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Last updated on August 3rd, 2017 at 12:38 pm
The mighty plastic turkey once roamed the New York Times, the Sydney Morning Herald, the Guardian, and numerous other lush, verdant stupidfields the world over. Now this once-abundant imaginary bird is reduced to pecking around the scabby, seedless dumblands of DailyKos. Sad.
In other endangered species news, the Boston Herald reports:
Gore was in hot water over a Chilean sea bass scandal in which he was falsely accused of dining on the endangered species at his daughter’s wedding rehearsal dinner.
Wrong. Al Gore did dine on the endangered species; this isn’t in dispute. It’s just that Al’s meal came from “one of the world’s few well-managed, sustainable populations” of that endangered species, raised exclusively for rich folk to kill and eat.
Mocking moonbats: fine.
Killing them: not really on.
Posted by ThinAndBritish on 2007 07 23 at 12:53 PM • permalink
If Chilean sea bass are so endangered in the wild, why don’t they just release those farm-raised ones into the ocean? Then there would be more Chilean sea bass in the sea.
Ps: re tortoises—we used to go see the big Galapagos turtles they have at the Miami zoo all the time. And of course there are other wild turtles occasionally encountered… And you know what? They all stink to high heaven. I could never eat turtle after smelling a life one.
Posted by Andrea Harris, Administrator on 2007 07 23 at 01:04 PM • permalink
A “live” one, I mean. I am at work, and the lights here bother my eyes. Yeah.
Posted by Andrea Harris, Administrator on 2007 07 23 at 01:04 PM • permalink
one of the world’s few well-managed, sustainable populations
Every time I read that my B.S. detector hits maximum. Has this been independently verified, and did the Gore party know beforehand that they were eating special fish from a “well-managed, sustainable” source?
Do the fish come specially certified, or is this just what the wholesaler tells every retailer or customer who asks?
“Pardon me, but did you just commit a felony by selling me endangered fish?”
“No Mamm, these are from one of the world’s few well-managed, sustainable populations.”
Next we’ll be told that he sells himself endangered fish indulgences, just like he sells himself carbon indulgences.
Posted by Bruce Rheinstein on 2007 07 23 at 01:19 PM • permalink
Wouldn’t it be relevant to hear from the Chilean sea bass itself?
Sea bass are endangered? Oh dear, Dr. Evil isn’t going to be very happy.
Posted by Patrick Chester on 2007 07 23 at 02:49 PM • permalink
Chilean Sea Bass are not endangered!! They are overpressured, and are at risk of hitting the “endangered” line if the overfishing continues, but they are not endangered!!
Blech!!… why can’t the media get basic info straight?
——-
Ms. Harris,
No, Patagonain Toothfish (PTF) are not farmed. It is not practical – well, to be honest, it’s nearly impossible – to farm such pelagic coldwater fish like that; the farm would have to cover an insanely huge and deep area (thousands, if not tens of thousands of square miles, and up to 5000 ft deep), and must be in exceptionally cold waters; that species doesn’t just come from the South Atlantic, it actually mostly resides in the Southern Ocean. Creating a real farm for that species would be obscenely difficult and hideously expensive, and trying to farm them in smaller areas would most likely fail. Again, they’re a pelagic species and need all the open water they can get.Mr. Rheinstein,
There is such a thing as certification for legally caught PTF from managed areas; one such example can be found here. Now, whether the certification is worth anything is a whole other question; I have no clue how they vet the fishing boats, other than count the catch and ask them where they caught it from. But it is possible to question the fishmonger and ask them to provide MSC certification for their catch. And if they don’t, well, it’s up to the consumer to determine whether or not they want to buy it. I’d rather support the honorable boats that respect the laws.Do some environmental groups agree with that cert? Nope; America’s “National Environmental Trust” is totally against fishing any PTF at all. Which begs the obvious question: Once you’ve driven all the legitimate fishing boats out of business, who’s left but the “pirate” fishermen who don’t give a damn about following catch limits or laws? Over-the-top overreaction from the environmental community again. If they’re truly concerned about “sustainable” PTF harvests, they’ll drop their whole anti-business attitude and admit that driving respectable and law-abiding fishing boats out of business is completely counterproductive, and will do nothing but achieve the exact opposite of the goal they want.
