pop bottle floats. The rig may be anchored a one end to keep it from drifting with the extreme local tides, or have a radio beacon on the rig using a stick or length of pvc pipe. This type of rig is what brings in most of the super-sized Gulf Blue Shrimp and they are usually set in relatively shallow water and don't reach the bottom. The shrimp come up from the bottom at night and feed on plankton. Do a night dive on any sandy bottom out there to observe this. I've had pretty good luck catching them at night off of Sandy Beach with a powerful dive light and a live bait net.
The swimming feeding shrimp contact the loose monofilament and their spiny heads, tails and legs get entangled and that's were they stay until the pangueros return the next day and pull em up. Back in the 70's I would get good hauls from the pangueros after getting them to come to shore as they were returning to their camps to unload. Even in those days they never had any sort of exceptional hauls, maybe forty or fifty big shrimp. Few if any of those huge shrimp are ever available in RP as they are worth much more to when sold to the overseas customers. I don't believe the tangle nets are responsible for very much by-catch as they are checked daily and are relatively visible to passing fish. They do catch diving birds, especially Loons and Grebes seeking smaller fish and shrimp.
Gill nets are a whole other issue. The gill net as the name suggests catches fish after their heads pass through a pre-determined opening of monofilament then if they try to back out they are stopped and held in place by their gills. Now of course this won't catch every fish that comes in contact since a lot of fish have heads bigger than their bodies or are small enough to just swim through the opening. Gill nets target certain types of fish and in the northern Sea of Cortez those fish are Corvinas and their big cousin the Totoaba. Last summer I saw the pangueros at El Jaguey coming in with hundreds of pounds of Corvinas on every boat. Every fish was almost the exact same size as they were limited by the size of the holes in the gill nets.
They had a few Sierras, Mexican Barracudas and Cabrillas but 99% of the catch was Corvinas. Another thing to consider is that the fish that they are targeting are all migrating schooling types. Just imagine what a Sea Lion does when it comes across a half mile of gill net loaded with fresh fish. Just go out to Isla San Jorge to see the results, there are always a few Sea Lions there, especially younger ones with a bloody necklace of monofilament cutting through their skins facing certain death.
Well, I gotta throw some fresh Sea Lion steaks on the bar-be-cue, more later,
JJ
PS......Hey Joe why so quiet?
Just ignore those dead beats from the Rotting Rats forum below as they are pretty hard pressed to spew out more than a five word response to anything we have to say here.
Gotta pick up my new 2017 Gen2 Ford Raptor S-Crew manana.
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http://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/seized-sea-horses-believed-going-asia/. This makes me wish bad things on Asia
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They probably grind em into powder, add some lard and slather up butthurt bungholes with the stuff.
We did a walkabout of Rodeo Drive last month and saw thousands of dried Sea Horses in almost every stall. They were priced pretty cheap like a buck for the big ones up to maybe four inches long. I asked them where they came from and was told right here in RP same as the big dried Pacific Ocher Sea Stars which is absolute baloney. Those Sea Stars are from Pacific coast wave beaten rocks and as for Sea Horses in RP in all of my years beach combing there I've only found four or five tiny one inchers and one big five incher dead and dried up on the beach at Bahia San Jorge this past summer.
I don't believe the right habitat exists for them in the Upper Gulf. I spent five years in Panama on the Pacific coast at Fort Kobbe where we would find a lot of them alive at low tide almost always associated with Sargasso. Maybe someone else in RP has seen them.
If they are worth $6,000.00 a kilo in TJ as per your link above, I'm gonna buy out all of the stock at Rodeo Drive this weekend!
JJ
We did a walkabout of Rodeo Drive last month and saw thousands of dried Sea Horses in almost every stall. They were priced pretty cheap like a buck for the big ones up to maybe four inches long. I asked them where they came from and was told right here in RP same as the big dried Pacific Ocher Sea Stars which is absolute baloney. Those Sea Stars are from Pacific coast wave beaten rocks and as for Sea Horses in RP in all of my years beach combing there I've only found four or five tiny one inchers and one big five incher dead and dried up on the beach at Bahia San Jorge this past summer.
I don't believe the right habitat exists for them in the Upper Gulf. I spent five years in Panama on the Pacific coast at Fort Kobbe where we would find a lot of them alive at low tide almost always associated with Sargasso. Maybe someone else in RP has seen them.
