Here ya' go, radioactive salmon. Photo above is from the linked article here.
Reader Reaction (just the sound)
No, Dorothy, these are not red-hot salmon that have turned color due to Fukushima Radiation. They are spawning salmon and turning red at the end of their up-stream final journey is normal. After they spawn, they lay over flat and go to fish heaven. But the article is worth reading and the associated photo worth noting.
I have found a couple other articles also using similar photos to show what purports to be "radioactive" salmon. These little fellows have had quite a life and made quite a journey only to have the author taint them in the end as diseased, using misleading photos. Very good examples of publishing with complete disconnect and or experience to the subject matter they write of.
My wife shared an article she was reading off of FB of returning salmon along the Oregon coast near Tillamook. Tillamook is known for its cheese and, in olden days past, for the sport and commercial salmon fishing off the coast during their annual migration. The salmon run to Canada and into Alaska and many coastal communities benefit from the annual food source. Well, they used to.
Last week, I stumbled across a story and video of the building of the Grand Coulee Dam and a part of the story was also what was lost in the building of the dam. "Sorry we ruined the native salmon run and negatively impacted the self sustainability of the American Indians living there". Oh, well, other positives outweigh, right?
Part of the video showed how the native Indians would stand off the rocks and net the salmon as they swam up the river and falls. What really caught my eye was how the big the salmon were. For awhile, there was order in the world in that part of Washington State. Must have been a sight to behold watching the salmon swim up over the falls then. The salting and smoking of the fish would feed families through out the year. Teach a man to fish.....!
I first picked up on the ocean currents and the spreading of the Fukushima gift several years ago. An article on coastal tuna with higher radioactivity. But, be wary wary quiet as there is nothing to worry about, all within limits--- trust that ENRON is sound --- the water is ok to drink in Flint Michigan. Shall we all just again look the other way?
Six years later and more buzzwords and a hint that we are just now finding radioactivity all over the Pacific Ocean and coastal communities. If anyone anywhere is saying "Houston we have a problem", it is still in fine print, page 10 in the Friday night issue.
And it is not only the salmon, Dorothy, but anything swimming or living in these waters. This ought to get larger print too and coverage. The herring fishery is another large local and commercial fishery and if you read no other attached article in this weeks post, read this one.
To what end?
Born in Seattle and living on the coast in Washington State for a good part of my life I have many a memory and the opportunity to commercial fish those waters. Also to dig clams, catch Dungeness crab, shuck fresh oysters and so enjoy the exquisite offering of seafood from that area. It was still the way for Native Americans and fisherman.
If the constant worry of over-fishing, was not bad enough to force fishing season cutbacks over those years, the recent Fukushima Gift of Radioactivity came to the world like an extinction event. And it is my friends, an extinction event playing out in a frog in the warming pot template. The oceans and species are all interconnected and it is too late. There is no fix that I am aware of and the Fukushima Gift keeps on giving. The glowing green cows at night, on the west coast, might soon remind us that human species may not be the brightest bulbs in this world environment.
North River runs into Willapa Bay, west of Raymond Washington. There is a small boat ramp there where fisherman could go into the bay or up river. North River was a haven for floating house boats. These little cabins were built on large logs that were for the taking along the coast and water ways. Get-away cabins for weekend outings.
My folks and I accompanied my aunt and uncle to their cabin one summer Sunday afternoon for a picnic. Maybe a half hour run up-river in their little boat. As we neared the out-river log of their cabin, I noticed a large gunny sack of oysters hanging over the edge and into the river. The oysters had been harvested from the bay earlier in the week and hung at the cabin so the oysters would self clean as water flowed through the sack. We were going grill fresh oysters that day as part of the meal. I was not thrilled, but it was gourmet for the old folks. I was hoping for the hot dog or hamburger.