Posted by ElMondoHummus on 2007 07 23 at 03:33 PM • permalink
No, Patagonain Toothfish (PTF) are not farmed.
Then why does my piece of Certified Environmentally Correct Patagonian Toothfish have a brand on it? The restaurant said they branded all the non-endangered fish on the fish ranch and charged extra for it.
Posted by SwampWoman on 2007 07 23 at 03:46 PM • permalink
Excellent post.
The fact is, however, that as long as there is illegal fishing going on, the toothfish population will continue to decline, so the idea that Al Gore and friends are dining on a special sustainable population of toothfish is total hogwash.
Also, as I’ve mentioned before, it costs a huge amount of energy to catch fish in the southern hemisphere and ship them up to the northern hemisphere, so that rich enviromentaists can have their little delicacy.
Munching on toothfish isn’t enviromentally sound, no matter how much the leftys try to spin it.
Posted by Dave Surls on 2007 07 23 at 03:59 PM • permalink
SwampWoman, I was figuring maybe they tattooed the fishies’ lip, like thoroughbred horses, since the branding iron would be hard to use in all that cold water.
Posted by JorgXMcKie on 2007 07 23 at 04:00 PM • permalink
The expense of bringing all those tattoo artists along to mark the fishies must be pretty astronomical, not to mention when the artists from different ships get into contests about who can do the the most badass tattoos, and pretty soon the entire school is covered with Charlie the Tuna, Eat This! and skull and fishbones tattoos.
Posted by SwampWoman on 2007 07 23 at 04:14 PM • permalink
I must share this email joke from a friend…oh…OT.
I recently picked a new primary care doctor.
After two visits and exhaustive lab tests, he said I was
doing “fairly well” for my age.
A little concerned about that comment, I couldn’t resist
asking him, “Do you think I’ll live to be 80?”
He asked, “Do you smoke tobacco, or drink beer or wine?”
“Oh no,” I replied. “I’m not doing drugs, either!”
Then he asked, “Do you eat rib-eye steaks and barbecued
ribs?”
I said, “No, my former doctor said that all red meat is
very unhealthy!”
“Do you spend a lot of time in the sun; like playing golf,
sailing, hiking, or bicycling?”
“No, I don’t,” I said.
He asked, “Do you gamble, drive fast cars, or have a lot
of sex?”
“No,” I said. “I don’t do any of those things.”He looked at me and said,
“Then, why do you give a shit?
“Then why does my piece of Certified Environmentally Correct Patagonian Toothfish have a brand on it? The restaurant said they branded all the non-endangered fish on the fish ranch and charged extra for it.”
Good question. I don’t know. You’ll have to ask that restaurant. All I know is that the MSC cert is for catch from fisheries that supposedly follow the guidelines for sustainable fishing. You have to ask the restaurant which “farm” their PTF comes from.
I’ve also read that PTF isn’t farmed at this time:
http://www.net.org/proactive/newsroom/release.vtml?id=29132
Granted, there are no other sites that discuss this question directly. That NET.org site is the only one I can find, but if I may go out on a limb and talk about “proof” from lack of information 🙂 – I can find sites and resources discussing the farming of many other species – Tilapia, Salmon, catfish… even tuna! (That last one surprised me, but to be picky, it’s not real “farming” i.e. growing from infant fingerlings to full sized adults; rather, it’s fishing wild stocks, then fattening them in pens. It’s sorta more like tuna “ranching” 😉 ). But I cannot find any discussing PTF farming (even if I try searching with “Chilean Sea Bass” instead of the proper name). So it might be that farms exist and are secret, but I don’t see how. Maybe they’d be farmed (ranched!) like tuna, which are also seriously pelagic species: They catch wild stock then fatten them in pens. Maybe that’s what’s going on. But I couldn’t find any info admitting to even that.
Are you sure it’s not Australian Sea Bass aka barramundi? That fish can be farm raised.
