Something fishy in Nara

Over the last few months CSMB has received many distressing reports of an underground ring of highly illegal restaurants throughout Japan specializing in dishes made with endangered marine animals. The most nortorious in the ring is a small izakaya in Nara called Shirakayo. Known simply as “Shi” by its regular patrons, this small izakaya actively fishes and serves up 34 out of the 40 endangered marine species protected under the Kyoto Marine Conservation Act of 1952 on a daily basis.

Like all illegals, Shirakayo's location moves regularly to avoid detection by authorities; however, many experts in this area say this tactic is more show than actual function. Although the practice of serving endangered species has been condemned by the national government, the Japanese Marine Resources Bureau has yet to win a case against perpetrators against the Act and a small constellation of underground restaurants flourish throughout Japan.


Nearly 90% of the endangered marine life trade is supported by the top 2% of income earners in Japan. Prominent business leaders, media moguls and even politicians are suspected to be in this group. “A law is only the law when it is enforced at all levels of the government,” sighs Dr. Takashi Hanagawa, President of the Japanese Wildlife Bureau, “We are working with half a blindfold and one hand tied behind our backs.” It is suspected that many law officials choose to turn a blind eye when it comes to endangered species consumption cases because they fear retribution from the people being put on trial. “If your paycheck is signed by the person that is on trial and it’s bonus season, would you really care that this guy ate some fish?” asks Dr. Hanagawa.

Last week, after months of careful networking and research, CSMB’s team of marine activists gained entrance into Shira. “It was awful. They had huge tanks full of exotic fish from which clientele would pick their dinners,” reports Jan McGinny. CSMB immediately notified local authorities of this illegal izakaya’s location; however, local authorities were slow to react and never arrived. CSMB returned early the next day, to find that someone had tipped off Nara and the sly izakaya had switched locations once again. “They obviously moved out in a hurry because there was quite a bit of broken glass,” says McGinnny, “The worst part though was when we found the bodies of a few Chaetobranchopsis orbiculari who must have splashed out of the tanks just lying there, looking up at us.”

CSMB activists in Japan will continue to fight these restaurants. If you are interested in joining the conservation effort please contact us at info@csmb.com.

Susie the Crimean River Turtle needs your help!

Susie, CSMB’s 35 year old resident Crimean river turtle was first observed yesterday around noon by one of CSMB’s vets to be seemingly engaged in the elaborate mating ritual unique to the species. This is the first time in Susie's life where she has exhibited any signs of being in heat launching a region-wide search by the CSMB to find her a suitable mate.

The mating ritual of the Crimean river turtle consists of a counter-clockwise side-shuffling dance whereupon the female systematically rubs her front dorsal flippers releasing her pheromones onto smooth rocks around her nest. In the wild, this dance is typically performed at dusk when ocean winds are the strongest and male Crimean River Turtles have been known to travel upwards of 30 miles to reach potential females should they catch scent.



Susie came under the CSMB’s care nearly 15 years ago after a cargo ship transporting her and other marine animals to the aquatic petting zoo Orlando Sea World was swept up in typhoon winds and had to dock in Boston harbor. Due to incorrectly prepared cages, many marine animals on the ship were severely injured. Rescuers from the CSMB were immediately dispatched to the area to aid the coast guard in helping injured marine animals. While Susie's shell was intact nearly a quarter of her back flipper had to be amputated after it became infected after getting caught in the metal doors of her cage; however, the biggest blow to Susie’s health was perhaps the death of her mate Bordlio.



Bordlio had sustained massive shell injuries and, although it was not evident to rescuers at the time, was bleeding internally. CSMB rescuers had bandaged the 19 year old male and was planning to transport him to CSMB’s Herpetology Center the following day; however, Bordlio passed away before the morning. Susie fell into a depression, refusing to eat and guarded Bordlio’s body with extreme aggression, charging at anyone who came near the cage. Finally to deter the rapid decline of her own health, CSMB was forced to tranquillize Susie and remove Bordlio’s carcass.

Afterwards, Susie was delivered to the Orlando Sea World petting zoo where she was introduced unsuccessfully to another male Crimean turtle named Zulu. Despite arriving at sexual maturity at that time (Crimean turtles typically begin mating at 10-20 years) Susie displayed little interest in her male lawn mate. Soon aquarium personnel began to notice her exhibiting dangerous behaviors toward Zulu as well as several other land turtles in the compound. Crimean river females tend to be roughly twice the size of males and 15 times the size of land turtles. Deemed a clear and present danger to the animals in the compound, Susie was put under the CSMB’s care.

Due to Susie’s aggression problems, she remains the only Crimean river turtle at CSMB; however a small but dedicated group of volunteers headed by resident herpetologist, Dr. Donald Langspur, have already begun contacting various zoos and animal refuges in the region to try to find her an eligible suitor. Time is of the essence as female Crimean river turtles come in heat about once every two years and for only the time span of roughly two weeks. If you have any information that may aid us in the search please email us at info@csmb.com.

