|
California Mexican Restaurant Breaking International Law by Importing and Selling Turtle Soup - Caldo de Caguama (Sea Turtle Soup) ORANGE
COUNTY WEEKLY (Vol.9 No. 27) Two years ago, I wrote an essay detailing my futile search for caldo de caguama—sea-turtle soup. The Mexican delicacy was impossible to find for good reason: killing the nearly extinct giants for consumption is illegal in the United States and Mexico, punishable by a minimum $5,000 fine in the former and nine years in prison in the latter. But traditions die slowly, and black markets blossom like a thousand flowers wherever the hand of government falls heavily; I remained hopeful. I scoured Mexican seafood restaurants from San Clemente to Santa Ana, querying cooks in hushed tones amid the clatter of their kitchens: nothing. Promises by acquaintances to score me some leatherback proved mere teases. Today, I’m ecstatic to declare that my caguama quest, which took me finally to Mariscos La Sirena in Santa Ana, is over. This little palace represents its own endangered genus—the restaurant whose métier is stunning Mexican food with a side of stereotypes. Cheap netting droops from the restaurant’s ceilings, and let us not neglect the wooden parrots, fake greenery and a giant inflatable dragonfly. During the day, the sun pours through a beautiful glass ceiling; at night, the only real illumination is the Vegas Strip glow from neon beer-logo lamps. Order one of the many cervezas available, and management comes out with a six-pack in an ice-filled bucket shaped like a furry coconut. This El Torito-style décor is among the classier aspects of dining at Mariscos Licenciado. Now—lesbians, straight men and all who admire women—let’s ogle the female form. A mural outside depicts a mermaid (sirena is Spanish for "mermaid") barely concealing her ballooning cleavage; a mermaid statue inside doesn’t even pretend to such modesty. Waitresses squeeze into sheer, strapless blue blouses and microscopic white skirts that hide no panty lines. Each woman seems to have been selected for the size of her . . . let’s call them cans. Male customers leer. I guarantee the Latino-rights crowd would howl in protest if Mariscos La Sirena were owned by a gabacho. But ignore the misogyny and partake of La Sirena’s selections, each a kind of culinary sweat lodge of seafood prepared in the incendiary style of the Mexican Pacific state of Sinaloa. Fish fillets crackle like the gunfights for which Sinaloa is infamous; the ceviches would bust a Geiger counter. And the fiery aguachile—the shrimp puckered beyond recognition by lime juice—would seem to require a haz-mat suit rather than a bib. Non-seafood fans can even partake of the deer steak, sublime, gamey slabs that buck in your mouth, not in your stomach. They’re all great dishes, and I tried them as preludes, working up the determination to violate international environmental regulations. Then, one night, the hell-red glare of a Budweiser beer sign bathing my table, I ordered turtle. The buxom waitress brought my order of caldo de caguama, and disappointment supped at my heart: tiny turtle slices no bigger than bullion cubes bobbed in a boiling broth, barely discernable amongst the harvest of squash, carrots, potatoes and celery. I know that turtle fetches upward of $80 per pound in Mexico, but I guess I imagined at least a flipper floating in an upturned shell. I recanted as soon as the potage entered my mouth. The caguama was dark, chewy as rare beef, with a rich aftertaste reminiscent of liver. Accompanying veggies retained their respective flavors despite the powerful, spicy broth. My father used to regale us with stories about the rejuvenating and aphrodisiacal qualities of caldo de caguama. He wasn’t lying. When I holstered my spoon, I was ready to flirt. I asked the waitress if caguama is illegal. A nervous grin stretched across her face as she sashayed away. Never the gentleman, I insisted. "I don’t know—I’ve only worked here for two weeks," she stammered. "If you’d like, I can ask my boss." Five minutes later, she returned with a lollipop. "He said it’s not illegal, that we buy it from a producer in Mexico who keeps them on farms." Turtle farms? I didn’t buy it. She didn’t buy my advances. MARISCOS
LA SIRENA
K
E I K O D I E S I N F R E
E D O M
"Ghost
Net" Pulled From Ocean, Hundreds Of Sharks Found Dead PORT SALERNO, Fla. -- As many as a thousand sharks and fish were found dead when federal officials pulled a large abandoned fishing net from the ocean. Two divers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, accompanied by state officers and two commercial fishing vessels, pulled the 500-yard "ghost net" from nearly 80 feet of water. A loggerhead sea turtle also was found dead in the net Thursday. "We have an investigation under way (in) reference to that ghost net," said Jeff Radonski, a special agent with NOAA's fisheries enforcement division in Miami. "It's a crime scene just like anywhere else. We pick up clues and leads from that." The net, made of thick fabric lines to catch coastal sharks, was first spotted last Friday off the coast of St. Lucie Inlet. The "sheer weight of all the animals" kept the Coast Guard from retrieving the net last week, divers said. "It was pretty gruesome," diver Nick Chrobak said. The mid-sized turtle, bloated and dead for days, was measured and documented by biologists from the Florida Marine Research Institute and later taken to a laboratory in Tequesta to be preserved as evidence. The divers also videotaped the net and took photographs to be used as evidence. Then the dead sharks and fish were disposed about 12 miles offshore. "You are responsible for the gear you set out there," Radonski said. "We could have Endangered Species Act violations, and that may elevate itself to criminal intent." Captured Orca Dies In Utrish Delphinarium 10/24/03 RUSSIA ....no further details released
The 5-metre female orca was captured on Friday, September 26th, 2003, in Avacha Gulf, Kamchatka, Eastern Russia, by captors working for the Utrish Aquarium on the Black Sea. The following day, she was transferred to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky where she is currently being held in a sea pen in the bay, but the indications are that the female will shortly be moved to the Utrish Aquarium, reportedly for "research" purposes. Russian authorities have issued capture permits, although previous capture attempts have been unsuccessful.