If that’s not the case, I’d make sure that restaurant isn’t trying to pull a fast one on you. To the best of my knowledge, no one farms PTF.
Posted by ElMondoHummus on 2007 07 23 at 04:38 PM • permalink
The expense of bringing all those tattoo artists along to mark the fishies must be pretty astronomical, not to mention when the artists from different ships get into contests about who can do the the most badass tattoos, and pretty soon the entire school is covered with Charlie the Tuna, Eat This! and skull and fishbones tattoos.
Ahhhh yes. That sharp wit, Swampy. Love it…LMAO.
El Cid, ROFL! Very good point. Why live a long time if you never do anything fun?
Posted by SwampWoman on 2007 07 23 at 04:50 PM • permalink
ElMondoHummus, I was just pullin’ your leg. I assure you that as a no-class person, my palate is not piqued by exotic (and butt ugly) fish and the rarest of wine, but instead tends toward more plebian fare such as pork ribs and tequila.
Posted by SwampWoman on 2007 07 23 at 04:55 PM • permalink
ElMondoHummus, after reading your posts and links, one must conclude that the news of The Goreacle™ eating only “farmed” PTF (aka “Chilean Sea Bass”) is so much hype. As you say, it’s not proof, being unable to find such farms, but it is (IMHO) reasonable circumstantial evidence.
For myself, it sounds like someone on Al Gore’s staff lied through their teeth.
Are we looking at another Dan Rather moment here?
Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2007 07 23 at 05:03 PM • permalink
ElMondoHummus, I was just pullin’ your leg. I assure you that as a no-class person, my palate is not piqued by exotic (and butt ugly) fish and the rarest of wine, but instead tends toward more plebian fare such as pork ribs and tequila.
Stand back, people…SwampWoman has turned it loose. NEVER, EVER get in the way of a SwampWoman.
- #24 TRJ, its just a fundamental misunderstanding abou thte difference between ‘farmed’ and ‘sustainable fishing’.
Patagonian tooth-fish, Chilean Ea Bass,Orange Roughy? and a variety of other names is a deep water. long lived fish (100 years or so). Little is known about them, but it is true that South African trawlers cruise about the Southern Ocean fishing unsustainably. Hnece the population is under presure.
This certificate is about sustainable fishing practices, not farming. I suspect that the certificate that SW referred to was such a certification.
Farming would be a good solution, but we don’t have the technology.
All this leaves aside the fact that if it was Bushallibutler that had eaten Chilean Sea Bass, the press vultures would be all over him. The AlGore, on the other hand gets a free pass.
Thanks for the clarification, entropy. “Sustainable fishing practice” does not necessarily mean “farming”.
And, yeah, The Goreacle™ gets a free pass because His Purpose is Holy. Sanctimonious pulpit pounders envirotards.
Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2007 07 23 at 05:35 PM • permalink
But was the plastic turkey from a well managed, sustainable population?
Posted by Margos Maid on 2007 07 23 at 06:22 PM • permalink
And what did it have for a tatt?
Posted by dean martin on 2007 07 23 at 07:20 PM • permalink
“For myself, it sounds like someone on Al Gore’s staff lied through their teeth.’
Wait… Gore’s staff is who said it was farmed?? Yeah, that’s a load of (*bleep*).
I normally don’t go out of my way to defend Gore – superficial sanctimony really irritates me – but on this issue, I figured it was the Greener-Than-Thou (Yes, that’s a takeoff insult on “Holier-than-thou”) yahoos that were full of it this time. But if it was Gore’s staff that said it… well, draw your own conclusions. I’d be upset if I were Gore and someone tried to pass that off as an excuse.
“I assure you that as a no-class person, my palate is not piqued by exotic (and butt ugly) fish and the rarest of wine, but instead tends toward more plebian fare such as pork ribs and tequila.”
(*Drools*) Marry me.