Sirenfish

Blogging live from Fiji today where scientists from the Fijian Marine and Equine University have captured the first live specimen of the fabled Sirenfish. The Sirenfish is a particularly fascinating member of the cantata-cisternarum family which until recently was believed to be entirely mythological. The Sirenfish's legend in fact is believed to have been mixed up with the myth of the mermaid in about 1763 in Guiseppe L'alinquito's 'Stories of the Deep'.

First discovered in March 15th 2006 by Dr. Russell Handplate, the fish is about 5cm in length, brilliant blue in colour with a handsome black dorsal fin. According to first hand reports, as soon as the Sirenfish is out of water it emits a shrill yet beautiful melody which is something akin to a soothing lullaby.
When Dr. Handplate first discovered the Sirenfish due to a lack of conclusive evidence he was made a laughing stock and was stripped of his title as dean of Mythological Marine studies at Oxford Universities Balliol College. Shortly after this Dr. Handplate renounced all his past theories and disappeared into obscurity.


Dr. Handplate shown here in happier times on a fishing trip in Ireland in 2005.

On a day when most of the world is celebrating the inauguration of the US's first African American president we can also celebrate another victory, this time of the scientific variety.



Deep see diver Tui "Ronald" Talunga (pictured here with a rare blue sack fish) captured and successfully presented the worlds first glimpse of a live Sirenfish. The unveiling will officially occur on February 1st at the Chelsea School of Marine Biology, London, please email info@csmb.edu for more info. If we can locate him, guest speaker Dr. Russell Handplate will deliver a speech about the Sirenfish and it's impact on the validation of Marine Mythology as a legitimate field of academic research.

In Memorandum, Dr. Kazuhiro Kanazawa

Today is a sad day for all at CSMB as we mark the passing of our highly respected alumnus Dr. Kazuhiro Kanazawa. Kazzer as he was known to his many friends passed away this previous Saturday. Amongst his many achievements Dr. Kanazawa was recently honored with the prestigious Richmond-Goldstein award for services to marine biology and for his tireless work in the fight against the Japanese whaling industry. In a quote from an interview in last months Aquasonic magazine Dr. Kanazawa was discussing his feelings about his native Japan's whaling problem; "When I was a young man I used to love the taste of whale meat, it's so soft and delicious. I love the way it oozes through your teeth when you squoosh it back and forth like jelly. When I went on a family holiday at 14 we took a boat trip and in the water ahead of me I saw a giant beast emerging from the inky black wash. I had never encountered such a majestic creature and when it fully revealed itself I was in awe. I swore that day that I would protect these misunderstood giants of the deep."
It was later in life that Dr. Kanazawa discovered whale music, eerie sonar style recordings of whales which he effortlessly blended with Nu Rave and Grime. At the age of 61 he started DJing around the world under the name DJ Kojiki, it was during this period that he was exposed to the darker side of the life of a touring DJ and got mixed up in narcotics and a hard living lifestyle. On Saturday 17th January 2009 at 4:30am Dr. Kanazawa was rushed to hospital having suffered a cardiac arrest. A post mortem revealed massive amounts of cocaine, ketamine, mdma and ironically a final meal of deliciously prepared whale meat sashimi. Although this could all be viewed as somewhat of a massive fall from grace, all of us at CSMB are sending our thoughts and prayers to the Kanazawa family. We hope deeply that his great work in the fields of Marine Biology and Nu Rave/Whale Music mash-ups will be forever remembered.

New Study Reveals Unusual Anomaly

A new study revealed today has shown that if over fishing continues at the rate it is today, young children could, by as early as the year 2017, have no idea what most species of fish taste like. It's likely that the tuna will be thought of as mystical being much like a unicorn and that salmon will be remembered as a fast food snack consumed on the go much like a hamburger or slice of pizza. The reasoning behind this shocking new theory lies in the direct link between fish as a 'brain' food and diminishing intelligence levels amongst the young.

A new study revealed today has shown, if over fishing continues at the rate it is today, Young children could by as early as the year 2017 have no idea what most species of fish taste like. It's likely that the tuna will be thought of in the same light as the dodo and that salmon will be remembered as a fast food snack consumed on the go much like a hamburger or slice of pizza. The reason for this shocking new theory is the direct link between fish as a 'brain' food and diminishing intelligence levels amongst the young.

ISDRA 12th annual gathering

Delegates from the Indian Squid Dam Research Association gather to discuss tide patterns and Ammonium sulfate precipitation (2 key early warning signs) last week. Prof. Vindeet Singh of the university of Mumbai later delivered his keynote speech on aggressive over fishing and depleting tuna stocks and presented his 3 step approach to provide sustainable fishing for future generations. Key points included Electrobiological vibration techiniques which would stimulate fish reproduction and higher penalties for fisherman caught using type 3 shawling nets.
After lunch dancing and merryment followed.