The Accidental Lobster Farmers

modernfarmer.com

41 points·daddy_drank··3 comments

I don't think we need to resort to analogies like 'Herring was acting as a sort of Miracle-Gro' to understand that feeding wild animals makes them grow faster.

Oh but the analogy is applicable, since herring "falls" of the magnitude provided by the lobster farmers are quite rare in nature. Its not often that you get an abundance of packed herring as provided in your modern lobster basket, and more to the point provided in a manner which prevents other predators - fish and other basket-navigation incapable species - from joining the feast.

So I think you should take back your glib criticism. Indeed, the conditions induced by your average lobster farmer are rare in the natural world, indeed. It is an important distinction.

We don't need to use a plant food analogy to understand that animals grow when fed.

The comparison is strained considering these are wild animals, also. Is spraying a vast wilderness area with Miracle Gro to bolster plant populations some sort of well understood common practice?

It seems to me that this is not at all comparable to typical uses of fertilizer. It would be adequate to say that the herring is providing extra source of nutrient rich, human provided food for the lobsters. There is no need to bizarrely compare them to farmed plants.

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