Fishboy's Latest Catalog

Click here or visit www.fishboy.com

3.5 Earthquake Shakes Bar Harbor

Reported here first! Bar Harbor was the epicenter of a minor earthquake this morning!

Earthquake Details
Magnitude 3.5 (Minor)

# Date-Time Friday, September 22, 2006 at 10:39:23 (UTC) = Coordinated Universal Time

# Friday, September 22, 2006 at 6:39:23 AM
= local time at epicenter


Location 44.370°N, 68.220°W

Depth 5 km (3.1 miles) set by location program

Region MAINE

# Distances 2 km (1 miles) SSW (205°) from Bar Harbor, ME

# 30 km (19 miles) SE (138°) from Ellsworth, ME

# 51 km (32 miles) ESE (117°) from Bucksport, ME

# 302 km (188 miles) ENE (58°) from Manchester, NH

# 325 km (202 miles) NE (45°) from Boston, MA

Location Uncertainty Error estimate not available
Parameters Nst= 13, Nph= 13, Dmin=129.5 km, Rmss=0 sec, Gp=270°,
M-type="Nuttli" surface wave magnitude (MLg), Version=7

Source Weston Observatory, Boston College, Weston, Massachusetts, USA
Event ID ussyav

Link to the Robotic Fishbowl video

Robotic Fishbowl - So goldfish can check out their non-aquatic environment.

Robot Gives Goldfish Legs

Robot allows fish to roam land

Updated Thu. Sep. 21 2006 3:50 PM ET

Brian Jackson , DiscoveryChannel.ca

A fishbowl hooked up to a pair of wheels and a computer allows a goldfish access to land.

Artist Seth Weiner is calling the invention contemporary art. "The Terranaut Project" is on display at the Exit Art gallery in New York until Dec. 23.

A camera mounted above the fishbowl is pointed down and tracks the fish movements. The information is then wirelessly transmitted to an onboard computer. There, the fish movements are converted into wheel movements.

It won't be seen racing down the street any time soon. The vehicle moves much slower than walking-speed.

It's also unlikely the fish can appreciate the experience - the bending of light caused by the concave fishbowl ruins visibility to the outside world. But that hasn't stopped the fish from 'growing new legs' in the world of web-fame.

From a YouTube video to being featured on tech-nerd web pages and blogs, to winning a contemporary art award voted on by readers of an online newspaper, Terranaut is literally everywhere.

Sunfish - Our First Line of Defense

Fish is used to detect terror attacks

By MARCUS WOHLSEN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

SAN FRANCISCO -- A type of fish so common that practically every American kid who ever dropped a fishing line and a bobber into a pond has probably caught one is being enlisted in the fight against terrorism.

San Francisco, New York, Washington and other big cities are using bluegills - also known as sunfish or bream - as a sort of canary in a coal mine to safeguard their drinking water.

Small numbers of the fish are kept in tanks constantly replenished with water from the municipal supply, and sensors in each tank work around the clock to register changes in the breathing, heartbeat and swimming patterns of the bluegills that occur in the presence of toxins.

"Nature's given us pretty much the most powerful and reliable early warning center out there," said Bill Lawler, co-founder of Intelligent Automation Corporation, a Southern California company that makes and sells the bluegill monitoring system. "There's no known manmade sensor that can do the same job as the bluegill."

Since Sept. 11, the government has taken very seriously the threat of attacks on the U.S. water supply. Federal law requires nearly all community water systems to assess their vulnerability to terrorism.

Big cities employ a range of safeguards against chemical and biological agents, constantly monitoring, testing and treating the water. But electronic protection systems can trace only the toxins they are programmed to detect, Lawler said.

Asian Carp Soon To Be Seal Food

A fish that’s becoming a growing problem in Midwest rivers might end up being fed to sea lions and penguins in zoos if a pilot project successfully develops.

Courtesy photo
Silver carp jump into the air as a U.S. Geological Survey research boat passes by in this University of Missouri photo. A pilot project would turn nuisance Asian carp into food for zoo animals.

Researchers for the University of Missouri-Columbia, the federal government and the Saint Louis Zoo are collaborating on a plan to create a market for two troublesome Asian species: the silver carp and the bighead carp.

Both species seem to be taking over the Mississippi, Missouri and Illinois rivers. Silver carp are particularly hazardous because they’ve been known to leap out of the water and land in boats.

