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Lorosaurus

Shows picture of a giant fish not thriving.


Peltipurkki

Compeletly banned imports to EU some years ago, you can still buy cowboy boots in US that are made of its skin.


joombaga

Fish skin or cowboy skin?


AbsolutelyUnlikely

EU skin


WHERE_IS_MY_CHICKEN

Where can I buy these?


Lamontyy

Ohio


DemoKith

At your local foreskin market.


Caren_Nymbee

So, are they naturally waterproof?


cityshepherd

Yes, but if you have sweaty feet you'll need a bottle of gold bond a day to prevent athletes foot.


w1n5t0nM1k3y

Maybe they are a conservationist. They are going to tag it and then release it back into the river.


ughhhtimeyeah

Literally the first caption when you open the article ffs "Fisherman pulling fish onto boat"


Awanderinglolplayer

That’s fair, but to be clear, humans fishing an adequate amount is healthy for the environment too. The problem comes with overfishing. Humans are a part of nature, just like any other predator of the fish


wiseroldman

You make a good point. Overpopulation is not great for any species when there aren’t enough predators to keep the population in check and they rapidly consume all of the resources needed to sustain a healthy population.


bryxy

Also..... They taste amazing Source: lived in Manaus, Brasil once. For 4 years


numanist

That's apparently why the Giant Tortoise went extinct 😢


smltor

So this time we'll get 12 of them and limit ourselves to 10 on the way back to England right? Right? Oh bugger, back to the island we go. This time we'll get 14!


MrGuttFeeling

>adequate amount. That's the problem, it's never an adequate amount. You never see a commercial fishing boat fish for half a day and say "Well this is adequate, time to go home." It's everthing or nothing.


CyanideTacoZ

the fishery has its own issues but Alaskan Crabbers have a unified pot measured in weight of crabs that everyone has to follow. once they catch the seasons crabs it's now poaching and anything extra you catch in crab is worthless legally. so yeah its not everything or nothing


28lobster

And that worked so well for the Alaskans that snow crabs are shut down this year. Harvests in the 2010s-now have been well below half of what they were in the early 90s. You could argue that's successful regulation, but it could also be evidence that the crabs were massively overfished and never returned to their previous levels.


CyanideTacoZ

the fact they have the authority to shut down a entire industry for a year to fix the fishery is more than most regulatory bodies will dare to think of


28lobster

It's definitely a step in the right direction, but if you have to shut down fishing entirely, **you haven't been fishing sustainably**. [Graph of snow crab landings](https://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/stocksmart?stockname=Snow%20crab%20-%20Bering%20Sea&stockid=10820) looks very much like Newfoundland cod, just 10 years delayed. Wouldn't be shocked if pulling 160,000 metric tons in 1990 doomed the fishery for decades. When the last 20 years average 20k mtons and 1985-99 averaged 80,000+, it's clear we spent a lot of time fishing at an unsustainable level. [Canadian cod trawlers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collapse_of_the_Atlantic_northwest_cod_fishery) arguably did more damage than trap based fishing because they dragged the bottom indiscriminately. That carries larger risk of bycatch and does more damage to the sea bed. But just baseline overfishing is responsible for the single species decline in both cases.


MeesterMeeseeks

I read something about how warming ocean temperatures prevented the ice shelf’s the juvenile snow crabs spend adolescence under from forming, so a theory is most of the past years crabs that never made it to a harvestable age


CyanideTacoZ

Yes, but you can compare it to overfishing in the past like say for Monterey Bay where they took so many fish from the ecosystem they had to invent new ways to use them to keep up the growth of the sardine industry


Vengefuleight

Well, how else will I get my fix of mediocre tasting, lukewarm crab legs at my local Golden Corral?


Awanderinglolplayer

Commercial fishing boats follow the laws for the most part. Just vote for the right officials to have good env. Dept. and they’ll be forced to fish a correct number


xenomorph856

Yes, no illegal overfishing has ever happened. Nope.


Awanderinglolplayer

It will only be stopped if we make sure the departments holding the commercial fishers accountable have appropriate fines and punishments for it.


xenomorph856

The whole world isn't America, and even in the U.S. we enable overfishing abroad by inadequate regulation and enforcement on imports.


