Author: Justin

Great White Released in Monterey

My brother Adam wrote about the great white shark captured in a fisherman’s net and put on display at our favorite NoCal haunt, the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We have been going to the aquarium since its foundation, and my parents are charter members. My dad forwarded a message the aquarium sent out yesterday:

Dear Dr. and Mrs. Yoshida,
After careful consideration and planning, we removed the white shark from the Outer Bay exhibit early this morning and released her in the open waters just outside Monterey Bay at 5:45 a.m.
Two factors led to this decision. First, the shark was rapidly approaching a maximum size and weight at which she could be safely removed, transported and released with full confidence that she would thrive. Second, aquarists observed a marked change in her behavior over the past week of what they considered to be active hunting of other exhibit animals and they became substantially more concerned about the well-being of the other fishes.
She was not released because of any injury or health problem. At the time of her release, she was 6′-4″ long and weighed 162 pounds. That means she grew more than a foot in length and gained 100 pounds in her six months on exhibit. She was healthy and strong when she swam away from the boat. We expect her to quickly adapt to hunting and feeding on natural prey. An electronic tag was attached to allow us to track her movements.
The decision to release her into the outer Monterey Bay is based on suitable water temperature and turbidity conditions. It is supported by research from tagging and tracking data about the movements of other young white sharks indicating that they inhabit our offshore waters.
We’re proud of the fact we were able to keep this shark for more than six months and then release her safely back to the wild. You should be proud too as a member of the first aquarium ever to accomplish this. During the time she was here, we developed a better understanding of how best to collect, take care of and ultimately release a juvenile white shark.
Thank you for supporting our efforts to learn more about white sharks and to heighten public awareness about the threats facing shark populations worldwide.
For more information, please visit www.montereybayaquarium.org
Sincerely,
The Monterey Bay Aquarium Membership Department
Our mission is to inspire conservation of the oceans.

It’s little things like this that make the MBA the best aquarium in the world, but there are others as well. Off the top of my head:
– Delicious clam chowder served in the cafeteria (do I have my priorities straight or what?)
– Superbly photogenic jellyfish display (I took several nice shots against the blue background a couple years ago and have since found several similar ones taken by other people)
– Cutest otters in the world
– In general, extremely clean and well-organized organized exhibit space
If you ever have the chance to visit, I highly recommend it.

Amelia Earhart buried on Saipan?

I’d never heard this theory before:
Fate of Amelia Earhart prompts jail excavation

“In the past there had been rumors that Amelia Earhart’s plane was shot down and she was held captive by her Japanese captors on suspicion that she was a spy. Later she was burned and buried at the back of the jail,” Historic Preservation Office (HPO) director Epiphanio Cabrera said.

Is it just me, or is the next logical question, “was she burned dead or alive?” (Hey, with Japan’s track record, it’s a fair question, right?)

Gone fishin’

Since I had a paid holiday to use up this week, I took the day off and slept until mid-afternoon. In truth, I had intended on waking up early to go fishing, but I got trapped in the intoxicating warmth of my blankets. By the time I got moving, the tides were unfavorable, so I thought we would go hiking up in the mountains and maybe try some largemouth bass (in Japan, “black bass”) fishing. We were not disappointed, as I hooked up with a couple 13-14 inchers within the first fifteen minutes:
blackbass3.jpg
blackbass1.jpg
What an awesome day off!

phobia?

After reading this, would you still call my fear of sharks irrational? After years of watching shark documentaries on various nature channels, it is still baffling to me that even after getting bitten, many shark researchers will often continue their work (presumably with new nicknames like, “stumpy,” or out on the water, “bob”).

Tupelo Honey

Was listening to Van Morrison late last night and got caught up in memories when the said track played.
When he first started his practice, my father often accepted barter when his patients couldn’t afford treatment. One man brought in a couple jars of Tupelo honey from his own beehives. Naturally, when I heard this story a couple years ago, I asked my dad how it tasted. “Sweet,” he said.
When my pal T’s father opened a cram school thirty years ago, many of his students came from poor families, so he also accepted fresh produce or other various goods as payment. That’s so cool.
When I think of how impersonal and insignificant office jobs are in the modern world, it makes me fucking sick.