"These are powerful, powerful fish," said Rob Hayward, an MU fish researcher. "A 25-pound fish jumping 8 feet out of the water and landing in a boat creates quite a hazard."

Work is under way to develop fish patties made of ground up Asian carp that can be served as food to captive zoo animals. If the commercial market develops, it could provide multiple conservation benefits.

One dividend would be a reduction in the number of the troublesome fish in the rivers. The other benefit is the reduction in fishing pressure on species such as herring and mackerel, which are now fed at zoos at a cost of 30 to 70 cents per pound.

Ellen Dierenfeld, a fish nutritionist at the Saint Louis Zoo, said the carp food source could be modified to provide for additional fat content and nutrient quantity. Questions still abound about texture and whether the fish food will stick together when the trainer tosses a morsel to a sea lion for positive reinforcement. "We’ve done the toss test of a cake," Dierenfeld said today. "A couple of interns have thrown them back and forth to make sure they hold together and to make sure the texture is right.

"The animal palate will be the trickiest," Dierenfeld added. "We can make the most nutritious diet, but the animal may not like it."

With humans in the United States, that’s certainly a problem. Hayward said the Asian carp is in high demand on dinner tables in Asia and Europe. If Americans craved the fish the way others around the world do, there wouldn’t be a population problem in U.S. rivers. "This is the most commonly consumed fish worldwide," Hayward said. "We are the oddballs."

The Asia carp species were first noticed in 1993. No one knows how they got into the rivers, but some suspect that they might have escaped an impoundment in the south during the great floods that year.

Duane Chapman, a research fish biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, said the Asian carp feed on tiny fish and plant organisms that are food sources for small fry of native species. Chapman said while it’s difficult to measure the carps’ impact, a recent natural survey in Illinois found that samples of bigmouth buffalo and gizzard shad were smaller than in the past - an indication that they are growing more slowly than before.

At the same time, Chapman said Asian carp grow quickly, making it difficult for them to be prey for predators such as walleye and flathead catfish.

Hazard, Chapman and Dierenfeld hope the project will create a market that will make it worthwhile for commercial fishers to collect the Asian species with nets.

"We hope to have a product ready to test with animals that’s nutritionally complete in the spring," Dierenfeld said. "Now, if the fish eaters will just bite into it."

GIANT FISHING LURES

Check out these incredible giant antique fishing lures from Fishboy.com! In the picture is a regular sized lure and above that is the decorative wall hanging lure that will make a great Christmas present for the fisherman in your life!

New Fall Line Up From Fishboy!

Here is are the latest releases from Fishboy. Watch Fishboy.com for availablility. We'll be adding new designs in the coming weeks.

Redneck Fishing Tourney - Carp Fly Amok

(CBS) At what they call the "Redneck Fishing Tournament" in Bath, Ill., there are two main rules, CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman reports.

One, you can't use a fishing pole.

"You catch em' in the air, they fly," one fisher explains.

That leads to the second rule: Fish at your own risk.

"They'll nail you!" a fisher says.


One guy just got a black eye and a broken nose — from a fish! Can't imagine that? Well, just wait till we hit the good spot.

The fish are Asian carp, and whenever they hear a boat motor they absolutely freak. The noise scares the carp out of them, so to speak. All of them — and there are tons.

Of course, with so much flack in the air, someone is bound to take a hit. "America's Funniest Videos" would kill for this stuff.

Watch Steve Hartman's "redneck" fishing lesson

It may go without saying, but this particular species of fish has grown a little out of control. It's not even native to the region. It was introduced by accident about a decade ago and is threatening rivers and lakes from Louisiana to Minnesota.

Researchers say the problem is that the fish are such big eaters and fast breeders that they force out all the indigenous species. The federal government has even built underwater electric barriers to try and stop the invasion.

Of course that won't help here, which is why Betty Deford started the fishing tournament in the first place.

"I do have something against these fish — they tried to hurt me," Betty says with a laugh.

In three hours, 70 boats caught 1,800 carp. But, unfortunately, that's a drop in the bucket. They really need a better answer. They need it so badly it hurts.


©MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Grouper Drowns Diver

Key West diver who drowned after spearing giant fish identified

By Jason Lowell
sun-sentinel.com
Posted September 13 2006, 10:39 AM EDT

KEY WEST – The Monroe County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday identified the diver found drowned over the weekend, apparently after spearing a giant fish and becoming tangled in a line underwater.

The preliminary autopsy of Gary Cagle, 42, indicates that he drowned while free diving in 25 feet of water about a half mile off of Smather's beach.