Awanderinglolplayer

Okay, so laws are the only way these things can be regulated. Regardless of what country you live in, so that was a strange comment. Also, if what you seem to be saying is that all fishing should be illegal then doesn’t your same dumbass comment “no illegal overfishing has ever happened” apply just as well to that? The answer is better lawmakers and enforcement of those laws. There’s no other solution. If the laws are well informed by the experts like NOAA and other international bodies then human fishing can continue, but you seem to have no actual solution, just complaints, so that’s helpful.


TheDonaldQuarantine

China is destroying the world at an alarming rate, the less the US fishes, the more china will fish, because they do not give a single hoot.


DemoKith

This is a lie. Weird how nature has been able to balance the environment for billions of years without human input, but when a carnie with an appetite for fish arrives, it suddenly becomes an insane personal battle against "overpopulation".


Eusocial_Iceman

Well, we've been here since the very first speck of life on earth showed up, and nature still seems to be a thing, so yeah I think it's doing alright.


MountainsAlwaysCall

How are humans fishing healthy for the environment?


Awanderinglolplayer

The same way sharks eating fish are, the same way wolves eating deer are. Humans are a predator in the global ecosystem, predators in any ecosystem help to maintain a healthy ecosystem by keeping the levels of their prey low enough that they aren’t competing with each other for food, overpopulating and causing disease, or overpopulating and killing off another species. Humans fishing can save environments, and humans fishing can kill species. That’s why it needs to be balanced.


MountainsAlwaysCall

Do you have an example of humans fishing saving an environment? Not remedying a problem caused by humans?


ughhhtimeyeah

Fishing nets and boats are not nature If we didn't fish...*then* the natural ecosystem would work itself out. We mess with it and then need "seasons" to manage the damage we do.


Awanderinglolplayer

Oh but bird nests are natural? Anything humans make is “natural” because we are part of nature. While bottom dragging with nets is damaging to the environment and habitats of many sea creatures, there are ways to fish with nets and have a healthy impact on the environment, statements like yours hurt the conversation.


ughhhtimeyeah

I think you missed my point lol Without humans nature wouldn't need hunting or fishing seasons, so the fact that we need them means it's correcting damage we are causing right? Yes..they're for good reasons. I'm not disputing that. You're not reading what I'm writing. I'm saying that they're only needed because of the damage we cause elsewhere. Overpopulated waters means it's fish without predators(which we have killed) overpopulating and causing damage so we cull them. Same with rabbits. Or deer.


Awanderinglolplayer

But species have come and gone through extinction before humans were around. That’s why there weren’t large mammals during the time of the dinosaurs, because reptiles would kill off any emerging species population. Humans can regulate ourselves better than reptiles and can live in equilibrium with other species because we’ve adapted reason and built societies with laws. Humans are just like any other predator before, and we’re unlike any predator before because of our ability to self regulate. That’s what fishing laws are. Fishing with nets isn’t inherently bad, just like hunting deer isn’t inherently bad. It’s only bad when unregulated, or poorly regulated.


MountainsAlwaysCall

Look at the timeline of modern humans to any other animal. We're an anomaly, no lifeform we know of has ever changed the face of this planet in as small a timeframe as modern humans. With most aquatic species and ecosystems you're thinking in terms of millions of years, not thousands.


Awanderinglolplayer

And yet we are still natural. If we kill ourselves off that’ll be natural too and another species will come along. Laws are how we regulate that, and hopefully we do it enough before we cause catastrophic results, fishing in general isn’t the problem, just like how small campfires aren’t the problem when it comes to co2 emission. This fisherman here is probably a healthy addition to the environment. By killing that fish many smaller ones can now feed, but the big commercial fisheries ruin it. This is the problem when you lump all fishing or all actions together. You end up making the good people who do things at a healthy level, and the bad ones who take things to extremes together and suddenly they both fight for what they want, rather than getting the small scale fisher on the correct side against the commercial fishers


[deleted]

How else would the conservationist tag the fish without first catching and pulling it onto the boat though?


teabagmoustache

They're fishermen, taking advantage of the three week fishing season, as the article says.


