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It's true. Turning liabilities into assets makes a lot of sense. The "buck law" that came out in the '70's has worked all too well! Those who are opposed to all hunting should reflect on winter starvation as an option. I hear that young Japanese knotweed is edible. Haven’t tried it yet. Something else to look into... We'd do well do take a similar approach to some booming native species: porcupines, Canada geese, raccoons... The problem would be reducing our efforts when levels drop. Somehow or other, we humans seem a little reluctant to do that in a timely way. In a related vein, I worked a couple of summers at the N.S. Department of Fisheries oyster hatchery (down a long road from Musquodoboit Harbour) in the early '70's. Mussel fouling of the oysters was a problem. Then some bright soul realized that mussels were edible! That led to probably the first investigations into mussel culture along the Atlantic shore of the province, and the rest is history. At that time, the only mussels you could get in Halifax came in cans from Spain or Denmark, and were not very interesting! (That didn’t solve the fouling problem, but did make use of an abundant resource!) -----Original Message----- From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca [mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] On Behalf Of Donna Crossland Sent: April 19, 2017 10:06 PM To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca Subject: [NatureNS] managing invasives and naturalised species-why do we do it? I have to give you credit in your strategic thinking and knowledgeable depth of retrospective! If only certain departments would manage these fisheries, they might soon be over-fished and the ecological nightmare created by naive or selfish sports fisheries could be mitigated somewhat. Why IS there a bag limit on any invasive fish?? Then again, I suppose we could extend this argument to the bag limits for ring-necked pheasant (noisy squawking birds, though tasty... but not better than our woodcock and grouse) and the naturalized deer (deer that incur great damage to our hardwood stands, Canada Yew (with Cancer-fighting agents), etc, impacting the successional trajectory of our natural forests, yet we spend a lot of tax dollars managing the herd and bag limits geared to keep them around). I'll take a moose steak any day over venison. Maybe we can add it to the election platform soon to unfold. I think we need an entire ecologically-based political platform in the next round. Our natural resources and native biodiversity are in trouble, both on the land and in the water. Then there's climate change added to the mix... ecology is "messy" and growing more complicated. Donna -----Original Message----- From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca [mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] On Behalf Of John and Nhung Sent: April-19-17 7:52 AM To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca Subject: RE: [NatureNS] widowed goose and tasty tidbits My point was that if more people recognize pickerel as tasty, more people will eat them (rather than throwing them back, for instance!). I wish NS Fisheries would lift the "bag" limit on smallmouth bass, as well. They are another disaster that doesn’t belong here. But here they are. Enthusiastically-pursued fisheries have a long history of reducing target populations ... -----Original Message----- From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca [mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] On Behalf Of Donna Crossland Sent: April 19, 2017 7:29 AM To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca Subject: RE: [NatureNS] widowed goose and tasty tidbits Oh goodness! I meant the GEESE are tasty, not than the chain pickerel! No, no, no! Perhaps the pickerel are tasty, too, but you'll not likely ever hear me say anything positive with regards to that species. I am dismayed by the introduction of chain pickerel to our lakes. The small mouthed bass and chain pickerel are altering our fresh water ecosystems in profound ways. I am told we can expect nearly "silent springs" as they voraciously consume our frogs and toads on the lake edges. They are about to spread to the last wild places remaining. It's sad, very sad. We shall mourn the trout and remnant salmon populations. Donna Crossland -----Original Message----- From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca [mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] On Behalf Of Hebda, Andrew J Sent: April-18-17 10:15 PM To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca Subject: RE: [NatureNS] widowed goose and tasty tidbits The taste and angling value of the pickerel is high... However its introduction into watershed has been disasterous. Back in 1949 Dan Livingstone sampled lakes and rivers in Nova Scotia, coming up with the first comprehensive list of freshwater fish for the province. John Gilhen and I were joined by him 50 years later and we re-sampled many of the same bodies of water. Where the chain pickerel had been introduced, or spread to, the diversity of fish went from 7-11 species to 2-3.. independent of water chemistry, geology or any other measurable factor A Hebda From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca [naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] on behalf of John and Nhung [nhungjohn@eastlink.ca] Sent: April-18-17 9:58 PM To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca Subject: RE: [NatureNS] widowed goose and tasty tidbits I wish more Nova Scotians appreciated pickerel. The Vietnamese gang down Yarmouth way turns this ugly-looking critter into various dishes, all infinitely more interesting than haddock! -----Original Message----- From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca [mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] On Behalf Of Donna Crossland Sent: April 18, 2017 8:50 PM To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca Subject: [NatureNS] widowed goose and tasty tidbits That's a hilarious (well sort of) tale of the widowed urban goose. She likely few back to Toronto? I'm with Lance and the Cape Bretoners. This expanding species is quite delicious baked in orange juice, wild rice and cranberries, etc. Now if only I could acquire a taste for glossy buckthorn salad. Donna -----Original Message----- From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca [mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] On Behalf Of Fred Schueler Sent: April-18-17 12:43 PM To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Miner's Marsh KIngfisher On 4/18/2017 11:11 AM, Laviolette, Lance wrote: > “Truck loads from TO” reminds me of a story... * ...on our 2002 James Bay Expedition - http://pinicola.ca/g2003b.htm - we found a very tame single Canada Goose at a boatlunch ramp way north in Quebec - and the sad story we told was that she'd mated with a northern Quebec male during the winter, had followed him north, and he'd been taken out by the spring Goose hunt, leaving her an urban widow in the wilderness. fred. ================================================== > ...Paul. About 40 years ago > there was an effort made to ‘reintroduce’ Canada Geese in Cape Breton > near CBHNP. They trucked in a bunch of TO geese and let them loose on > a lake. Now these geese were quite use to humans having been rounded > up in the friendly confines of the TO shoreline. It wasn’t long before > the local residents of that area of CB realized that. There was good > eating in those parts while the geese lasted… > > >