Posted on 11/27/2011 1:20:29 PM PST by SunkenCiv
Tuna has been on the menu for a lot longer than we thought. Even 42,000 years ago, the deep-sea dweller wasn't safe from fishing tackle according to new finds in southeast Asia.
We know that open water was no barrier to travel in the Pleistocene -- humans must have crossed hundreds of kilometres of ocean to reach Australia by 50,000 years ago. But while humans had already been pulling shellfish out of the shallows for 100,000 years by that point, the first good evidence of fishing with hooks or spears comes much later -- around 12,000 years ago.
The new finds blow that record out of the water. Sue O'Connor at the Australian National University in Canberra and colleagues dug through deposits at the Jerimalai shelter in East Timor. They discovered 38,000 fish bones from 23 different taxa, including tuna and parrotfish that are found only in deep water. Radiocarbon dating revealed the earliest bones were 42,000 years old.
Amidst the fishy debris was a broken fish hook fashioned from shell, which the team dated to between 16,000 and 23,000 years...
East Timor hosts few large land animals, so early occupants would have needed highly developed fishing skills to survive...
Any sites of former human occupation that were located on the Pleistocene shore -- rather than in coastal cliffs like the Jerimalai shelter -- are now submerged.
(Excerpt) Read more at newscientist.com ...
I love fishing and have enjoyed this hobby since I was knee high to a grasshopper. I am sure it isn’t enjoyed as much when you are doing it for a living. On my bucket list is Mako. I know, I know... that is strange but I have always wanted to fish for one. (plus, they taste very good)
I’m thinkin’ yer right.
Used to love it when a customer would say, “Even a bad day fishing is better than a good day at work.” My retort would be, “But what if fishing IS your work?” ;)
I started fishing at about five and enjoyed it for several decades, but when I left the boats and went back to my “real” job, I didn’t touch a rod for five years. Eventually I got back into it and when I retired I did some part time work on a head boat just to ease the transition. Wasn’t long before I was back into the pin hooking again for extra cash. (Heh-heh)
Living inland now and bass and muskie are my quarry. EVERYTHING except catfish are returned. There’s something about seeing shore all around you that maske the resource seem so finite. IIRC, mako is the only shark listed as a gamefish
I always felt once the fishing but bit you... you can’t escape it. Fresh water fishing isn’t something that I have done yet. Emphasis on the word “YET”. There have been times that I’ve been the only female on a head boat or a charter boat. I always sort of get a kick out of that since I know my Dad is smiling in heaven!
I immensely enjoyed fishing on for red snapper on Campeche in the 60s.
I have only caught one red snapper in North Carolina. It is a horrible story, though. I was the only female fishing (not that it bothers me) and the mate hated me for some reason. My line got tangled with a no fishing guy next to me and the mate gave MY darn fish to him. At the end of the trip. this man accidentally dropped it into the water. That’s okay... we plan on going to the Carolina’s this summer and I think a red snapper is calling my name. I’m a bit older, wiser and meaner... so this time, I may throw the mate overboard. LOL!!!
Otoro!
That looks wonderful!
BTW - my favorite Archie quote:
Gloria: Did you know that 65% of the people murdered in this country were killed by handguns?
Archie: Would it make you feel any better, little girl, if they was pushed out of windows?
My uncle hates that. ;’)
:’D
I left my harp in Sam Clam’s disco.
I pulled up as many as twelve at a time, weighing from 9 to 28 pounds. It was a commercial smack gone down to Mexico for 6 weeks at a time before Uncle Sam gave half the Gulf and all of the good fishing grounds to Mexico.
I just love fresh tuna. I’ve tried to tell some of my friends that canned tuna vs fresh tuna... no comparison. It doesn’t even taste similar. Plus, they give a good fight (part of my thrill, I guess). Woman vs sea! I finally was able to take my son with me and he is now hooked on it as well (no pun intended).
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