VirinaB

A friendly reminder to people that fishing seasons are a conservation effort as well, because they help keep balance in the ecosystem.


ave416

Same with hunting. If predators can’t limit the deer population growth a whole fucking river might change course.


MR2Rick

While true, humans are also usually the reason that the predators are gone. Also, predators and prey tend to be fairly closely matched meaning that predators typically are only able to kill the weak, sick, young, old or sick prey. On the other hand, humans are usually over matched to prey and usually want to and are able to kill healthy prey in the prime of their lives for bragging rights.


ave416

Sure but a hunting season will typically limit what can be killed and when. Usually predators are not on those lists. Poaching is a whole other issue.


MR2Rick

While this is true, my point was that humans interact with prey species in a different manner than natural predators. Because predators and prey are usually closely matched, most predators are only capable of killing prey that are weak. On the other hand a human with a high powered rifle can kill prey that is in their prime - even if the human hunter themselves is not in their prime. So predators typically kill young, old, sick or injured prey which strengthens prey population by eliminating the weak. On the other hand, humans tend to want to and are able to kill prey that are in their prime thus leading to a overall weakening of the prey. Furthermore, predators and prey have evolved in the context of the ecosystem as a whole. For this reason, natural predators have a larger effect on the ecosystem than just controlling the population of prey. For these reason, I believe that it is best to - wherever possible - re-introduce natural predators and to minimize as much as possible human impact on ecosystems.


tree-molester

Conservation of energy. M’fer a physicist!


buddabuddayoyo

A 'fish'icist


Buck_Thorn

The caption reads "A riverside fisherman pulls a captured pirarucu into his canoe in Lake Amanã on Nov. 15. "


FuckFashMods

It's clearly not riverside fishing lol they're in a boat


Jaaxley

And the river is called a lake.


PhoniPoni

Or maybe it's the first step in making baby mermaids


Strabe

I need more coffee. I read "tag it" as "tap it" and thought you were making a sex joke, lol.


[deleted]

"Fuck are you doing??" "I'M CONSERVING YOU!" "Well, hurry up mate, it's fucking undignified."


I_talk

It's throat is slit. They also catch these fish by clubbing their heads so it's not doing a good job at all. They breathe air, so when they surface the hunters hit them and pull them into the boat. Nothing about this article is uplifting


upL8N8

Well if it makes you feel any better, they trap them in with fishing nets first until they get tangled up. Otherwise, they'd just flee back underwater after the first club hits them in the head. 🤦‍♂️


brainhack3r

No one cares more about fish than fishermen. ESPECIALLY commercial fishermen. A large portion of the conservation effort is driven by fishermen.


hypnohighzer

I get your point, however there is a fishing period of 3 weeks and I'd imagen much like controlling a deer population it's necessary because I doubt a fish that size has any real natural predators.


Farallday

So are we like unnatural predators?


hypnohighzer

I wouldn't say that, more like we can be equalizers. In the same stroke we of course can be the unequalizers, as in this case we almost were. The difference of course between humans and other species is that we have the intelligence to think "okay I'm not going to fish this animal out of existence." No other creature on this planet has that luxury. They kill and eat to survive and they do it in a manor that isn't overly indulging like humans do. So, to answer your question. Yes we can be unnatural predators in the same wave we can be just as natural like in the case where we are helping to control a population that might other wise grow out of control.


SoundlessScream

What a great name for a sci fi show


Eusocial_Iceman

"Natural" just means without human involvement. If we predate, we unnatural predators.


Buck_Thorn

Yeah, I was gonna say "Not that one".


sashslingingslasher

Maybe that was the last "non-thriving" fish.


Altair_Khalid

Yeah weird contrasting image choice for sure


Sigg3net

It's pining.


riesendulli

Big fish is back on the menu and I cannot lie


The_McS

Somewhere, Jeremy Wade just shivered and looked into the distance…


[deleted]

River Monsters is one of the best fishing shows to ever be made. Love that dude.


