Norton dies

[triggerhappy8]

I was a member a few years ago but quit the hobby due to financial reasons. My situation has changed and I have started back up. Went to my first meeting in 2 years last night and will be joining soon (i.e. next check).

 

[triggerhappy8]

That is, granted I don't get banned before I rejoin...

 

[sshindell]

No one has ever been banned. Never had a reason to.... yet

Glad to have you join soon.

 

[tsciarini]

Good grief guys!!! I wasn't monitoring this thread because I figured talking about a dead whale was atleast safe conversation!
Take a deep breath and relax....

inhale........................exhale..................

 

[washowi]

I am one of the fortunate few that actually swam with him and tried to feed him, so you know what...I for one am deeply saddened....

It's easy to sit back and say that it's just a fish, circle of life, etc...blah, blah,

You have no personal knowledge of the shark or the efforts of the team to care for him....Every Friday morning when I showed up to dive, Norton was in the sling with no less than 30 people working on him. caring for him, etc.

after the dives, I sit with the biologists as they count how many circles he would swim and log every move he made so that any changes in his patterns were noted and logged....

I am just a once a week diver there..theses biologists have cared for them for 3 years...before they even got here..they spend 24 hrs a day looking after them..and God knows what else that I do not see..

alot of peoples lives were and are invested in these sharks...they are not just fish as some of you here seem to take lightly and joke about..

personally, I am offended by your comments and it just shows the ignorance of some of the members..

If ya don't have anything good to say, go to another thread. cause I DO have time invested in these whale sharks. I may be just a volunteer, but my efforts in their well being is as strong as if I was an employee there..

So Good Bye to another friend...

 

[nishant3789]

wowww im definetely leaving this thread...

 

[FutureInterest]

George;47418 wrote: Counsel is allowed and expected to state reasonable *conclusions* from facts in evidence. Opinion is still opinion and the original statement was opinion driven.

What is a conclusion? It is an opinion you reach after consideration. It's still just your opinion any way you slice it. Let the guy have his own opinion about GAI, chill holmes! You can't deny that there's a financial benefit for having the most whale sharks in captivity. So yah it is "wow factor" in having them, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's just business.

On a personal note, I am saddened that another of these beautiful creatures died today. I hope they figure it out and I do hope they are successful breeding them.

 

[washowi]

Nishant3789;47490 wrote: wowww im definetely leaving this thread...

good move on..

 

[george]

tsciarini;47478 wrote: inhale........................exhale..................

Ok. I'll admit I started into this post after reading the ****ed blog on the AJC site. I'm hope nobody here really thinks the staff of the aquarium is a bunch of Keystone cops constantly checking the ticket till. If you want to get steamed, read the blog. There's some you won't believe. Really. Beyond PETA crazy.

Now, that said, consider some thoughts I had:

Think about the fish you've had in your aquarium over the years. Have you lost any? Were they healthy when you got them? Acclimated? Were there a variety of specimens to choose from? How were they caught and for what purpose?

These guys were caught by hunting. Anyone that's watched a nature show or done any hunting (I don't count chemical luring) knows that the easiest creatures for the predator to get are the young, sick, and crippled/wounded. Why are these whale sharks any different? I highly doubt that the Taiwanese fishermen passed over the easy catches to get a really healthy one for the dinner table. They didn't care if it survived past the harbor butchering facility and probably handled it accordingly.

Is it any wonder that the Okinawa aquarium has had something like 18 (I think that's what I remember reading) over the past 25 years and some have lived as little as 3 days, but one is still going at 12 years? Whale sharks have been held in captivity since the 1930's with rising degrees of success, but without study, we can't help the population at large and all of these animals are still rescued. The GAI didn't outbid anyone on them or create a demand. Yes, they planned to have whale sharks from the start of building, but I don't think Bernie sat everyone down and said "What can we get in here that's the hardest, rarest fish we can dig up?"

 

[suasati]

Ok!!! I was gonna move on, but common, This was like gitmo for these guys, and you wonder why they die? How many freakin' circles can those poor things go before they pray to god to take their lives?.....

The longest captive one was and still is in Okinawa, Japan, 12years, since 1995..... 16(14 males and 2 females) different sharks have gone through that tank in Japan ranging from size 3.2m to 6.3m weighing, 290Kg to 1750Kg and they have 3 left (That is 18.75% survival rate).... the shortest survival time is 3 days.... and the life expectancy of whale sharkes is thought to be as 150years....
First captive one was in 1934 lived 122 days,.... How is that for facts?

Now my opinions, Yes, I feel the pain that most who cared for these animals are going through, but It should come as no surprise... You can hang on to the whole "sushi to science campaign", but this is just ridiculous, and on top of this, it is quite irresponsible to get two more when one of your fish is acting sick. Well, Whatever, I am not out the change the world, just to change along with it....

BTW!!!! If youthink I am with PETA, you should watch me grill out.......

 

[tsciarini]

*sigh*
The only thing I can think to do at this point is suggest the http://www.sedona.com/html/what-is-the-sedona-method.aspx">Sedona Method</a>....

(I actually just learned what The Sedona Method is by doing a google search on "the ability to let it go")