THE MIGHTY BLUEFIN TUNA

     I was digesting my latest Nat. Geo. Mag. and I became transfixed by the beautiful writing of the author of an article about bluefin tuna.  Everyone probably knows by now that the Atlantic bluefin tuna is being relentlessly fished out of existence.  In prior generations, the fish was known derisively as "horse mackerel" and ended up in cat food or was used as fertilizer.  Then the Japanese discovered that it made a splendid sushi and the race was on.  Almost the entire annual catch goes to the huge Japanese fish market in Tokyo.  Tsukiji Fish Market is the largest fish market on the planet and is situated right in the middle of the city.  It processes roughly 2,000 tons of seafood every day but the main attraction for wholesale fish buyers---and a tourist audience that has gotten so large they restrict viewing to 120 at a time and only in certain areas---is the daily bluefin tuna auction.  Since the big earthquake, the market's overseers have become very nervous about the tourist trade.  The place is a madhouse as it is with the bidding for blue fin.  Last year, a single bluefin was bought for 1.76 million dollars.  The powers-that-be are thinking of moving the operation somewhere out of town because it takes up so much valuable real estate.

     I was astounded to learn that the biggest bluefin tunas get up to fourteen feet long and weigh 3/4 of a ton.  They can swim over twenty-five M.P.H.  Their gills are thirty times more efficient than other fish and they absorb 1/2 of the O2 in the sea water that pass over those gills.  They have uniquely shaped gills called 'ram gills' that act like a turbo charger.  Their superb swimming muscles have such a voracious need for oxygenated blood that if the fish ever stopped swimming it would suffocate.  This and other fun facts were learned from the author, Kenneth Brower.  If the name sounds familiar to you, it's because he is the son of David Brower, the guy who founded the Sierra Club.  He has a beautiful writing style and the first couple of paragraphs verged on poetry.  I scanned some stuff from the article, including the first page of writing.  I hope you can read it on whatever device you're receiving this e-mail on because I think it's great stuff.  Hey Timmy!  He reminds me of you on your best days, ya know?  When the metaphors and similes are flying thick and fast?  I also scanned some other pix that show the size of these fish.

The tuna researchers catch the fish on a standard big rig rod and reel.  Then they use a big rubberized tarp to haul it out of the water.  They measure and tag it and slide it back into the briny deep before it suffocates.  In eighteen months the dart self-destructs and it's electronic tag with foam float ascends to the surface and it sends off an electronic signal which is picked up by orbiting satellites.  The data in the tag, a detailed itinerary of where the fish swam and how deep it went, is uploaded to the satellite and downloaded to the researchers back at Hopkins Marine Station in Monterey.  Ain't modern technology cool?  Let's hope it can help save the magnificent bluefin from extortion...  

THIS LITTLE BABY THAT'S GETTING A TAG ATTACHED BEFORE BEING THROWN    BACK WAS 10 FEET/1200+ POUNDS.                                                   

     Here's part of the article written by  Kenneth Brower.  Sorry I couldn't make it any bigger.

Great stuff!  Mickey da Mayor of Happy Acres