If they are worth $6,000.00 a kilo in TJ as per your link above, I'm gonna buy out all of the stock at Rodeo Drive this weekend!
JJ
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It's sad, always has been. But, as long as there is a peso to be made, the Sea of Cortez will continue being raped. Have seen many of the same things you have, JJ, over the years. Some better, and probably a few worse. It's horrible to watch at times, seeing live baby sharks cut from the womb and being left to struggle in the surf line is one of the more "unmemorable" moments in my mind. That was pangas at a fish camp near Lobos. Like watching the beach run red in blood wasn't bad enough.
I don't have an answer. Wish I did.
I don't have an answer. Wish I did.
Last edited: Jan 3, 2017 at 3:30 PM
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I have seen many sea horses in the sea of Cortez while scuba diving. The habitat absolutely does exist in the northern Sea of Cortez. They are very difficult to find while diving. They blend in perftlyvwith the macro algae that they live amongst.
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US Navy dolphins to the rescue of the Vaquita.
http://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/us-navy-dolphins-aid-vaquita-conservation/
http://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/us-navy-dolphins-aid-vaquita-conservation/
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I like the dolphins to the rescue idea but it's more of an act of desperation than anything. A more effective solution would be steeper penalties and total enforcement of existing fishing restrictions. The Mexican Navy is very capable of enforcement. Those in violation should be taken into custody, thrown in prison, and their ships blown all to hell. Time to take the gloves off....
Jim you are right on with your understanding of how the ocean reclaims all this stuff. The "parking lot" bottom is by far, in my opinion, the most devastating situation to the eco-system in the upper SOC.
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Was wondering cwhy no one farms Totoaba? http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/environment/sd-me-totoaba-smuggling-20170517-story.html
https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/wolrdoceanday?source=feed_text this is great...hopeful
http://www.terrapeninsular.org/eng/ and this... Kenny and me are friends with Alan's brother.He puts his money to good use.No stinking giant trophy house just a plan to save the people in the area and the environment This .needs to be copied on the Sonoran coast.....
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Passed thru El Golfo yesterday at about three in the afternoon. Saw about forty pangas coming in loaded with the incoming high tide. They were delivering their catch to the new Productos Marinas operation just north of town. There they were loading what looked like literally tons of Croakers with a bucket loader directly into open fifty foot trailers topped off with a little shave ice then being pulled with semi tractors south on the Coastal Highway. We passed three of them between Penasco and El Golfo with gallons of stinking greasy grey liquid pouring out onto the highway in a hazy spray behind them. We had to stop aftr each one to clean the greasy liquid shit from my windshield. There was no attempt being made to cool and preserve the catch for human consumption, most likely heading on down to the Caborca area to become fish meal for chicken feed.
Saturday at the panga camp at Bahia San Jorge there were only three beached pangas and a security guard, I asked him where the fleet was and he said every boat was at El Golfo for the Corbina run.
So much for los ricos Leonardo Dip Shit Da Vinci and Carlos Slim Pickins and their last ditch effort to stop the gill netting in the northern gulf. No evidence of the Sea Shepard boats anywhere along the coast. We did find two Vaquitas as stripped but still articulated skeletons with their skulls stove in and tied together as a pair at their tails with yellow poly rope on the beach south of the panga camp.
The last of the last will be the last in a very short time people!
JJ
Saturday at the panga camp at Bahia San Jorge there were only three beached pangas and a security guard, I asked him where the fleet was and he said every boat was at El Golfo for the Corbina run.
So much for los ricos Leonardo Dip Shit Da Vinci and Carlos Slim Pickins and their last ditch effort to stop the gill netting in the northern gulf. No evidence of the Sea Shepard boats anywhere along the coast. We did find two Vaquitas as stripped but still articulated skeletons with their skulls stove in and tied together as a pair at their tails with yellow poly rope on the beach south of the panga camp.
The last of the last will be the last in a very short time people!
JJ
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Depending on the boundaries of the ban there will be more pressure on all sea life in other areas. It does not decrease the number of fisherfolk just limits the catch area. Maybe they should buy pangas from fisher folk and decommission them. Ship them to China !!
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https://www.hakaimagazine.com/article-short/chesapeake-bays-misguided-war-ray
The Sea of Cortez not the only place people are doing stupid stuff to the sea creatures.
The Sea of Cortez not the only place people are doing stupid stuff to the sea creatures.
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I used to occasionally catch a cow-nosed ray when I lived back in southern Maryland. Took forever to get them in on light tackle. Always released them, except one, which we ate. Decent white meat, but tough and chewy, like a tough lobster.
Never saw any of the carnage described in that article. Most everyone just cut the line when they hooked one so they could get back to fishing. Live and let live.
Never saw any of the carnage described in that article. Most everyone just cut the line when they hooked one so they could get back to fishing. Live and let live.
Earth's sixth mass extinction event under way, scientists warn
The Vaquita isn't the only one in trouble. We will be next. Like I've said before, WE are our own worst enemy.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/10/earths-sixth-mass-extinction-event-already-underway-scientists-warn
The Vaquita isn't the only one in trouble. We will be next. Like I've said before, WE are our own worst enemy.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/10/earths-sixth-mass-extinction-event-already-underway-scientists-warn
www.theguardian.com is the Limey version of the National Enquirer......
FAKE as FAKE can ever be. Total Chicken Little syndrome at it's best.
JJ
FAKE as FAKE can ever be. Total Chicken Little syndrome at it's best.
JJ
Maybe...time will tell. The Guardian is just reporting what scientists are saying, along with many other news reporting agencies. Hope you're right...
And so it begins. A last-chance act of desperation relying on trained dolphins to locate the elusive Vaquita so they can be captured and protected. Starting this fall...best of luck.
https://www.rockypoint.com/news/constructing-rescue-center-endangered-vaquita/
https://www.rockypoint.com/news/constructing-rescue-center-endangered-vaquita/
Shark..................
I heard there are plans for a tall zip line tower to be built at the end of the soon to be completed Home Port pier with a cable connected to another tower at the hill at Punta San Felipe. There will be numerous net baskets connected to the cable that the US Navy Dolphins will drive the little Sea Cows into and then be zipped right over to the awaiting swimming pools at the new rescue center.
Nice plan though, I'm really pissed that Leonardo didn't go public with the stocks.
JJ
I heard there are plans for a tall zip line tower to be built at the end of the soon to be completed Home Port pier with a cable connected to another tower at the hill at Punta San Felipe. There will be numerous net baskets connected to the cable that the US Navy Dolphins will drive the little Sea Cows into and then be zipped right over to the awaiting swimming pools at the new rescue center.
Nice plan though, I'm really pissed that Leonardo didn't go public with the stocks.
JJ
http://www.hcn.org/articles/ocean-wildlife-the-fight-to-save-vaquitas-from-extinction Great story...
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http://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/navy-dolphins-arrive-for-vaquita-capture/ Last gasp......think they should move them to Austrailia
It does make more sense to relocate them to a safe haven with conditions as close as possible to the upper gulf. Holding them in captivity has never been successful. Returning them to the upper gulf after gill net fishing has "been eliminated" is nothing more than a pipe dream. Better add restoring the Colorado River flow to the gulf to that list which will never happen either.
Marine activity blocked (we'll see if this actually happens) : https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/marine-activity-halted-in-vaquita-habitat/
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That's great for the 9 to 5 type of enforcement. The gill netters all work from 9 to 5, too. But the opposite shift under the cover of darkness.
MIRAMAR said:Marine activity blocked (we'll see if this actually happens) : https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/marine-activity-halted-in-vaquita-habitat/
Rules are only as good as their enforcement. All depends on how the Mexican Navy has been authorized to respond to a violation. All it would take is a serious show of force and the message would be sent.
They captured their first vaquita, but released it because it was a calf: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g153981-Puerto_Penasco_Northern_Mexico.html
MIRAMAR said:They captured their first vaquita, but released it because it was a calf: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g153981-Puerto_Penasco_Northern_Mexico.html
YUMMY! The "veal" of seafood!!
:yes: :rofl: :rofl::umah:
Someone had some of that "veal" yesterday..........
Saw a good sized navy ship out there Friday afternoon maybe fifteen miles off of Campo Las Brisas on the Coastal Hwy south of El Golfo. Probably the Vaquita catchers. Last night on our way home we we saw at least ten shrimp trawlers in the same area as well as dozens of panagas close to shore......so much for the "protected" zone.
Just read on Newsmax that an adult Vaquita was captured by the US Navy yesterday and "died" (deliberately killed) from "stress" (fright) and the operation will most likely be halted by the Mex Gov.