Posted by ElMondoHummus on 2007 07 23 at 07:34 PM • permalink
Re: #30, whoa, ElMondoHummus! I’m gonna eat some sea bass crow here. I was conflating “farming” and “sustainable fish practices”. Tim’s post on this is clear:
Rather, the restaurant later confirmed, they had come from one of the world’s few well-managed, sustainable populations of toothfish, and caught and documented in compliance with Marine Stewardship Council regulations. The Gores’ spokesman, Kalee Kreider, admitted that the fish has been on the menu, but said: “The Gores absolutely agree with this humane society and the rest of the environmental community about illegally caught Chilean sea bass …
In my defense, I am a land lubber living in the Pacific Northwest…..which has almost as many fish hatcheries and fish farms as it does Starbucks. I dunno squat about fish, except that some species are delicious with lemons. The rest require generous helpings of tartar sauce.
Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2007 07 23 at 07:47 PM • permalink
PS: Love your handle, ElMondoHummus!
Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2007 07 23 at 07:47 PM • permalink
You mean they aren’t actually farmed? Like grown in a field? Darn—I was having fantasies of setting the poor dears free of their oxygen bondage, getting them back to the watery environment they love.
Of course fish can live in air and talk too. I saw it on that movie about that fish called Nemo!
Posted by Andrea Harris, Administrator on 2007 07 23 at 08:21 PM • permalink
So now fish farms are ok? And its bad to eat “free range toothfish”? And this is 180 out from the way the pc crowd looks at chickens why? I am so not going to fit in when the Dems take over.
“well managed, sustainable population”
anybody else think this is a metaphor for what the Left has in mind for us?
Posted by Vanguard of the Commentariat on 2007 07 23 at 08:51 PM • permalink
Better stock up Cid! Maybe they’re not 10 feet tall, maybe they’re only 4 feet tall. But there’s a lot of those little bastards.
Posted by Vanguard of the Commentariat on 2007 07 23 at 09:01 PM • permalink
…pork ribs and tequila.
Ash drools “I saw her first!
Posted by ElMondoHummus on 2007 07 23 at 10:16 PM • permalink
#32. 😉
#33. “You mean they aren’t actually farmed? Like grown in a field?”
You know, I tried planting fish one time… some dumbass farmer mocked me and called it “fertilizer”… I tried to shoot him, ‘cept I didn’t… have….. a….. (um)… gun…
On top of that, they really started to stink after a while…
#38. “Check List…
12 Gauge
20 Gauge
.40 Cal
9 MM
.25 Cal.
writes note to self…BASS Pro Shop, tomorrow, purchase more ammo.”
Bass Pro Shop has ammo?? Holy S***!! What the hell kinda bass are they after??? (*shudders*).
Posted by ElMondoHummus on 2007 07 23 at 10:23 PM • permalink
Maybe it was a plastic fish – like one of those stupid singing things that come mounted on plaques?
Perhaps the entertainment at the wedding was a singing plastic fish (which was beaten to death halfway through its act) and the guests actually ate Perfectly Acceptable Certified Organic tofu (shaped as fish)?
I don’t know. These things confuse me.
Posted by mr creosote on 2007 07 23 at 10:25 PM • permalink
Bass Pro Shop has ammo?? Holy S***!! What the hell kinda bass are they after???
Those of the water variety are still called Bass. Those of the two legged walking variety, the word is lengthened to Basstards…:).
Right, is this plastic turkey anything like your bullshit beat-up on Al Gore with the alleged irresponsible eating of chilean sea bass? How very inconvenient for the once self-described “journalist”.
Posted by Miranda Divide on 2007 07 23 at 10:35 PM • permalink
My apologies, sheep, here’s the correct whistle-blowing link. So there it is. An utter sham.
Posted by Miranda Divide on 2007 07 23 at 10:39 PM • permalink
THE FARMING:
Organic farming of Sea Bass and Bream is similar to organic salmon or trout farming, and operates on the same principles. Amongst other things, this includes:Feed
The feed is purely natural. No land-animal products or by-products are used in the feed, which is composed of :Fish meal made from sustainable sources – wild-fish, managed by quotas to preserve natural resources; their quality is also controlled and certified organic. This French organic requirement differs from the UK organic feed controls, where bi-products of the fish industry are exclusively used as fish meal.
Certified organic cereals and plants, which are guaranteed to be free of any genetically modified organisms.