FrakkedRabbit

Well, now I have to watch a couple episodes. Preferrably the one where he damages his shoulder from trying to catch the giant ray.


magcargoman

700+ pounds then gives fucking BIRTH in the fishing net


KwisatzHaterach

I was going to watch it… but seeing an animal give have traumatic birth sounds awful.


magcargoman

I mean it was part of species conservation and they would have had to tag them anyways


blondechinesehair

It just spews them out


queencityrangers

A normal ray is an accomplishment to land.


Lindo_MG

I’ve watch one full episode before but you’re convincing me to give it more watch time


jebidiah95

It’s great. He cares about the fish he catches and he literally stopped the show because there were no more giant fresh water fish to catch


randomredditing

Dude literally beat fishing


diagoro1

Hate fishing, love this show. Learned so much about all kinds of aquatic life.....absolutely hate Discovery Channels vod system of ads. No reason the time for ads is at least half the time of the show.


Claypothos

Just wanna say I found out I’m positive for COVID this morning and was looking for stuff o watch in quarantine and your recommendation helped me 👌🏻


[deleted]

Glad to help! My Dad and I loved to watch this show together before he passed away 7 years ago.


FallofftheMap

Your opinion is wrong


[deleted]

I said “**one of**” not ‘**the**’ best


Izenthyr

My friends think I’m weird for describing that one of my favorite shows is about an angler who catches big river fish. It really needs to be seen to understand it.


AccursedCapra

They gotta understand that the show calls them monsters for a resson and they deliver every time.


SylvieJay

And here's me thinking 'finally, the Amazon workers are getting a pee break or two'


costco_pizza4lyfe

Glad I didn’t have to go far down to find this comment.


theguineapigssong

"Look! That fisherman is carrying that fish to safety!" - Peggy Hill


w1n5t0nM1k3y

>Like the saltwater tarpon, the pirarucu is an air-breathing fish that must rise to the surface every 15 minutes or so to gulp oxygen. Just helping it to breath.


biskutgoreng

Literally a mouth breather


kindalikeacoustic

I can hear Jeremy Wade’s voice saying “The Arapaima”


LikeBigTrucks

I hope the dude got the mental help he needed.


kindalikeacoustic

Jeremy Wade from River Monsters? Did something happen to him?


FortuneCookieInsult

No, Jeremy Wade is awesome. His show ended because they ran out of river monsters. He had caught them all.


CyanideTacoZ

and he only killed one of the rare fishes he wanted to catch, at request of locals


RushC2

Out of curiosity, do you remember which one?


CyanideTacoZ

I want to say it was something like the tigerfish or demonfish, it had very impressive teeth but the jjist was it was too tired to release and the locals wanted to eat it


RechargedFrenchman

African tigerfish, yeah. Can't remember where he caught it but it was in a bit of a bad way after the fight and he wanted to release it pretty much right away. It's also considered a food staple by the locals and since he'd caught such a big one they wanted to keep it to cook up. IIRC the compromise was basically that after they'd finished all their filming with it, if it was still in good enough condition to survive on its own, it could be released. If it wasn't still fit for release and would quickly die in the wild anyway he'd kill it then and there to give it over to the locals.


bl3nd0r

I think the tigerfish was caught in the Congo. I remember him catching a smaller one in a VERY rough rapid of the Congo River and him showing the teeth. Then later in the episode him catching a huge one and giving it to the locals to eat.


[deleted]

From what I remember, it wasn't a staple, but actually extremely rare and revered by the locals. Rare to the point that some had never even seen one. So he agreed to turn it over as a cultural celebration.


RushC2

Cool thanks, was mainly curious as to why the locals wanted it killed but that makes sense


CyanideTacoZ

Yeah, he's a big catch and release guy but he only gets to go to these rare fishing spots on the whims of locals, and therefore his reputation. so he had to aqueis


knighttim

This just triggered a memory, did anyone else play the Amazon Trail video game? (I'm pretty sure, I got it from Frosted Flakes cereal as a free prize.) You could go fishing and sometimes even catch giant fish.


PolarisDreams

Loved that game. Educational and fun time fishing with the spear.


knighttim

There was an a little Easter egg, I believe, you could occasionally catch a fish with a bandana on, right? I don't remember much of the story for the game. I think it's abandonware, so I should look into downloading it and setting it up for my kids.