Guess the zip line is historical now as not a trace of activity was evident over the weekend, cables will probably rust thru in short order. Saw quite a few lonely adult male Tarantulas crossing the highway lookin' for love.
Otherwise another great PP weekend.
JJ
Saw a good sized navy ship out there Friday afternoon maybe fifteen miles off of Campo Las Brisas on the Coastal Hwy south of El Golfo. Probably the Vaquita catchers. Last night on our way home we we saw at least ten shrimp trawlers in the same area as well as dozens of panagas close to shore......so much for the "protected" zone.
Just read on Newsmax that an adult Vaquita was captured by the US Navy yesterday and "died" (deliberately killed) from "stress" (fright) and the operation will most likely be halted by the Mex Gov.
Guess the zip line is historical now as not a trace of activity was evident over the weekend, cables will probably rust thru in short order. Saw quite a few lonely adult male Tarantulas crossing the highway lookin' for love.
Otherwise another great PP weekend.
JJ
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Troubling, but the point still being... Stop the illegal gill netting and the Vaquita will recover. They KNOW that is the key to it, still no cajones to do so.
I said a year ago... give me authority and three well armed center consoles and this shit would be over with.
I said a year ago... give me authority and three well armed center consoles and this shit would be over with.
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Hostility and Unrest in San Felipe
Report from the crews of the JOHN PAUL DEJORIA and the FARLEY MOWAT in the Sea of Cortez
The Arrest of Sunshine Rodriguez
An arrest was made for Sunshine Antonio Rodriguez Peña in Mexicali, Mexico on the afternoon of November 24. Sunshine has been associated with illegal fishing of Totoaba in the Sea of Cortez and is the leader of the fishermen’s association in San Felipe. As a part of Operation Milagro IV, a Sea Shepherd campaign charged with removing Totoaba fishing nets in defense of the Vaquita Porpoise, our vessels M/V Farley Mowat and M/V John Paul DeJoria are currently anchored in the harbor of San Felipe.
The Federal Attorney of Mexico (PGR) has not yet released any details as to Sunshine’s detainment. He has been under investigation with charges related to the drug cartel and Totoaba poachers for a long time. According to local fishermen, Sunshine was driving with his family when he was pulled over for neglecting to have a license plate on his vehicle. They searched the vehicle and found 1 kg of methamphetamine. Sunshine and his wife were then arrested by the PGR before being flown to Mexico City for further investigation. The people of San Felipe believe that those who arrested Sunshine also planted the drugs into his vehicle.
In solidarity with Sunshine, and to demand the release of their leader, the fishing community decided to protest his arrest and block the road entrance to San Felipe. A Federal Inspector with the National Commission of Aquaculture and Fisheries (CONAPESCA) was trying to avoid the roadblock when he evacuated his vehicle and escaped the scene. His car, as photographed here, was set on fire by protesters. In hopes of adding more pressure to the Mexican government, protesters are proceeding to Mexicali to rally outside of the airport and the Federal Attorney’s office.
Sunshine often speaks up against Sea Shepherd. We are considered the reason that the fishing industry has crashed in San Felipe. And when people boycotted shrimp in 2016, he blamed Sea Shepherd even though we had no involvement.
Because of these accusations, our crew in San Felipe is unsafe and under threat. At the start of 2017 during Milagro III, Sunshine wrote Sea Shepherd on a panga between PROFEPA and CONAPESCA and set it on fire, threatening that he would burn Sea Shepherd vessels. He has frequently threatened our volunteers. Still, we are not going anywhere. We are here to stay as we all feel very strongly that the Vaquitas are more important to us than anything else.
We will keep you updated as the story progresses.
Photo: The angry fishermen destroyed this truck owned by the National Commission of Agriculture and Fisheries
Report from the crews of the JOHN PAUL DEJORIA and the FARLEY MOWAT in the Sea of Cortez
The Arrest of Sunshine Rodriguez
An arrest was made for Sunshine Antonio Rodriguez Peña in Mexicali, Mexico on the afternoon of November 24. Sunshine has been associated with illegal fishing of Totoaba in the Sea of Cortez and is the leader of the fishermen’s association in San Felipe. As a part of Operation Milagro IV, a Sea Shepherd campaign charged with removing Totoaba fishing nets in defense of the Vaquita Porpoise, our vessels M/V Farley Mowat and M/V John Paul DeJoria are currently anchored in the harbor of San Felipe.