Vitamins and minerals .Akin to:
‘I only eat endangered Panda Bears raised in zoos’?
Re #53, egg_, that farm stocks the European Sea Bass, not the Chilean Sea Bass. Scroll down a bit on your link.
According to ElMundoHummus, you can’t farm Chilean Sea Bass, just fish ‘em in some sustainable way. (How? I dunno…..use less dynamite in your stunning charges?)
Anywho, I just wanted to point out the difference. As I noted earlier, what I know about fish is limited to seasoning and sauces.
Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2007 07 24 at 12:41 AM • permalink
One of the problems associated with farming Chilean Sea Bass is that they are so difficult to milk. Shearing them is no walk in the park either.
Posted by Infidel Tiger on 2007 07 24 at 01:07 AM • permalink
- #60 TRJ
Tks, I didn’t think they’d farm 100 y.o. fish, regardless of the species :)Reading the (Oz) CSIRO site linked by wiki in the previous threads, we’ve got plenty of ‘em in our territory.My point (from the previous thread) is that (even) the farming of fish involves the killing of (other) fish, which apparently doesn’t have too much cred from Al’s Green cohorts.
#61 – and just imaging mulesing the little buggers.
Posted by mr creosote on 2007 07 24 at 01:37 AM • permalink
The alleged single source of Al’s dinner, The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified South Georgia (sustainable) fishery for Patagonian toothfish.
Note the Antarctic toothfish is a deeper ocean fish yet to be further exploited.
From your link: Tim Lambert wrote See this post from Irfan Yusuf, on how Blair told Yusuf that the Telegraph would no longer publish him because Blair felt that he had been criticised on Yusuf’s blog.
So I followed the link and this is what Yusuf claimed (on January 27th 2007) Tim Blair said to him on a “Monday afternoon in late-December”.
I spent much of the weekend going through your blog. I mean, f#cking
hell. Put yourself in my f*cking shoes, mate. Why the f+ck should I run your
stuff? Why should I do you any favours when you write that f^cking bullsh!t on
your blog?Yusuf claimed Tim said this because he, “had criticised him … [and had accused] him of defaming me and of using hate-speech”.
So then I went looking for any criticism of Tim Blair prior to late December 2006. Well, there’s plenty of criticism of Tim after December but the only Blair mentioned earlier than that is Tony Blair.
So my considered opinion is that Irfan Yusuf is very ticked off indeed because Tim described his writing as “f^cking bullsh!t”, and you and Tim Lambert have been very foolish in not checking this out properly.
- No need bothering to post any comments for Miranda Divide. He’s a drive by troll and scarcely ever drives by twice.
Typical bleat and flee moonbat. And since he never has anything pertinent or useful to say, I recommend ignoring him. He used to be mildly amusing, but has since slipped to being merely pathetic.
“plastic turkey” and “chilean sea bass” are now permanently on the menu – locked forever in a godless, unnatural, perverted embrace.
happy days.
Posted by Miranda Divide on 2007 07 24 at 08:30 AM • permalink
An Irishman decides he is going to start a
fish farm.He docks their tails and then wonders why they all die.
Yeah, ok, it’s a hopeless joke.
Posted by mr creosote on 2007 07 24 at 09:26 AM • permalink
Re #65, Janice, that’s pretty typical of Lambert. He’ll make an assertion, and then link to a source that “proves” his assertion. But when you actually follow his links, the facts aren’t quite what Lambert says they are.
Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2007 07 24 at 09:30 AM • permalink
I once knew a guy who worked testing electric branding irons on sea bass.
Note “knew,” the past tense. He was interred in a bouillabaisse kettle.
Posted by Steve Skubinna on 2007 07 24 at 11:17 AM • permalink
why couldn’t he have just had a steak?
Posted by Holden McGroyn on 2007 07 25 at 10:01 AM • permalink
“plastic turkey” and “chilean sea bass” are now permanently on the menu – locked forever in a godless, unnatural, perverted embrace.
And Miranda has said saucy pix right on her computer.
Posted by Harry Bergeron on 2007 07 25 at 12:32 PM • permalink
This is how Uncle Vlad tackles environmental issues: