I’ve been on this boat for 65 days now; the end of my first
contract as a NMFS Fishery Observer is only a few weeks from completion. All
has slipped into routine as we were told it would; days have become more fluid
and continuous than they have ever been in the past. I’m beginning to feel the
effects of solitude from those I care about and the physical fatigue from the
odd hours and broken up sleep schedule. I work in 2 to 4 hour bursts each
scheduled haul-back which could occur at any time. The last string of 4 on
hauls was particularly strenuous, only getting 3 to 4 hours of sleep between
sampling. Work is very physical and dirty; I work up a sweat and get covered in
fish slime and scales every time, and only have an opportunity to shower once
every 3 or 4 hauls. I have always been a light sleeper so it takes me some time
to wind down from working and fall asleep. During the day I forget about the
constant hum of the engine, but am reminded of how loud it actually is when I
lay down to sleep. I’ve never been much of a coffee drinker, but I am
discovering it doesn’t do much more for me than keep me awake at the precise
moment that I need to fall asleep. Other than being a little tired, all is
well. Crew is in pretty positive spirits, weather has been good to us, and fish
are coming in at a steady rate. I write this on 6/29, about half way through my
5th or 6th fishing trip. I am sitting in the galley of
the boat somewhere East of Kodiak, waiting for my 30 minute cue for haul back.
A pleasant distraction from my sampling occurred yesterday
when a Humpback Whale breached very close to our vessel on the Port side. I was
frustrated at first because it was the best whale sighting I’ve had since I
have been up here and there was no way for me to take a picture of it, as my
camera was in my bunk and I was in my raingear covered in fish slime. To rinse
off, take my gloves off, and get my camera was at the risk of not experiencing
it at all. So I decided to just stay at my sampling station and absorb it all; a
beautiful creature just being. It was magnificent, but with an addition of
playful innocence. I know Humpback Whale sightings are nothing earth shattering
in Alaska, but it was enough to divert me from my often rigorous and monotonous
work, and inspire me to remember why I am here. The ocean is such a vast place
filled with wonders beyond imagining, many of which have yet to be discovered.
Man has an obligation to realize his part in all of this, and step up to the
plate to ensure that this delicate balance is kept. Our future generations will
look back on us fondly if we can accomplish this and not rob them of the
natural living beauty that we took for granted and let slip away into
nothingness. It is much more satisfying, even on a spiritual level, to acknowledge
how closely tied and even related we are to every ant, bird, elephant, fish, and plant on this planet, than to arbitrarily place ourselves separate and above it all,
with it all at our disposal. Now is a time that they need us just as much as we
need them.
I was reading a book by renowned biologist E.O. Wilson who
was discussing how we place values on organisms. With respect to the Blue Whale,
which came only a few hundred individuals away from extinction, many “were
eager to continue the hunt even at the risk of total extinction” and were
convinced that “killing them all and investing the money would yield the
whalers and humanity the most money over letting them recover and harvesting
sustainably”. This argument is prevalent in industry worldwide even today in
the 21st century. But what is wrong with this argument? The answer
is simple—
“The dollar and cents value of a
dead blue whale was based only on the measures relevant to the existing
market—that is, on the going price per unit weight of whale oil and meat. There
are many other values, destined to grow along with our knowledge of the living
organism in science, medicine, and aesthetics, in dimensions and magnitudes
still unforeseen. What was the value of the blue whale in A.D. 1000? Close to
zero. What will its value be in A.D. 3000? Essentially limitless, plus the
gratitude of the generation then alive to those who, in their wisdom, saved the
whale from extinction. No one can guess the full future value of any kind of
animal, plant, or microorganism. Its potential is spread across a spectrum of
known and as yet unimagined human needs.”
All I can say is be kind to your environment, those around
you, and if you have the power to put people in a position to do that in a
higher capacity, do it.
