12/11/13

There is plenty to chew on as we cruise south in continuing calm. So calm, so relaxing and pleasant for one and all - easy going to the exact standard one perpetually longs for. A sea abounding in life was the highlight today - thousands of common dolphins, a few handfuls of Baird's beaked whales, numerous larger rorqual whales and a clutch of humpbacks, bunches of Guadalupe fur seals comically displaying their penchant for head stands with their butt's and hind flippers high in the air - everyone was up and active today enjoying the calm spell as it was meant to be.

A couple more travel days ahead, excepting a short pit stop tomorrow to supplement the larder with perhaps a few "skin", are presently holding the building stress on the bridge at bay. The high stakes of these endeavors, from so many perspectives, have a tendency to suffuse the atmosphere with a nervous tension consistent with any intense, action oriented pursuit. Managing such intensity is an art form mighty challenging to perfect, especially when news of what we seek, how we seek it, is five hundred miles on the bow. A lot of pacing accompanies such endeavors, from daylight to dark.

But down below the atmosphere is far more aloof; as it should be when what will be is so far ahead. The festive tenor is driven by tales and memories of past triumphs and the eternal fisherman's optimism. Such confidence drives success, and makes for good company and good times. On the road such grace and seasoned perspective well serves the common cause. And rest assured the cause is always common out here. We are all in the same boat.

Photo today is one taken by David Itano during a research purse seine set in the Western Pacific funded by the ISSF. There is presently much work begin done to minimize the impact of bycatch while purse seine fishing arounds FAD's. It is hoped that such studies will provide advanced equipment and strategies to selectively target larger tunas and minimize the impact on non sought after species such as sharks, wahoo, marlin, and dorado in addition to many others.

Tim Ekstrom

Photo Here...