Word: fishly
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...destructive cycle of overfishing began when coastal villagers started stripping nearshore reefs of giant clams, groupers and other large fish. Then the fishermen upped their productivity by a novel but frighteningly destructive practice: blasting the reefs with dynamite and scooping up the dead fish. Now they have adopted what may be the most insidious fishing method of all. Sustained by hoselike "hookahs" and portable air compressors, Philippine divers are hunting down big reef fish, stunning them with cyanide and hauling them to the surface alive. The practice allows traders to supply Chinese restaurants with the live fish their affluent customers...
...good news is that the Philippine government has started to crack down on dynamite and cyanide fishing. The bad news is that those destructive practices are just the latest in a string of insults to reefs, and not necessarily the most serious. Far more troubling to biologists is the fact that groupers and other valuable reef fish are being harvested at a critical point in their reproductive cycle. With satellite navigation systems to guide them, fishing boats are homing in on areas where large numbers of the fish have gathered to spawn. Already, says University of Hong Kong fish biologist...
Coral reefs are more than beautiful structures admired by snorkelers and scuba divers. Their stony ramparts serve as storm barriers that protect shorelines and provide ships with safe harbor. Their nooks and crannies accommodate fish and shellfish that are important sources of food and livelihood for millions of people. And like the tropical forests to which they are frequently compared, reefs are repositories of vast biological wealth as yet untapped for medicinal and industrial uses...
...Large fish, it turns out, are among the most critical of all reef inhabitants, especially herbivores like parrotfish that eat seaweed. Fast-growing seaweed is always threatening to engulf the reefs, but it is usually kept in check by grazing fish. About a decade ago, a team of marine scientists conducted an experiment off the coast of Belize that proves this point. To keep fish out, the researchers surrounded a section of coral the size of a small pasture with a chicken-wire fence. Within 10 weeks, they found, the area inside the fence had been completely overgrown by seaweed...
...baseball on the dead run. Once in motion, he wobbles along, elbows flying, hips swaying, shoulders rocking--creating the illusion that he will fly to pieces with every stride. But once he gains momentum, his shoulders come to order and his feet skim along like flying fish. He is not only jackrabbit fast, but about one thought and two steps ahead of every base-runner in the business. He beats out bunts, stretches singles into doubles. Once Jackie made second on a base-on-balls; he saw that the catcher had lost the ball, so he just kept on going...