The Federal Attorney of Mexico (PGR) has not yet released any details as to Sunshine’s detainment. He has been under investigation with charges related to the drug cartel and Totoaba poachers for a long time. According to local fishermen, Sunshine was driving with his family when he was pulled over for neglecting to have a license plate on his vehicle. They searched the vehicle and found 1 kg of methamphetamine. Sunshine and his wife were then arrested by the PGR before being flown to Mexico City for further investigation. The people of San Felipe believe that those who arrested Sunshine also planted the drugs into his vehicle.
In solidarity with Sunshine, and to demand the release of their leader, the fishing community decided to protest his arrest and block the road entrance to San Felipe. A Federal Inspector with the National Commission of Aquaculture and Fisheries (CONAPESCA) was trying to avoid the roadblock when he evacuated his vehicle and escaped the scene. His car, as photographed here, was set on fire by protesters. In hopes of adding more pressure to the Mexican government, protesters are proceeding to Mexicali to rally outside of the airport and the Federal Attorney’s office.
Sunshine often speaks up against Sea Shepherd. We are considered the reason that the fishing industry has crashed in San Felipe. And when people boycotted shrimp in 2016, he blamed Sea Shepherd even though we had no involvement.
Because of these accusations, our crew in San Felipe is unsafe and under threat. At the start of 2017 during Milagro III, Sunshine wrote Sea Shepherd on a panga between PROFEPA and CONAPESCA and set it on fire, threatening that he would burn Sea Shepherd vessels. He has frequently threatened our volunteers. Still, we are not going anywhere. We are here to stay as we all feel very strongly that the Vaquitas are more important to us than anything else.
We will keep you updated as the story progresses.
Photo: The angry fishermen destroyed this truck owned by the National Commission of Agriculture and Fisheries
I was coming in last night from San Luis and it sure looked like 3-4 boats off in the distance trawling in the ecological zone just a little bit South of El Golfo which would put them in the off limits zone.
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Estero.........
We counted sixteen full sized trawlers in that area today at around two PM on our way back to Yuma. Stopped on the cliffs near Campo Las Brisas and checked them out with binoculars, all were in full bottom drag mode with outriggers out and trawls deployed lazily scrapping what might be left on the bottom out there.
So much for the "protected zone".
We did find a freshly dead adult Vaquita yesterday on the beach near the tip of Salinas Point.
More on that manana!
JJ
We counted sixteen full sized trawlers in that area today at around two PM on our way back to Yuma. Stopped on the cliffs near Campo Las Brisas and checked them out with binoculars, all were in full bottom drag mode with outriggers out and trawls deployed lazily scrapping what might be left on the bottom out there.
So much for the "protected zone".
We did find a freshly dead adult Vaquita yesterday on the beach near the tip of Salinas Point.
More on that manana!
JJ
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How sad- Salinas point east of Bird Island?
Miramar..........
Yes, Salinas Point with Saint George Island out on the western horizon.
We saw Vaquitas lazily hunting within a stones throw just offshore along that beach twice last spring.
JJ
Yes, Salinas Point with Saint George Island out on the western horizon.
We saw Vaquitas lazily hunting within a stones throw just offshore along that beach twice last spring.
JJ
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We thought we saw some in front of our house last spring as well.
MIRAMAR said:We thought we saw some in front of our house last spring as well.
CNN Article ( I believe this is new )
http://money.cnn.com/interactive/news/vaquita-business-of-extinction/
Did fishermen in Penasco participate also?
Last edited: Dec 9, 2017 at 3:34 PM
Hey Estero.....................
That link has a full on ATTACK VIRUS embedded in it! I would advise no one to open it. Took me two hours to scour it from my my PC.
JJ
That link has a full on ATTACK VIRUS embedded in it! I would advise no one to open it. Took me two hours to scour it from my my PC.
JJ
Jungle Jim said:Hey Estero.....................
That link has a full on ATTACK VIRUS embedded in it! I would advise no one to open it. Took me two hours to scour it from my my PC.
JJ
No it doesn't, it is simply a generic Yahoo news link. You must have something else going on with your puter. Probably some malware you already have on your pc that hijacks yahoo links and issues a redirect. Download and run malwarebytes. In any case, below is the text for those afraid to click the link.
Fishermen in Mexico shoot down environmental group's drone
Associated Press•December 27, 2017
MEXICO CITY (AP) — The environmental group Sea Shepherd said fishermen fired 25 shots at one of its night-vision drones in Mexico's Gulf of California, bringing it down.
