Those of you who know me, know that I live my life as a testament to my values about bringing service to the animals that need us.  I'm no St. Francis of Assisi but I do live by his statement: ""Not to hurt our humble brethren is our first duty to them, but to stop there is not enough. We have a higher mission -- to be of service to them wherever they require it."
I've never implored people to follow me or my lifestyle. I just live my life...

But I've had enough!  I've had enough of sitting idly by as this thing called "by-catch" is supposed to be acceptable - that we should all live with it, and mostly ignore as the cost of getting our seafood.  For me, it's time to start speaking up.  It's time for me to move from animal rehabilitation and education within the Marine Mammal Center, to take a more proactive role in bringing the reality of this viciousness to our conscience.  And so with that, I introduce you to By-catch.  I introduce you to Xilia, Stello, Duchamp and the millions more unnamed who have been impacted by its ugliness.  So the next time you go to order fish, or cook that fish at home, at least you will be more aware before you take that next bite - it took more than that fish's face to get to your dinner plate.


Introducing Xilia. . .
Xilia makes her Television Debut Tuesday, 24 November on PBS's NOVA (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ocean911/about.html). In the Bay Area, tune in at 8pm to hear Dr. Gulland talk about our challenges with patients impacted by toxic algae blooms, and meet Xilia as they follow her through our attempts at diagnosis and finally, release.  [While NOVA was there on the beach with us at our release that night, I'm not certain how much they will show Xilia's actual release.]
Our little "mystery disease" pup.  Xilia came to us with an inability to swallow well - she seemed to tube well after awhile, but when the question of fish school arose, and teaching her to eat her own whole fish - even small ones would not go down.  Week after week, we'd return to the Center and wonder, 'Would Xilia be able to swallow today?' We laughed at her deep frequency 'maaaaa' bleats that were deeper than any we'd ever heard, and considered including her in a scary movie or the next version of the Godfather - this was no ordinary seal "voice".  We'd watch her roll all over the pen among her penmates and wonder if either the tiny fracture we would discover in her shoulder, or the possible discomfort from whatever her throat ailment was, would cause it.  Finally, after months of this agony among all of us caretakers, Xilia started getting whole fish down!  We were all elated!  She'd need some help initially, but the day I saw her in action, with LIVE fish, I wanted to cry.  She was so in tune with the process of chasing  the live fish, it was wonderful to know that true seal instinct had kicked in and she was on her way!  And so it was that we viewed the "big day" of release for Xilia with some trepidation but also with excitement knowing that this little girl was on her way.  She rolled a bit in the surf at release, and then she was off, swimming along happily, head bobbing up and down, and she was gone . . .  Standing on that beach that night at Fitzgerald, my stomach was in knots.  I watched her, I was elated for her to be "home" rather than on the Center's cement floor she had come to know too well, and true to form, I was also nervous for her.


Introducing Duchamp . . .
Yes, it is true - we did also name him "du CHOMP" as Duchamp came to be known as the guy who was rather cranky and would not hold back from showing his great ability to bite.  But we forgave him and still loved him.  Duchamp, we would learn, was developing an abscess on his flipper during treatment so no wonder the poor guy wanted to haul off and bite us if we tried to move him or even think we were going to get close to him for any procedure.  And so as we watched Duchamp get bigger and stronger, and his abscess healed, we were celebrating his return to his ocean home as well.  Any injury or discomfort, no matter how insignificant relative to leptospirosis or domoic acid toxicity, caused us great concern for our animals.  Seeing them work through the ailment and get to the other side, with the ability to swim off to their ocean home, gives us great hope as their caretakers.  And so, as we bid adieu to our others, we also bid adieu to our friend Duchamp, our Chomper. 

Introducing Stello . . .
Those of you who are closest to me know that Stello needs no introduction. I quickly named him "the love of my life".  In all of the animals - both land and marine mammal - I have cared for over the years, none have been quite as entertaining and fascinating as this little precocious pup.  Stello's story starts as a young pup who came to the Center from maternal separation.  Quickly, I learned exactly who Stello was.  Stello was the one who would follow me around the pool, curiously, with all of his posse behind him, wanting to know what I was doing when ('cleaning up your poo, Stello - thank you very much!'), and would soon begin affixing his face to my red slickers to try to suckle my leg.  Mind you, when I say 'affix', I truly mean affix.  It did not matter if leg was in movement around the pool, scrubbing action included, or standing completely still.  When he learned (rather stubbornly) that my leg was not his mother, he got what appeared from a human's perspective, to be downright angry.  And thus the cycle of going to clean the pen, Stello suckling my leg, and then Stello wrapping his mouth around my leg - yes, once teeth had grown in - and "growling" like I had never known a seal to do.  To say that I was amused and entertained by this would be an understatement.  But to ensure against imprinting, I would go about my usual business, trying my darnedest to ignore this little guy.  Fast forward to the first release of the year, and I would admit with much sadness, it was Stello's turn!  I was ecstatic to see how fat the guy had become in these months as I looked with pride at my early Stello photos and the ones of him nearing the big release day.  Okay, we should all be proud caretakers at this point, and of course we were.  I was so thrilled he, too, would join Bett, Sneaker, Gumbo and the rest of his posse in the wild blue ocean that lay ahead - no more concrete floors, silly humans, and cold frozen fish.  It was on to the "real deal" - icy cold blue waters, plenty of space for fast swimming, and yes, LIVE fish to eat!  And so it was that I drove up on the Saturday before the big release to say my own little form of 'goodbye' as I looked longingly at this little guy who had entertained and delighted me so much for several months.  "Goodbye, my friend, and Godspeed" I would say not out loud but hoping in some way it would mean true Godspeed for him and his friends.


And so it is, with profound sadness, that I learned the fate of these beautiful creatures.  These marine mammals - who had shared their lives with us, been patient with our healing processes, and ultimately had graduated through their tubing and ultimately Fish School to see their ocean homes - would each become another victim of by-catch by our fishing industry. 

I hopefully don't have to explain that my heart is broken in half.  There are not enough words in the universe that can describe my anger at our fishing industry who has let us down, our fishing industry who sees by-catch only as a number, and that as a nation we ACCEPT by-catch as an ACCEPTABLE result of getting fish to our dinner tables.  I can't sit idly by, merely going and helping these animals on a weekly basis, and not speak up about this insidious problem.  I feel my job is to educate as well.  And so with this, I simply put these faces before you and ask you to know them, as I did.  And to know that with the next meal of seafood that you have, there is a face like Xilia, like Stello, and like Duchamp and many others, who most likely came in with that fish that you are now eating.  I will do more - my next website will be dedicated to the pinnipeds and the cetaceans (dolphins and whales) that we are killing in the name of the seafood industry.  More to come about that graceful humpback whale you meet in Maui, and the fact that, had it not been for some very brave people, you would be watching it die from that crabpot or lobster pot that it dragged the 2,000 mile journey from Alaska to breed or calf in these beautiful waters. There is more that we can do, and I intend to do it.  Feel free to join me.