Discover Article on Pogies

[Patrick82]

Mindi gave me the same copy in print. That's one of her favorite magazines. I have the copy in my room.

The one picture that frightens me is this one. It's pretty small on the website but in the magazine, it's a full page. The fish in the middle laying on it's stomach is a striper. In the full page photo, you can see some distinct stripes running along the sides. "Bycatch" I guess. I tried blowing up the photo but that just made things blurry. But trust me, it's a striper all right.

That's kind of sad that mainstream media got ahold of it. You know they must be in a bad way. It's a double edged sword though. Maybe this press will get people not directly related to fishing or menhaden reduction boats into the fight. I just hope they are smart enough to choose our side. Just another way of how big business runs the show and the little guys, us, get pushed aside. Hopefully, we all start pushing back. I really wanted to help the SaltyDogs out in NJ but I'm out of state but I think we should all have a say in what happens in other state's waters. They are the same fish that migrate up and down the coast. If they don't kill them in NJ, they'll kill them somewhere else. Very sad state of affairs. Haven't even seen any peanut bunker yet. Last year there were gazillions of them and they were here in late August. Nothing yet.

Hopefully, HOPEFULLY, someone will figure out a way to get a coastwide action going to protect the menhaden but until then, I guess it's a state by state battle. Each state that sides with us makes it easier for other states to see it clearly. But it's like bowling. You get a much better score if you knock all the pins down at once.

Maybe I'm onto something, and I'm sure others have the same idea. A conservation group out there lobbying just to protect these fish. Nothing else. Just the bunkers.

Obviously this topic is very close to my heart. But like the article basically says, the menhaden is the most important fish on the east coast. Everything in the ocean survives off it directly or not so far indirectly.