Various drones have been employed to patrol the Gulf, also known as the Sea of Cortez, to combat illegal fishing and save the critically endangered vaquita marina, the world's smallest porpoise.
Poachers often set out at night to set nets for totoaba, a fish whose swim bladder is prized in China. But vaquitas often get caught in totoaba nets, causing the population to plunge to less than 30.
Sea Shepherd has been the target of demonstrations by fishermen in the past, but said the Christmas Eve shooting represented "a new level of violence."
The group said Tuesday that its drone had located four small boats illegally fishing for totoaba.
Men on three of the boats were observed firing at the device until its camera shut off.
The drone was then listed as "disconnected," indicating it went down.
In the past, fishermen have thrown rocks and bricks at drones, staged demonstrations demanding that Sea Shepherd boats be expelled, burned vehicles and patrol boats, and beat inspectors from the office of environmental protection, but this is the first time they fired guns.
In other parts of the world, Sea Shepherd vessels have rammed into whaling ships to deter illegal activities.
But in the Gulf, the group has peacefully patrolled the waters, looking for vaquitas dead or alive and gill nets, which it removes.
The patrol effort has been welcomed by the Mexican government, which has had a difficult time enforcing a ban on gill net fishing because fishermen use fast boats and lead vessels on hours-long chases.
Sometimes, pickup trucks drop boat trailers onto beaches and haul off small fishing crafts before authorities arrive.
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Ya know..........
You sound like someone dealing out Jamaican justice.
Rasta Man murders tourist. Rasta Man not guilty because if tourist not there Rasta Man wouldn't been able to kill him. Tourist guilty of his own murder.
JJ
You sound like someone dealing out Jamaican justice.
Rasta Man murders tourist. Rasta Man not guilty because if tourist not there Rasta Man wouldn't been able to kill him. Tourist guilty of his own murder.
JJ
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Well Jim's reply is unusual....still this drone shooting is pretty crazy...guns being illegal and all...they better have worn masks...
https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/sea-shepherd-drone-shot-down ...the fade to black
Now that WAS COOL! Jerry. Especially sans the stinking virus..............
That panguero was using a full auto military rifle. Maybe now the Wanna Be Sea Shepard kids might think about the possibility of a military grade RPG to the hull just at the water line for screwing with a business that is none of their business.
It'll be pretty cool to see that tub full of fagola foreigners jumpin into that fifty degree water as it goes down in an air polluting blaze tomorrow afternoon as we head down for the PP Feliz Anyo Nueveo festivities.
Maybe you aren't aware of the fact that every commercial fishing boat in the world has a handy rifle of some sort at close hand for a testy Sea Lion, Mako Shark, Great White, three hundred pound Halibut or pesky Piratas. Very acceptable Law of the Sea everywhere. I have always carried twelve gauge double 00 buckshot on my boats to put through my flare gun for just such an occasion.
I'll never forget back when I was five or six and my grand pappy Amos and my dad would cruise up to Las Ilas Coronados and pick off a bunch of Chivos off the cliffs with surplus M1 Garrand rifles. We would come back close to shore and gaff one or two and bring em back home to San Diego for a neighborhood goat grab barbie along with a six hundred pound Black Sea Bass divvied up amongst the hood.
JJ
That panguero was using a full auto military rifle. Maybe now the Wanna Be Sea Shepard kids might think about the possibility of a military grade RPG to the hull just at the water line for screwing with a business that is none of their business.
It'll be pretty cool to see that tub full of fagola foreigners jumpin into that fifty degree water as it goes down in an air polluting blaze tomorrow afternoon as we head down for the PP Feliz Anyo Nueveo festivities.
Maybe you aren't aware of the fact that every commercial fishing boat in the world has a handy rifle of some sort at close hand for a testy Sea Lion, Mako Shark, Great White, three hundred pound Halibut or pesky Piratas. Very acceptable Law of the Sea everywhere. I have always carried twelve gauge double 00 buckshot on my boats to put through my flare gun for just such an occasion.
I'll never forget back when I was five or six and my grand pappy Amos and my dad would cruise up to Las Ilas Coronados and pick off a bunch of Chivos off the cliffs with surplus M1 Garrand rifles. We would come back close to shore and gaff one or two and bring em back home to San Diego for a neighborhood goat grab barbie along with a six hundred pound Black Sea Bass divvied up amongst the hood.