A few social drinks and the picnic meal was getting closer. Dad and I pulled the large sack of oysters onto the cabin deck floor. We untied the knot at the top and started to shuck oysters in the half shell. Not a job for the uneducated. Many a serious cut have come from oyster shucking with the all important double edged oyster knife. But we had skills and knew the do's and dont's. The shell was opened and the oyster was cut free to lay in the half shell.
The half shells were laid on the grill and within a few seconds were cooking in their own sea salt juices. The smaller oysters were the best and and still are in my book. Medium being the largest oyster I will eat.
I knew I would have to man up and eat one of those oysters that day. A little lemon juice on the oyster if memory serves me right, and then plopped into the mouth. A shot glass motion. First one down and I have never looked back. Never scoffed at oyster haters which means more for us. If ever God created a natural wonder for the pallet, it is the fresh oyster on the half shell like on that day. This teen-aged boy put those adults on notice that they better belly up to that grill or lose out. A wonderful memory of a God-given treat. Been an oyster fan ever since.
What I have learned of oyster haters is that they have never had oysters prepared by someone who knows what they are doing. Regardless, telling this story brings back good memories.
For several years now, I have forgone eating anything from any west coast fishery. Avoided the Pacific NW salmon / white fish in the fish counter opting for Norwegian or Atlantic farm-raised. Any fishery or shell food from the Atlantic side. I will admit it has been hard to give up enjoying one of greatest fisheries in the world.
I think the Fukushima event is one of the the elephants in the room. Tainted seafood may soon become a new norm. Whatever you put away for the after, maybe best now it be Atlantic seafood. You may find enjoying a few good older cans of Sardines in oil to be most wonderful moments. OMG, health benefits, too. Is it what real men will put on a cracker?
Mouth watering canned Sardines on a cracker.
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GSTV Gas station television, also known as GSTC, Gas Station Television Channel. I am guessing you already know about it. Pull into a gas station and as you start pumping, a TV turns on giving you news and advertisement that you cannot shut off other than by stopping the pump. 1984 Dorothy!!!
- One of the main themes of 1984 is the control of individuals and information in society by the state. One tool is the Telescreen, an obligatory and dominant item in the homes of the inhabitants of London, capital city of Airstrip One (previously known as England). ( http://technovelgy.com/ct/content.asp?bnum=629 )
I came upon one such station this past week. Will not go there ever again nor will I ever use the chain or stations that push this. Wolf Blitzer was shoved in my face telling me that one of our nuclear submarines had just docked somewhere in South Korea. Showed photos. Good that world knows this now. And then some flat-top skinhead, used-to-be-jocks talking of some obscure athlete in some obscure sport and that their opinions were of worldly import. Arrrrrgh!!
I had no place to escape to, needed gas and was for a few minutes captured in Orwell's 1984 Telescreen world. There was also a daily vocabulary word that I was to incorporate into my daily betterment. The video was a $35 dollar fill-up in length.
I put the pump handle in the holder and the video quit. Gas cap snugged, quickly seated and departed that gas station. All I could sum up was never again. I will go out of my way, pay more and shop at the small mom and pop gas station before I will endure that crap again.
And hey you there, gas station man who thinks this is a great idea for your business and us customers. You have taken a good customer and caused him go Howard Beale on you for ever and ever!! No mo money for you from this gas guzzler.
I had no place to escape to, needed gas and was for a few minutes captured in Orwell's 1984 Telescreen world. There was also a daily vocabulary word that I was to incorporate into my daily betterment. The video was a $35 dollar fill-up in length.
I put the pump handle in the holder and the video quit. Gas cap snugged, quickly seated and departed that gas station. All I could sum up was never again. I will go out of my way, pay more and shop at the small mom and pop gas station before I will endure that crap again.
And hey you there, gas station man who thinks this is a great idea for your business and us customers. You have taken a good customer and caused him go Howard Beale on you for ever and ever!! No mo money for you from this gas guzzler.
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"Check, check, check." A good read from Highcountry Blog
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"Things happen once in a lifetime, if you are lucky."
"It is the single best thing I have ever done."
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