Ibera Marsh Report

Since 1982, the Ibera wetlands are part of a protected area (the Iberá Natural Reserve), which comprises 13,000 km² (14% of the surface area of Corrientes, the largest protected area in Argentina). Iberá is also one of the most important fresh water reservoirs on the continent and it is full of life - caimen, march deer, rhea, the maned wolf, golden dorado, piranahs, river otters and birds like you have never seen before. We have been exploring the marsh, its lagoons, creeks and river banks. We have caught small dorado and photographed gauchos herding cattle and marsh birds in flight. My favorite bird is the wattled jancana pictured above.

Argentina has its share of environmental issues. Agricultural land use is a big one. As a "second world" country, its wealth lies in the soil and rivers, so mining, sheep, cattle and tourism are major economic forces. Couple that with a very poor rural population and any wild animal can be a source of protein. There is almost no access to the marsh. The nearest town is 1 hour away on a dirt road. The major city of Corrientes is 4 hours away. There are plenty of regulations but essentially no enforcement. The Golden Dorado is the national fish of Argentina but it is a fish that can be commercially harvested for sale. Little is known about the spawning habits or migration patterns in the river system.

We will be here a couple more days to talk more with the team working at Pira Lodge to discover opportunities for conservation here. More later...

Buenos Aires

Que Tal?

We are here in Buenos Aires after an overnight flight from Washington, DC. 10 hours, easy flight because only an hour time change from the US. We spent the evening with the top guy from Nervous Waters, a company that runs 10 different lodges in various places around Argentina and Chile. There is an incredible history here waiting to be experienced and shared. We fly out early today to Ibera Marsh - a 1 million acre biological preserve about 500 miles Northwest of BA. I will try to post pics of the flight and our first encounters tonight. Time to pack. Best to all. T

Who cares?

We had a standard question back when I was a VC in Silicon Valley in the 90s - whenever a company came in to present a new business opportunity, the question “who cares?” was asked. Why start a company if no one wants the product? We funded a home grocery delivery company called Webvan, and over $1B was spent on a state of the art warehouse/picking system to cover everything from tomatoes to 50 lb bags of dog food... never had to go to the grocery store again - just go online, buy, pay and bam! groceries were delivered the next afternoon. Well... the short answer is no one cared and the company went out of business... fast.

Conservation is different from for-profit businesses in many ways but human emotion and caring are not. Who cares is as relevant to conservation projects and issues as it was for Webvan - if no one cares, the effort will die. So how can conservation succeed in this time on this planet? Who cares about global climate change? Who cares about pollution and water quality? The answer is simple - the people who care (and do something about it) are those that are aware of the real issues in our environment and aware of their own lives and their link with all of nature. And those with the balls to do something about it.

So what on this planet grabs your shorts and pulls them over your head? What issue or place or fish or mammal or stand of trees do you really give a shit about? What have you personally done to make this a better world? What do you do now that is a waste of time for the planet’s future?

I do fisheries conservation work. Marine Ventures works all over the planet ranging from whale sharks off Madagascar to trout in creeks I can see from my kitchen window. We are spread thin, we work smart, we leverage our resources, we attract others to help. We are committed to the full measure of effort to protect this planet from its massive wealth extraction society. No, I do not want to go back and live in the stone age: I need gas for my car and I like good wine. But there is a balance, an informed way of life that protects those places and things that are of lasting important to the planet. Do something. Do it now...

West End megaresort on hold

Back on Nov 19, 2007 I posted about the ecological impact of a megaresort called Ginn Sur Mer at West End on Grand Bahama Island. My question was whether people wanted to visit and experience a man-made paradise or a natural paradise. I just heard that the megaresort has been put on hold and may never be built. With a development budget of almost $3.7B, the developer had started clearing the land but evidently they did not find the demand for the homes, condos and marina slips. This is great news to all of us who have known West End as almost a wild paradise in the Bahamas. While there are certainly green and "sustainable" resorts around the world, this one would violate all rules. Maybe people are getting it. Maybe people do not want to visit a place that was once raw and wild and would become a concrete jungle with "sun-drenched beaches." Let's hope this sticks, the land returns to its natural state, turtles still nest on the beaches, sharks patrol the reefs and people can come visit and experience the place without the need to destroy it. Let's hope...

