I heard a story from the the bay that included a few boats with halibut near Hog Island. Nobody has shown me a picture of said fish, nor has anyone catching such a fish discussed it with me, but I heard a story. "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story" is words of wisdom from my childhood and I will take them now, but the way the story was told, it could be true. 

     So enough good news. The whales out there that don't count (yet) towards closing Dungeness season (and possibly red crab as well) have had a rough week and at least four were found dead in the Bay Area a week a two or ago. At least two of them were found to have been hit by ships. One of those gray whales, washed up on Muir Beach, had a crab pot line tied to it post-mortem. Somebody wants to make sure that crabbers get a bad rap. Luckily for us, somebody smarter figured out what had happened and cleared it up. But just so you know, yes, they're out to get you. By definition, it isn't paranoia when they actually are out to get you. Who are they? In particular, the Center for Biological Diversity, or supporters thereof. Look, we all love whales. It seems that there are reasonable ways in which we can minimize the chances for whale entanglement while still enjoying the bounty of the sea. The guy that wrapped the line around the rotting whale needs to have his teeth fed to him. I'm not advocating violence. This is dietary advice. Somebody needs a mouth full of calcium.