Detective Mark Coleman believes the diver drowned while spearing a Goliath grouper, commonly known as a jewfish. After Cagle's wrist became entangled in the spear line, he was effectively pinned to the ocean floor when the fish retreated into a coral rock.

Cagle was last seen at noon on Saturday. He was found Sunday morning by the Coast Guard and Key West Police divers.

Other tests must be completed before a final autopsy is released.

The Hummer Generation?

Boy, the last time we purchased a happy meal my son got a pull back friction Hummer car. I thought how strange. There was no tie in to a movie or tv show which is usually what the Happy Meals push. This time it was a car company pushing their image on what? The next generation of car buyers? I don't think so. Hummer isn't exactly a entry level car. No I think what is going on here is much more sinister. Hummer is trying to allow Mom and Dad to buy a gas-guzzler without their off spring questioning the decision. Mom, Joey's family has a small car that gets great gas milage, how come you and Dad are blowing my future with our gas guzzling, air polluting tank?

Since the Happy Meal episode I've seen on Yahoo something about "Download Hummer Kids Content". Even Target is selling Hummer products to decorate your room with gas guzzling SUVs. Hummer is attempting to create a Hummer generation out of our youth, a generation of self absorbed jerks with the attitude, Screw You I'll Run You Over If You Don't Back Off. I guess its kind of like Bush's foreign policy. Maybe Hummer will get a cabinet position?


The Union of Concerned Scientists has this to say on the matter:

"McDonald's decision to peddle the quintessential gas-guzzler, the Hummer, shows a tremendous lack of sensitivity and care for the health and well-being of America's kids.

The Hummer H2, one of the eight models offered as a promotional toy, achieves an estimated 11-14 miles per gallon and costs nearly $100 to fill up at today's gas prices. Like many other large, inefficient vehicles, the H2 emits significantly more smog-forming and global warming pollution than most passenger cars on the road today, placing children, whose respiratory systems are still maturing, at risk for the wide variety of health problems associated with auto pollution.

Targeting the next generation of car buyers with pro-Hummer marketing sends the wrong message--that gas-guzzling in the face of environmental, public health and national security concerns is desirable. This campaign serves only to undermine McDonald's efforts to improve its environmental and public health image, including its laudable decision to reduce the use of antibiotics by its poultry suppliers."

Take action! http://ucsaction.org/campaign/8_21_06_mcdonalds_hummer_toy/w3g8e832f5bmxmj

Ethel - The Opera Singing Lobster

Here at Fishboy, we know all the good toys can be had at Gobler Toy Company. Ethel the Opera Singing Lobster is just one example of the fine toys put our by Ira Gobler and crew. Its the quality fun you remember as a child. Who could for get playing with Senor Sandwich? Or Fu Manchu, I Love You - my sister loved hers. I always asked Santa for the Rocket Head toy but never got it.

Fish Memories

Having a memory like a goldfish could actually be a good thing, says a Sydney scientist who has spent 10 years proving fish are not as dumb as we think.

Fish are not the bowl-circling dimwits we imagine and could be as socially able as monkeys and elephants, Dr Culum Brown of Macquarie University says.

The biology lecturer has spent the past decade putting fish through learning and memory tests, which he says shows they are much deeper thinkers than they look.

For a start, Dr Brown says the three-second memory of goldfish is a myth: "It's completely ridiculous that an animal could survive without a memory."

Fish are so clever, Dr Brown says, that those schooled in survival skills can even teach their captivity-raised peers how to get by in the sea.

To help prove his theories, Dr Brown put rainbow fish into a tank with a mock trawler net with a single hole and watched how long it took them to find an escape route.

"Without any prior experience the fish learned where the hole was in about five runs," he says.

A year later, the same fish managed to find the hole on their first try, which Dr Brown says shows they easily recalled the skills they had learned.

In another study, Dr Brown scared intertidal gobies from a rock pool and as they dived for safety found they plopped precisely in surrounding pools.

"This suggests that fish are able to form mental maps similar to those people use when planning a route to a familiar destination," he says.

Dr Brown also studies "social learning" among fish, where fish trained to recognise predators and wild food teach captivity-bred fish how to survive.

"Fish can be trained en masse and then used to train other fish," he says.

"What we've found is the latter groups of fish learn more rapidly when ... placed with trained fish."

The research could prove useful to the aquaculture industry, Dr Brown says.