JJ
Jungle Jim said:Now that WAS COOL! Jerry. Especially sans the stinking virus..............
That panguero was using a full auto military rifle. Maybe now the Wanna Be Sea Shepard kids might think about the possibility of a military grade RPG to the hull just at the water line for screwing with a business that is none of their business.
It'll be pretty cool to see that tub full of fagola foreigners jumpin into that fifty degree water as it goes down in an air polluting blaze tomorrow afternoon as we head down for the PP Feliz Anyo Nueveo festivities.
Maybe you aren't aware of the fact that every commercial fishing boat in the world has a handy rifle of some sort at close hand for a testy Sea Lion, Mako Shark, Great White, three hundred pound Halibut or pesky Piratas. Very acceptable Law of the Sea everywhere. I have always carried twelve gauge double 00 buckshot on my boats to put through my flare gun for just such an occasion.
I'll never forget back when I was five or six and my grand pappy Amos and my dad would cruise up to Las Ilas Coronados and pick off a bunch of Chivos off the cliffs with surplus M1 Garrand rifles. We would come back close to shore and gaff one or two and bring em back home to San Diego for a neighborhood goat grab barbie along with a six hundred pound Black Sea Bass divvied up amongst the hood.
JJ
jim, you have the soul of a bloody poet.... still that boat full of frenchies,aussies and american hipsters is winning....they got Leonardo on board ..he got the mini president and his men with guns........they have put a big dent in the illegal fishing up there....
Rumors of theft and crime increasing in El Golfo due to the fishing ban.
Hopefully more gill nets out of the water: http://sharkresearch.rsmas.miami.edu/conservation/a-story-of-dramatic-conservation-effort-saving-the-vaquita-porpoise-phocoena-sinus-from-extinction
Crime and Corruption.
Who would have guessed?
https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/crime-and-corruption-scourge-of-the-vaquita/
Who would have guessed?
https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/crime-and-corruption-scourge-of-the-vaquita/
Glad we have none of that in the US!
MIRAMAR said:Glad we have none of that in the US!
Too tempting...guys south of you a bit made over 35k american in a deal 4 years ago....they were killed by the Salazar's in 2015 in a territory fight
MIRAMAR said:Glad we have none of that in the US!
Not saying it doesn’t happen, but we have a lot more game wardens, rangers, and such and the penalties when caught are pretty damned steep.
First time I caught a totauva years ago, I was scared shitless. Didn't even want it in the boat. Tried to revive it and release it, but it inevitably went belly up. Another boat came over and grabbed it. Told them it was totuava. They laughed and said "Catch, fillet and release!" and off they went.
These days, they've come back in big numbers and some days we catch and release many, or just pull anchor and move to a different spot to get away from them.
Bottom line is: It's not us sport fishing guys that are causing the demise of the vaquita. Truly is the cartels and the gill nets. Said it before - give me three well armed large center consoles with good electronics and this shit would end. The professor is correct. There is simply no will to enforce the law, mostly due to money going into someone's pocket.
Sad. :(
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If you only knew had an "in" for the selling of the bladder. Would have paid for your gas!
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Jungle Jim said:Estero.........
We counted sixteen full sized trawlers in that area today at around two PM on our way back to Yuma. Stopped on the cliffs near Campo Las Brisas and checked them out with binoculars, all were in full bottom drag mode with outriggers out and trawls deployed lazily scrapping what might be left on the bottom out there.
So much for the "protected zone".
We did find a freshly dead adult Vaquita yesterday on the beach near the tip of Salinas Point.
More on that manana!
JJ
Hey JJ, can you post photos of that dead vaquita?
Jungle Jim said:Estero.........
We counted sixteen full sized trawlers in that area today at around two PM on our way back to Yuma. Stopped on the cliffs near Campo Las Brisas and checked them out with binoculars, all were in full bottom drag mode with outriggers out and trawls deployed lazily scrapping what might be left on the bottom out there.
So much for the "protected zone".
We did find a freshly dead adult Vaquita yesterday on the beach near the tip of Salinas Point.
More on that manana!
JJ
Hey JJ can you post photos of that vaquita or message me with any photos?