Patagonia Expedition Plans

We are departing for a 3 week trip to Argentina next week with the goal of identifying additional funding projects for our Coldwater Program. Brandon White has been the lead on setting up the trip and has selected three unique ecosystems for us to explore.

The first place we will visit is in the 3.5 million acre wild and uninhabited Ibera Marsh in the northeast corner of Argentina. We will be staying at Pira Lodge for a couple of days and working with the Lodge fishing team to explore this area and opportunities for conservation projects. It is home to more than 350 species of birds, 85 mammals, 70 reptiles, marsh deer and South American Cayman. It has a vast system of crystal clear creeks, rivers and lakes 2½ times the size of the Everglades. The rivers are full of golden dorado. Argentina has recently taken a major step in preserving the Golden Dorado or Salminus Maxillosus by declaring it the national fish of Argentina, starting January 1, 2008.

Our next leg of the trip takes us into the heart of Patagonia as we explore the rivers and lakes along the Chilean-Argentina border starting North of Futa Lodge and traveling down past Estancia del Zorro. Traveling by SUV and armed with sleeping bags and a BBQ grill, we will explore the Rio Futalufu, Rio Frey, Rio Pico and Lago X. Ryan Davey, one of the original Trout Bums from the AEG, is our guide, fly casting instructor and favorite Argentine son.

Our final leg of the trip is to fly back to Buenos Aires then 1400 miles South to Rio Grande in Tierra Del Fuego. Located just 70 miles North of the Straits of Magellan, the Rio Grande River is home to a non-native sea-run brown trout. There are several research projects underway on the river, all in their early stages of work. We hope to identify one study to fund this year. This will give us a base of operations for gaining more knowledge about the region, people, culture and fishery - all essential to conduct a successful conservation project.

It should be an exciting trip for us and will fit in nicely with our Henry's Fork River project in Idaho this summer. Still trying to pack for all three environments. The Ibera Marsh is subtropical requiring summer clothes. The weather in Patagonia is similar to Jackson Hole, WY in the early fall so it can be cool. Finally in Tierra Del Fuego, the winds can howl and the temperatures drop this time of year. I just need a bigger bag...

26 Dolphin Tagged, 2 Wahoo Tagged, 3 Blue Marlin, 2 White Marlin

We are back from our first major tagging expedition in the Bahamas. We were gone for 21 days, covered over a thousand miles on the boat and explored some new places that hold promise for future field work. We caught less fish that I thought we would but we endured some rough winter storm weather, with a few days fishing in near gale-like conditions. There are multiple posts coming but I would like to focus on the three most important results from the trip.

First: circle hooks work. We struggled at first on dolphin tagging with them but learned to hook the fish in the corner of the jaw which enabled a safe release after tagging. The circle hooks worked great for marlin fishing also. It is the law in the US now that circle hooks be used in all billfish tournaments. We are sold on them. Everybody else should bite the bullet, learn to fish them and make the switch.

Secondly, weather has a major impact on fish movement and tagging efforts. We know January is a rough month to be at sea but felt we might find large dolphin for satellite tag placement. Well... we did not find them at all. And some days we ran 30-40 miles in search of the fish with no results. Captain Steve on the Makara and Captain Billy on the Snafu were great in running the boats to the best spots. We did tag a good number of fish when we found them. We have three more major tagging expeditions in the coming months. So stayed tuned to more data.

Finally and most importantly, recognition to the captains and crew on this expedition. As I mentioned earlier, each week we had different crew for different efforts. Week one had Joe Mac and Captain Ed on board for marlin fishing. In week two we had Brandon White from Lateral Line Apparel, Steve Trafton from Henry's Fork Foundation and Ryan Davey from Custom Fly Adventures on board. Week three had fisheries biologist Don Hammond and John McMurray from Norcross Wildlife Foundation on board. There was a great meeting of the minds over marine conservation efforts and what we all can do going forward working together. Captain Steve ran the Makara and is our finest man on the grill. Captain Billy got the Snafu ready to fish in record time which provided us with a new platform for shallow water fishing and exploration. I thank everybody for their efforts and commitment to conservation.