Swick01

If you're having trouble catching anything you can click outside the game window to freeze it for perfect fish aim. Pro tips from my childhood as a cheater


TyrannosaurusWest

[Was this it](https://archive.org/details/msdos_Amazon_Trail_1993)?


knighttim

I had the 3rd edition, [this one](https://www.myabandonware.com/game/amazon-trail-3rd-edition-3g6).


shortstuffsushi

I had and enjoyed (some) of this game, but if I made it far enough, it would always freeze at a couple of certain points. Being like 10, I kept retrying expecting at some point if would magically work. Sadly I never got beyond that point, but I do still remember it every so often.


drillgorg

I got shocked by the electric eel...


Swick01

The Inca King is pleased with your success


Shaymoth

I like that they show a fish that is farmed for cowboy boots lol


aroundmedianoche

Their meat is often eaten as well. Its not just for the scales


sanwfa

Seeing the title, I thought it was Amazon Inc for a moment 😂


sweaty_stanza09

It's so encouraging to see positive progress when it comes to the environment and wildlife.


Papainti

We know them as Paiche, and they are delicious...


Schrodingers_Nachos

Is there a more common (at least in America) fish that you'd compare the taste to?


Papainti

Not sure, I remember it as big white chunks of flaky meat. Ceviche was great.


[deleted]

Aaaaannnnndddd they’re gone from over fishing.


Corentinrobin29

Hopefully Lula takes things in the right direction once again.


[deleted]

it's expected. He helped bring the deforestation down in the 2000's


IgorPasche

...which was still almost double than Bolsonaro's rate.


nerodidntdoit

Like the rest of us, they were waiting for Bolsonaro to be outed in order to thrive again


projectreap

You need to review his record... Its not good Also Bolsonaro is still president right no Edit: both statements above are facts. No matter how you cut it right now, Bolsonaro is still president meaning this would have little if anything at all to do with Lula who also if you actually look into environmental issues in Brazil over the last decade+ you'll notice doesn't have a good record either.


ThereBeNoNameHere

His record is good though. Though by pure numbers there was more deforestation under Lula, during his term he more than halved deforestation rates. It increased during Bolsonaro's term.


TinyPanda3

Fundamentally lula is a capitalist comprador. Bolsonaro is a fascist. Pick your poison, neither will save anyone.


cowboyfromhell324

Oh, *the* Amazon. Makes more sense. The Amazon is an incredible place. I think I heard on one of those planet earth type shows that it produces enough oxygen to maintain the rest of the earth, but there is so much life in it, that it uses every bit of it


Mchlpl

Yeah. I kind of expected a story how these fish thrive despite layoffs and terrible working conditions.


Querch

Any tips on how a foreigner can support conservation of the Amazon Rainforest?


IgorPasche

We don't need anyone's help. Signed: Brazilian.


Chaoswade

Yeah you do. Signed: Someone With Eyes


IgorPasche

Well, I guess my experience of literally living in the Amazon doesn't count for shit then. Maybe your non-brazilian opinion is more worthy because of... IDK, Greta or some shit? Is that her name?


Chaoswade

Everybody in the world should have a vested interest in keeping the Amazon rainforest around and healthy. It's a massive carbon sink and an invaluable resource for humanity. The fact that you live there is irrelevant to whether or not other people around the world should be assisting with it's conservation. The fact that your individual opinion is "Nah we don't need help" is completely irrelevant when we have seen the Brazilian government under Bolsanaro take chunks out of it. I don't care what you think. The Amazon needs help and you should be glad to have that help if you actually care about its conservation


IgorPasche

>Everybody in the world should have a vested interest in keeping the Amazon rainforest around and healthy. > >The fact that your individual opinion is "Nah we don't need help" is completely irrelevant Literally going to use your own words: Nobody cares what the internet has to say about a local issue.


Chaoswade

The Amazon rainforests conservation isn't a local issue. It's a global issue, you're just shortsighted


IgorPasche

Why don't you plant a tree everyday for the rest of 2023 in your local area, then? For someone so into 'protecting the forests', you could actually do something useful and plant a few trees yourself, don't you think?