More spill over: from a Baja forum " Can anyone living in San Felipe shed light on the situation regarding the local fishermen and the Mexican government's desire to protect the endangered species known as La vaquita marina? With all due respect to everyone involved, I would caution anyone who plans to go fishing there as tensions are running very high with protests including hunger strikes on the part of some of the locals. Insults towards Americans fishing there for sport are also being levied vía social media, as well towards the local, state, and particularly the federal government. Please no disparaging remarks. In fairness to all, I would appreciate any discourse here to reflect facts that serve to inform and promote respect and safety. Thank you in advance.
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Last sunday afternoon saw a Mexican Navy ship out maybe ten miles offshore at the Campo Las Brisas turnoff. Appeared to be just drifting.
Coming down the hill into El Golfo twenty minutes later saw six pangas coming ashore at speed with their "in broad daylight" catch.
Might consider the new tally at less than ten today.
And as Mexican "logic" will certainly prevail, once they are gone all of the restrictions will be lifted and the ToTo bladders will hit an all time high. Until the last dozen ToTo's are gone as well.
JJ
Coming down the hill into El Golfo twenty minutes later saw six pangas coming ashore at speed with their "in broad daylight" catch.
Might consider the new tally at less than ten today.
And as Mexican "logic" will certainly prevail, once they are gone all of the restrictions will be lifted and the ToTo bladders will hit an all time high. Until the last dozen ToTo's are gone as well.
JJ
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JJ, when my environmentalist friend married her geologist boyfriend at ST five years ago everyone got so drunk and party mad the days before they dropped the ball on the food....it fell to me and adolfA the guard to rustle up the grub. The beautifully prepared Sinaloans style White Sea Bass was actually a ToTo....if they ever find out they will kill me!
32 Totoaba found dead in a net by San Felipe.
http://www.uniradioinforma.com/noticias/bajacalifornia/520122/localizan-32-totoabas-en-san-felipe.html
http://www.uniradioinforma.com/noticias/bajacalifornia/520122/localizan-32-totoabas-en-san-felipe.html
Still food................
Thirty two whole stinking rotting Totoabas pitched into two or three fifty five gallon drums, guts and all, twenty or thirty pounds of salt, a few pounds of garlic, a few pounds of scorching chilies, topped off with fresh sea water, then three or four months simmering in the desert sun. Before long got some serious delicious Nouc Mam.
The locals in Little Saigon, El Cajon, CA will pay dearly for it!
I've actually acquired a taste for it. Especially to mask the reek of the decayed Cabrilla that they sell at the Malecon.
JJ
Thirty two whole stinking rotting Totoabas pitched into two or three fifty five gallon drums, guts and all, twenty or thirty pounds of salt, a few pounds of garlic, a few pounds of scorching chilies, topped off with fresh sea water, then three or four months simmering in the desert sun. Before long got some serious delicious Nouc Mam.
The locals in Little Saigon, El Cajon, CA will pay dearly for it!
I've actually acquired a taste for it. Especially to mask the reek of the decayed Cabrilla that they sell at the Malecon.
JJ
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Too little, too late.
10 years ago, this could have made a difference. Maybe.
The gill nets will kill them all.
10 years ago, this could have made a difference. Maybe.
The gill nets will kill them all.
The could turn the entire SOC into a protected area and it would not matter. They can not enforce the area that is protected already.
:truedat:
Over 800 totoaba bladders stopped by authorities in Mexico City from being smuggled to China.
https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/2-totoaba-busts-in-one-week-at-aicm/?utm_source=Mexico+News+Daily&utm_campaign=afb831f6a3-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f1536a3787-afb831f6a3-349538397
https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/2-totoaba-busts-in-one-week-at-aicm/?utm_source=Mexico+News+Daily&utm_campaign=afb831f6a3-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f1536a3787-afb831f6a3-349538397
JimMcG said:Over 800 totoaba bladders stopped by authorities in Mexico City from being smuggled to China.
https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/2-totoaba-busts-in-one-week-at-aicm/?utm_source=Mexico+News+Daily&utm_campaign=afb831f6a3-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f1536a3787-afb831f6a3-349538397
They all weren't Totoaba? No honor amoung genocide aiding gangsters I guess...That moment you get that tap on your shoulder to come with the police in a foriegn land stays with you forever
On the other hand the dolphins are doing well.
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National Geographic released a documentary on the Vaquita https://amp.theguardian.com/film/2019/sep/26/sea-of-shadows-review-vaquita-totoaba-mexico-documentary