Crediton in the rain.. next stop Exeter and then Brizzle

Raining in Crediton this morning on my way to Exeter St David's..

Two days of talking Burbot. Hosted by @ifmfish.bsky.social and @trentriverstrust. Many thanks to Cambridge University and Cambridge Conservation Initiative as well as WWF and FINISH. Great workshop about the future of this wonderful fish.

Heard fish populations described as 'resource' just the other day. The scientist had already demonstrated intelligence and empathy with the subject area. Just hadn't thought about that word which sort of sums up our relationship with fish..

I really do hate the usage of the word "stock" to describe the number of fish/whales etc in the sea. It makes it sound as though they just sit on a supermarket shelf until we decide we want them. They are essential & beautiful parts of an ecosystem, not spare parts that need a human to have purpose!

Hey Hannah. I don't know you well but have seen you on telly 😉 and followed you on various platforms. Your passion and knowledge shine through to us who watch and listen. Making a living out of your passion is never easy and shame on those who make it unnecessarily harder.

You have discovered a new species, Scrimshaw fungi.

On from that..
Why do monkeys paint their balls red?
To hide in cherry trees.
What's the loudest noise in the jungle?
Giraffes eating cherries...

What does the fish say when it swims into a concrete wall?.. Dam!

Well it's often to do with overcrowding making it easy for the parasite. But probably more important is a high level of organic material and bacteria in the water body - plenty of food. So problems with these parasites probably has a root issue in the environmental conditions

Two parasites, Trichodina sp and sedentary ciliates. Both are incredibly common and found on the skin of all species of freshwater fish. Both feed on organic material in the water column, mainly organic debris and bacteria, feeding using cilia. They can be a problem in some circumstances, but why?

The perch acts as an intermediate host, with the parasite encysted in the liver. The 3 point hooks you can see are used to attach to the intestines of pike it's adult host. A pike eats the perch digests it and releases the parasite to attach to the gut wall.

I do love a good parasite and they are true environment engineers, impacting all sorts of relationships. Certainly working in ecology and the environment, they are things we should know about. Here is one Triaenophorus nodulosus in a perch liver.

God sake don't tell Trump and Elon.. trans fish..

Some good fishy stuff. @greenleejw.bsky.social Surprised Eel Historian is excellent fun. @altnps.bsky.social and @altfws.bsky.social are both fantastic at bringing the events in America into focus. @otolithgirl is good as well.

And hopefully will be here long after the bleak days have passed, continuing their ancient migrations across our artificial boundaries. Cheers to you.

Eels. Must have eels. I am sure you have come across @greenleejw.bsky.social , would be worth a chat. And I love a burbot and bit of English fish and history.

My First post on this platform. So an introduction through recent pics. Books, cats and dogs. Fish and parasites and working with great people. Nice to meet you all...