Work-shmerk!

Although it's only been a few weeks, nearly every day at work something really neat has happened. These things keep piling up though, so it's been hard to get a minute to write them all down. Here is a list of the top five most notable things that have happened at my job to date:

Notable Event # 5: The Prius
Yup, I got a 2009 Prius for when I have to run errands and go to meetings. I drove it all day today!

Notable Event # 4: Chinatown Fish Rescue
We headed to Chinatown to pick up a couple of live sturgeon (yes, the ones that caviar comes from and that get to be hundreds of pounds). We brought our two "rescues" to a holding facility run by the Contra Costa County Mosquito Vector Control District.

Notable Event # 3: Electoshocking Fish
Yes, it may sound a bit inhumane, and I suppose some might argue that it is (especially considering our daring broad daylight "sturgeon rescue" in the ninja-patrolled streets of Oakland's bad-ass Chinatown), but in effect what this means is we just mess with a fish's "sixth sense" (something of an electrical sensory system that runs the length of their skin from head to tail). By overstimulating them, they lose their sense of balance and turn to the side just long enough be netted them and put into a bucket. They come-to within seconds, good as new!

What's the point? It's a technique that's used to find out population dynamics (density, diversity, sizes) of fish that would otherwise prove impossible to catch. Oh, and you do it in a big boat with giant electrodes sticking off the front of it! (We also made the bigger fish throw up their most recent meal to see what they'd been eating, but I'll leave out the gruesome details of how that was done)... Why all the fish torture? Because the pond we were investigating is one of the few places left where California's only native sunfish, the Sacramento Perch, lives. It's in a very remote place, and is apparently only home to the Sacramento Perch and their bigger East Coast cousin the Largemouth Bass... We found out that in this particular pond they live harmoniously in a very simple food chain of big fish eats little fish with no other species around to take another's niche. In places where there are also other sunfish around, Sacramento Perch die out because they tend to be less aggressive when nesting, ( since they didn't eveolve with other sunfish, they don't defend their nests as much as imported species of sunfish that did evolve together, or something to that effect).


Notable Event # 2: "Special Kids" Fishing Derby
On my second day I got to help out at this incredible event (one of probably a dozen each year) where special education kids from local schools come out and catch a fish with help from volunteers. Pete Alexander, the Fisheries Manager for the District has trout stocked into a small section of a stream and each kid gets to catch one with a little help. At the end of the day they get lunch and prizes are awarded. The program's been going on for something like 18 years, and it's understandable why. The kids LOVE it.


Notable Event # 1: Testing the Mobile Fish Exhibit
Pete and I spent a full day practice-running the giant fish tank on wheels. It kinda worked. And it kinda needs some tweaking before going public. We're doing six more "soft launches" this summer before we officially announce its completion. It's 1500 gallons of pure AWESOME though. Pete's daughter took this shot of me talking to a kid and his dad about the fish in the tank (the sturgeon's hiding behind the dad). This photo doesn't do the project any justice. It's HUGE.

And the amazing part is...
I get PAID to do this stuff!!!