Cause for Concern

  There comes a time when you become concerned over what is happening to your friends.  If you observe a change in their demeanor, their quality of life or even their appearance, you worry about their welfare and wonder if there is something you can do to help them.  This even applies to critter friends.   We all wish to help our pets live healthy, happy lives but what about the wild critters around us?  Do they deserve our care and concern?  They should.

  For the past few weeks, I have been helping a young heron who obviously was abandoned before learning the fine art of fishing.  A heron that cannot fish for his meals, will not last long in this world.  So, I took it upon myself to gather a few tidbits for the critter.  He seems duly grateful for the handouts and is now learning to fish for himself.  So, it is not the heron that concerned me today.  It was the minnows that I fed the bird that drew my attention.  

Examples of two malformed menhaden. The mullet on the left is perfectly fine but a good many of the menhaden are deformed.

  I thought it was a fluke when about a month back, I caught menhaden that were drastically malformed.  The little fish appeared to have their backbones bent in a most disconcerting way.  Since I had only caught a couple, I thought perhaps the menhaden were injured when they were wee tots.  Perhaps a larger fish had tried to eat them but the minnow escaped with an injury.  Today, however, five out of the twenty or so menhaden that I caught in the net were severely disfigured.  This was a problem and I needed to address it. So...I contacted the one person that I know who could help.  A young man named Andre has a vast knowledge of the oceans and the denizens thereof.  He studied Marine Biology in college and now works for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA.  I sent Andre a photograph of the menhaden with an explanation of where the fish were caught and how many I was catching.  It was only a few moments before I had his answer.  " There are plenty of environmental factors that can affect sea life.  A lot of times, weather has an impact on fish deformities."  I had no idea of this so I asked more.  "The cold snaps we had late this winter, could have caused the deformities if the eggs or tiny fish larvae were in shallow waters."  Well, the Bayou did get covered in a lot of ice this year, so I guess my menhaden just got too cold.  Andre went on to assure me that the fish were still safe for Moe, the heron, to eat and for me to use as bait.  He also said that he would send word to his associates to do a welfare check on my fish!    It is sure nice to know who to call!  Thank you, Andre!