Humbolt Squid Invasion

Humbolt squid are moving north and are starting to hit Monterey Bay in a serious way. Tradtitionally a warmer water species the Humbolt squid has been moving north since the 1970's. Most likely due to over fishing of its top competitors like tuna and shark, but global warming could be playing a role too as more northern oceans warm.

Jumbo squid that can grow up to 7 feet long and weigh more than 110 pounds is invading central California waters and preying on local anchovy, hake and other commercial fish populations, according to a study published Tuesday.

An aggressive predator, the Humboldt squid — or Dosidicus gigas — can change its eating habits to consume the food supply favored by tuna and sharks, its closest competitors, according to an article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.

"Having a new, voracious predator set up shop here in California may be yet another thing for fishermen to compete with," said the study's co-author, Stanford University researcher Louis Zeidberg. "That said, if a squid saw a human they would jet the other way."

The jumbo squid used to be found only in the Pacific Ocean's warmest stretches near the equator. In the last 16 years, it has expanded its territory throughout California waters, and squid have even been found in the icy waters off Alaska, Zeidberg said.

Photo by Flickr user amanderbear used under a creative commons license.

Can you spot the tiger?

No sound in this video

h/t JL

GWS attack!

Via a local message board a local was attacked in his kayak by a great white shark on Saturday off of the San Mateo Coast. He was fishing from his kayak when the shark attacked the boat, knocking him out of the boat. The fisherman was able to get back into his kayak and paddle to shore. He did not sustain any injuries.

More info later as it comes in.

Photo by Flickr user Gussy (Luke) used under a Creative Commons License.

UPDATE: The SF Chronicle picks up the story here.

Virtual Neighborhood Tour

If you have never been to our store but wondered what the outside of it looked like or what our neighborhood was like try google maps. Addresses are approximate and our is off a bit but here we are. Plus some 4th Street goodness.

Pulpos: suave inteligencia

This video will make you want a pet octopus. I promise. It is in Spanish, but you will get the general idea of it. Intelligent, beautiful and surprisingly flexible. What more could you ask for?

Michael Vick

Let's hope Michael Vick goes to jail for a very long time if he is convicted of these horrendous crimes. It hurts to even read the indictment. The cruelty is more than I imagined. Some of the gross details of the indictment are paraphrased by the smoking gun.

The 27-year-old Vick, whose nickname is listed as "Ookie" in the indictment, allegedly established the Bad Newz Kennels in early-2001 in Smithfield, Virginia. It was this property, for which Vick paid $34,000, that the star athlete and his codefendants used as the "main staging area for housing and training the pit bulls involved in the dog fighting venture and hosting dog fights." According to prosecutors, Vick and his cohorts began purchasing pit bull puppies in late-2001 and would eventually "sponsor" individual dog fights with purses as high as $26,000. In the indictment's most harrowing parts, federal investigators describe what happened to some Bad Newz Kennels dogs that either lost matches or did not perform well in test fights. After a March 2003 loss by a female pit bull, codefendant Purnell Peace, "after consulting with Vick," electrocuted the animal. In April, prosecutors allege, Vick, Peace, and Quanis Phillips, "executed approximately 8 dogs that did not perform well in 'testing' sessions." These animals, the indictment claims, were killed "by various methods, including hanging, drowning, and slamming at least one dog's body to the ground."

Hopefully his sponsors will start dropping him soon. There is such thing as innocent until proven guilty in this country, but the Fed's don't bring an indictment they aren't very confident in. Maybe this case will bring dog fighting to the attention of the masses and more people will realize that it is a very real issue. If you feel so obliged send Ron Mexico's sponsors a little note saying you do not appreciate their using a dog fighter as a role model.

Photo by Flickr user littlerottenrobin used under a Creative Commons license

Housekeeping

I finished my regular job this past week and wrapping it up was very time consuming, which did not allow for a lot of blogtime. I will be posting a bunch this week while packing up the apt. and getting ready for a month long trip to Central America, when I imagine there will be no posting. Might try and find a guest blogger for that month.

Photo by Flickr user Rick Takagi used under Creative Commons license.

Whale + Dynamite + Bad Engineering = Funny

I remember watching this video in my high school wildlife biology class and forgotten about its existence until it showed up on the sayhey blog this week. Way too funny.

Great Resource

I just added Livingunderworld.org to our link roll. This is an amazing site with great information on amphibians. The galleries are fantastic, but the species database is really where all the action is. The natural history and care information reads better than most amphibian book I have read. If you are ever looking for care information on dart frogs, or salamanders, or just about any amphibian check this web project out. It is a new (to me) resource I will be using constantly.

Celebrity Dog Fighting

It appears there was another federal raid on a property owned by Falcon's QB Michael Vick in a suspected dog fighting case.

On June 7, federal law enforcement officials descended on a home owned by Vick armed with a search warrant that suggests they're taking over an investigation into the Falcons quarterback's possible involvement in dogfighting.
More than a dozen vehicles went to the home early that day and investigators searched inside before turning their attention to the area where officials found dozens of dogs in late April and evidence that suggested the home was involved in a dogfighting operation.
Surry County officials had secured a search warrant in late May based on an informant's information to look for as many as 30 dog carcasses buried on the property. The warrant never was executed because Commonwealth's Attorney Gerald G. Poindexter said he had issues with the way it was worded.

Photo of fake dog fighting by Flickr user / juL / used under a creative commons license.

Go America

Honor has been restored to America as we brought back the title to our best sport, competitive eating. Good job by the local boy Joey Chestnut. New World Record!

Photo by Flickr user wallyg used under Creative Commons license