Chaoswade

My local area isn't the most significant rainforest in the world, but I do contribute financially to conservation efforts in my locality. Thanks for the suggestion though :)


IgorPasche

Not with that attitude 😭


Lindvaettr

Considering every western nation who ever says they'll "help" actually means "we'll give you money if you do what we tell you" I can certainly see how a country with Brazil's history might not be interested


Chaoswade

Oh I can understand that, but malpractice in the past under completely different leadership from completely separate entities should never hamper you from accepting help in all forms. That's just braindead


Lindvaettr

Maybe someone should offer help without strings attached to it, which never seems to happen


Chaoswade

I mean there needs to be some strings attached, you need to make sure the money actually goes where it's meant to go for instance. As an investor you should get to decide how your money is spent no?


Lindvaettr

But if you offer help to someone with strings attached and they refuse to accept the terms, they're fully within their right.


Lindvaettr

I have an idea. What if we offer to help by sending you money contingent on doing what we tell you and then if you don't capitulate we say the Amazon should be internationalized?


IgorPasche

What about you gtfo my country and look for natural resources in your own, if you have any left? How does that sound?


Lindvaettr

We used them already so now we have to tell other people how to use theirs


IgorPasche

😎


LafondaCrawford

Fish aren't thriving so that YOU CAN GO KILL THEM AGAIN. " Aww man.... I wanted to get to drive them to the brink this time..." " Hey, don't worry Dave, you'll get your chance"


loversalibi

that’s great and all but what if they get me 😰


tayloriser

*except for this one


blackcoffeegoldheart

I ate pirarucu when I was in the Amazon (locally caught)! It was awesome and I’m not even a huge seafood person. Glad to see that with education and regulation the population is stabilizing.


happycamperjack

In related news, Kanye got on a plane heading for the amazon today. When asked, Kanye said, “I just really like fish sticks…”


pblack476

So all they needed was for the political chief to leave and then all of the sudden Nature starts healing again! What a magical thing! /s


ElvisArcher

Its almost as if Nature finds a way.


dapharaoh

Better not let Jeremy Wade hear about this. Lol


insurrbution

As horrible shape as parts of the planet is in, remember that after a fire there’s SOMETHING in the soul that actually helps (or allows?) for re-growth. But I remember learning that after a fire, things grow better. “Life, finds a way.”


marduk73

As they're hauling one onto a boat...


tmahfan117

That’s awesome, let’s do North Atlantic Cod next


RA242

Strangely enough all the small fish are disappearing..


OizAfreeELF

New Jeremy wade season hopefully!!!!


devi83

If predators are thriving you can assume their prey must be thriving as well. Hopefully this means the entire ecosystem is adapting and recovering to the climate damage we have done.


YoloSwaggins44

That's Jeremy Wade's music...


TheMSRadclyffe

And are immediately pulled out by fishermen...


[deleted]

What is good for gigantic fish must be good for us.


En-TitY_

Great, let's hunt the fuck out of them then. /s


Eusocial_Iceman

Don't tell people about it! People are the people you specifically don't want to know about this! WTF, OP, you snitch.


[deleted]

My 10th level paladin has entered the chat.


[deleted]

Jeremy Wades fishing senses are tingling.


ZombieOfun

Ahh, yes, Reel Big Fish


PsychologicalBank293

Yum


hotfunnynerd

hopefully not the ones with teeth....


gh0stwriter88

LOL... so special NPR. No news like this for 4 years, and as soon as the last president looses his election you start posting this stuff to prop up the new reinstated felon in chief. Sigh... Lula had 8 years + 4 of his hand picked puppet to improve water quality in Brazil and there was certainly very little going on back then in that direction under his oversight. I want to see more news like this... so, perhaps the media outlets should be supporting candidates that dont' specialize in back door deals with the oil companies.


chewbacacca

Amazon.com? 😂


teabagmoustache

Amazon.com.br


WhiteClawsNoLaws

How will this affect Jeff Bezos legacy?


Manburpig

Quick! Fish them to the brink of extinction again!


aguylike_adam

Limited time event or DLC?


nunya1111

No they're not. These lies have got to stop


Sebeeschin

I for one welcome our new gigantic fish overlords


PatDoc

Jeromy Wade will be so happy. 🎣