Labor Day - Block Island striper
I just came back from a fantastic weekend at Block Island, RI. The Island Home was, as always, relaxing and comfortable. Beaches were fantastic – perfect temperature outside and the sun wasn’t too intense. The water was cold when I first stepped in the water, but I could have stayed in all day once it got above my waist.
I had the pleasure of fishing with Block Island fishing legend Captain Dave Chieffo on Sunday. After some rough seas on Saturday and hundreds of boats that over-stimulated the fish Monday morning – I caught, fought and landed the biggest fish I have EVER hooked.
Labor Day - Striper
Labor Day Fishing - with Captain Dave Chieffo
I was recently on Block Island – a mixture of Nature Conservancy preserve and residential homes and inns. The island is beautiful – I stayed at a delightful little inn called The Island Home. A wonderful couple with their daughter who run the inn and they make the most delicious chocolate chip cookies. They run fishing charters with Captain Dave Chieffo (one half of the Inn owners) from the Inn. They catch stripers – HUGE fish (there’s a pic in the link).
The Island Home
Although the island is beautiful, when I walked around I did see some trash on the beaches that made me think of a seafood dining gone wrong.
Mylar balloons – you know, those silvery things. Well, I’d always heard turtles mistake them for jellyfish and when they eat them choke and die, but thought to myself, turtles can’t be that dumb – how can you mistake silver for jellyfish? Well question answered – after the silver rubs off, they do look like jellyfish.
Mylar balloon jellyfish aka Turtle killer
Ribbon – likely attached to said mylar balloon – ties up birds, animals and gets caught up in the sea soup.
White Ribbon in the beach salad
Solutions? Any corn or soy based balloons that can degrade quickly and organically once they hit the water? Balloons are fun for a short time – maybe a day or so, yet they hang around for months or years. With organic based technologies like soy-based foam and bio-based bags – isn’t it a logical step to make fast – biodegradable balloons?
For the record, there are biodegrabale balloons claims (like latex balloons claim to be biodegradable), but I’m not convinced they break down fast enough to be useful.