Buddhist try to Save the Lobsters - or not...

Forums: Lobsters, Epic Fail, Crustacean Interest
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This gave me a chuckle -

On Thursday, a group of Buddhists traveled to Gloucester and purchased 534 lobsters, about 600 pounds worth, from a wholesaler and dumped them back into the sea in a prayer ceremony in which the crustaceans’ bands were cut and blessed water was sprayed on them.

Yesterday, lobstermen from the fishing vessel Degelyse said they had traveled to the site of the ceremony, laid their traps, and hauled up exactly 534 lobsters.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/08/09/released_lobsters_retaken_group_says/?p1=Well_MostPop_Emailed4_HP

what I found funny was the comments people made in regard to the article - so many were upset about this.

Do you think it was wrong of the lobstermen to recover these lobsters?

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@Linkat,

Quote:

Do you think it was wrong of the lobstermen to recover these lobsters?

Nope. Lost and found lobsters. Razz

Fair game. The lobsters should have learned the lesson, once trapped, twice shy.

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I think it was a stupid, unproductive and pointless move from the Buddhists but... eh, religion. They essentially dumped food on the sea.

As for the lobstermen, what they did is the same they always do. They just happened to do it somewhere where people were dumping their merchandise on the sea.

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@manored,

I agree - but why were so many people complaining that what the lobstermen did was wrong - some compared it stealing from the offering plate at church.

I mean I could compare it, if the church simply dumped the offering outside in the open.

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@Linkat,

Well even the Buddhist weren't upset...

"Even if they get captured again, they've had a longer life," said Wendy Cook, former director at the Kurukulla Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies in Medford, north of Boston.

Buddhists from the center typically liberate masses of the expensive seafood a couple times each year.

In India, Geshe Tenley said, cows, sheep and even goats are purchased and saved from slaughter. But here in New England, saving the lobsters and extending their lives -- even if just for an hour -- is most practical and a real way the group can make a difference in the lobsters' existence and their own.

http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/World/Story/A1Story20110809-293593.html

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@Linkat,

Eh, the Buddhist's made their point (whatever it was) and the Lobstermen made an easy haul.

Win/win.

I guess the outraged folks should consider the reason for their outrage, and what they lost from the entire incident.

I also find myself in the mood for seafood now.

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It's like you create a beautiful work of art and then somebody takes a dump on it.

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@edgarblythe,

I guess the take-away here is not to create art in the bathroom where everyone goes to take dumps.

If the intent wasn't to be showy they could have done something a tad more lasting by taking the lobsters out of the view of onlookers.

Although I will grant you that the captain went out of his way to spray feces 10 feet up the wall.

Quote:

“Anything to break up the day and have some fun is what we’re all about. We’re not trying to antagonize them or anything like that.’’

Bit of an arse.

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@Questioner,

The blog itself was a joke - they didn't really catch all the 534 lobster - there was a blog that said that they re-captured exactly 534 lobsters....

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@Linkat,

I guess the take-away here is to read everything fully before commenting.

Going to go sit in the corner with the rest of this bottle. Cheers.

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@Questioner,

At first I thought so too - but the premise is some what true - I'm sure most of those lobsters are going to be caught again - gives a bit of freedom maybe - but I'm thinking maybe I'm going be getting me some lobsters here soon.

The smart thing would be - if you were scuba diving - follow that damn boat out and then there'd be plenty for the picking - a friend recently got dozens of lobsters scube diving - we got 3 from the lot free of charge and they were damn yummy.

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@Linkat,

Sounds like the government created or saved a bunch of jobs.

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@roger,

Maybe the best stimulis package to date.

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@manored,

manored wrote:

I think it was a stupid, unproductive and pointless move from the Buddhists but... eh, religion. They essentially dumped food on the sea.

Well, yes of course humans are the only living creatures that would/could have been effected by this, right?

Extra food appearing in the sea? Maybe another living creature had an unexpected meal? Maybe one, or some of the lobsters were pregnant, and gave birth between the time it was released, and the time it was recaught.
That, or maybe a billion other things, or none of them.

Maybe stupid, unproductive and pointless if one can only imagine something from the perspective of your own species.

What happened was all part of the big cosmic wheel of life, and it's not necessary to know why.

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“Nothing is permanent.”
- Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta, the founder of Buddhism, 563-483 B.C.

If anyone understands what happened it will be the Buddhists.

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@chai2,

chai2 wrote:

Maybe stupid, unproductive and pointless if one can only imagine something from the perspective of your own species.

Its the only one I care about =)

And then you consider the viewpoint of multiple species, the whole thing kinda self-negates, since some species were benefited by this while some were not.

What about the animals that would eat the remains of those lobsters? what about the lives of whatever they ate after being released back on the sea? (Dont really remember what lobsters eat)

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@manored,

manored wrote:

chai2 wrote:

Maybe stupid, unproductive and pointless if one can only imagine something from the perspective of your own species.

Its the only one I care about =)

And then you consider the viewpoint of multiple species, the whole thing kinda self-negates, since some species were benefited by this while some were not.

What about the animals that would eat the remains of those lobsters? what about the lives of whatever they ate after being released back on the sea? (Dont really remember what lobsters eat)

yes, it seems that why I mentioned certain things were only one of a billion scenerios.

Make that a billion times a billion plus.

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@chai2,

Quote:

Maybe one, or some of the lobsters were pregnant, and gave birth between the time it was released, and the time it was recaught.

Lobstermen are not supposed to take lobsters with egg sacks - at least that was what I was told by a friend of mine who had a lobster liscence. For obvious reasons - and it doesn't make sense as they want to increase their own production.

Although I have heard about when this happens it often times does result in other sea life coming to get the "free" food as all of a sudden there is lots of lobsters in one spot.

I agree though - not necessarily smart to dump them, but it is part of their belief that even if they extend life of another creature for a mear hour it is worth it. I may be the first in line to scoop one of those tasty little suckers up, but I can appreciate their love of life for all creatures.

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@manored,

Lobster eat all the crap left on the sea floor - they are considered bottom feeders. They serve their purpose in cleaning the ocean floor.

Ah - the circle of life...

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@Linkat,

One day I was driving around and Elton John started singing that circle of life song.
I must have been hormonal, all of a sudden I'm bawling.

sniff...oh, the circle of life, eating crap off the ocean floors....it's so beautiful....sniff.

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Buddhist try to Save the Lobsters - or not...

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