10/02/03 The first Kamchatkan orca is caught. The yound female orca was entangled in the net and died during the capture. The calf of the captured orca was released and will most likely die in the wild without it's mother. This year, the Russians have permits to capture up to 10 orcas (4 from the Kamchatka region, the remaining 6 in Sakhalin and Ohkotsk districts) and they are expected to continue trying to catch more orcas throughout October. In 2001, a letter signed by more than 25 international orca scientists was presented to the Russian authorities asking them not to allow any orcas to be captured in Russian waters. The letter warned of the possible consequences of taking individuals from populations about which very little is known and for which any removals would have seriously negative implications. In addition, there is no previous experience of capturing and keeping orcas in Russia. Any animals targeted are likely to suffer greatly from stress and potential harm during the capture itself and during the subsequent ordeal of long-distance transportation to the final captive facility. Those animals remaining in the pod are also likely to be traumatised by the capture process. |
The Census of
Marine Life International Portal Hundreds of scientists and institutions from more than 70 countries are contributing to the Census of Marine Life (CoML), the first comprehensive portrait of life in the world's oceans -- past, present, and future. Through this ten-year program (2000 through 2010), Census researchers pool their skills and tools to assess the diversity, distribution, and abundance of ocean life over time. Census researchers organize their work according to the kinds of life and different regions of the oceans. Census researchers must use the best technology available as they study everything from large ocean predators to the tiniest microbes in ocean realms ranging from shallow coastal waters to the deepest darkest seas. To begin to properly catalog the large number of organisms belonging to potentially millions of different species, scientists must use a number of different research tools. This technology is often the most state-of-the-art equipment available and usually is used in combination with a number of other different tools and techniques to thoroughly observe and record the biology of the marine world in its natural setting. Website: http://www.coml.org/coml.htm
Whale killers
threaten campaigners ENVIRONMENTAL activists have been threatened by fisherman after filming them capturing more than 30 whales in an inlet in southern Japan. Fishermen from the village of Taiji, near Osaka, "made killing gestures with their knives" to Nik Hensey and Billy McNamara, of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, based in Malibu, California. Hensey was able to make a brief satellite phone call to the organisation while the confrontation was taking place and report "the danger they were in", according to Paul Watson, who heads Sea Shepherd. "The fishermen shone flashlights into their faces in an attempt to stop Hensey and McNamara from taking pictures of the penned-in whales and made killing gestures with their knives," said Watson. The pod of whales included several juveniles, five infants and two male adults trying to protect them. The incident is the latest confrontation between Sea Shepherd activists and Taiji fishermen since the season for hunting dolphins and coastal whales opened on September 1. It runs until March 31, during which time an estimated 20,000 dolphins and whales will be killed. In October, three members of the group filmed hunters butchering around 60 dolphins, including infants, after driving them into the inlet. They used spikes on the end of long poles that are driven into the creatures’ heads. The video footage that they captured showed the entire surface of the inlet blood red and was sent around the world, enraging animal rights activists. The hunt is a regular event in Taiji and, according to locals, is an important part of local culture that dates back 400 years. "It’s a wholesale slaughter, which results in immense suffering for these animals," said Hensey. "It’s a sight that one just can’t imagine." One former dolphin hunter who has since become an environmental activist in Japan says the creatures take up to six minutes to die after the spike is driven into their heads. Hunting dolphins is not banned by the International Whaling Commission, which has maintained a moratorium on commercial whaling since 1986. However, because of scenes like these, fishermen in Japan have tried to keep the hunts out of the public eye. A spokesman for Sea Shepherd said: "The Taiji fishermen know that while Sea Shepherd crew remain in the area, they cannot commit mass murder of dolphins without it being documented and further exposed in the media, which is a major form of embarrassment in Japanese culture. "While it’s not illegal to document dolphin slaughter, the fishermen have taken many steps to obscure the view or make it illegal to stand on the rocks above the killings.
Submarine
Sonar Gives Startled Whales and Dolphins the Bends Deafening sonar booms are giving whales and dolphins fatal doses of the bends, according to research. Scientists believe they may be startled by the sound from submarines and forced to ascend too quickly. Researchers have shown for the first time that deep diving marine animals can suffer from decompression sickness - a potentially deadly condition experienced by divers who resurface too quickly. They are calling for more research into the dangers of sonar and tighter controls on its use. Post mortem examinations on 14 whales stranded during a naval exercise in the Canaries last year revealed bubbles of gas in their blood and holes in their internal organs - symptoms of the condition. Tests on dolphins and whales stranded on Britain's coasts over the past decade have revealed similar damage. A team at the Zoological Society of London and the University of Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, studied beaked whales and Risso's dolphins stranded on Britain's coasts between 1992 and 2003. Dr Paul Jepson, from the society's UK Marine Stranding Project, who reported the findings in Nature, said: "We discovered that a small number of stranded animals had gas bubbles and associated tissue injuries. "Although decompression sickness was previously unheard of in marine animals, we concluded that a form of marine animal decompression sickness was the most likely cause. "This new evidence from our study of marine mammal diseases in the UK challenges the widely held notion that cetaceans (whales and dolphins) cannot suffer from decompression sickness." The link with sonar emerged when 14 beaked whales were stranded in the Canary Islands four hours after a Spanish-led naval exercise in September 2002. Ships in the area were using mid frequency sonar. The exercise ended when the stranded whales were discovered. Post mortem examinations of 10 whales revealed more evidence of the bends.
BACK TO ECO-NEWS
H O M E P A G E
|
|
|
|
