Saturday Short Subjects: Butterfly Town, USA

When we chose Pacific Grove as our base for a 5-day stay in the Monterey Bay area, we were familiar with its beautiful coast and its proximity to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Pebble Beach. We did not know that Pacific Grove was founded as a Methodist summer retreat in 1875 and that so many of its original buildings are still in use today. According to a handout from the Pacific Grove information booth, nearly 1/4 of Pacific Grove’s structures are designated “historic.” We were also ignorant of the wide range of affordable eateries located within the immaculately kept downtown. 

And we certainly had no idea we would be staying in “Butterfly Town, USA.” Each winter, Pacific Grove is home to some 25,000 monarch butterflies. The monarch butterfly (Danaus plecippus) has a range extending north to Canada. It cannot withstand freezing temperatures and must seek a warmer climate for the winter months. We were well acquainted with the migration the east coast monarchs make to central Mexico. We did not know that the monarchs west of the Rockies migrate to California’s Central Coast where they gather in groves of eucalyptus, Monterey pine, and Monterey cypress, huddled in clusters for warmth. While their journey does not encompass as many miles as the eastern migration, it is still impressive. 

Postcard photo by Richard Bucich

The Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History has a wealth of information on these amazing creatures. Citizens of Pacific Grove take their role as protectors of the monarch very seriously; they voted to create an additional tax to create the Monarch Grove Sanctuary, led by dedicated volunteers. The Pacific Grove Police Department continues to enforce strict regulations that prohibit the "molestation of butterflies." The fine? $1,000. The town marks the return of the monarchs with an annual parade and celebration in early October.

Did you know that the butterflies who migrate in the fall are not the same ones who arrived in the spring? You can read more about their amazing life cycle here. Where the monarchs went each autumn was a mystery until Dr. Fred Urquhart, the scientist who invented the butterfly tag, and his wife Nora, learned in 1976 that the eastern monarchs travel to central Mexico.

A new IMAX movie, Flight of the Butterflies, which documents one generation’s migration north and a new generation’s miraculous journey south to Mexico — a place it’s never been — will open in theaters across the country on October 1.

Unfortunately, like so many of our native species, the monarchs are suffering. Citizen scientists in California, with the help of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, have conducted annual Thanksgiving counts of the wintering monarch populations since 1997. The results show alarming declines. As just one example, in 1997, at the Natural Bridges State Park near Santa Cruz, volunteers recorded an estimated 120,000 monarchs; in 2009, only 1,300 butterflies were found. 

Many scientists believe the falling population is tied to the loss of the native milkweed, due to urban and agricultural development, drought, and herbicide use.  Monarch caterpillars feed on milkweed; without adequate sources of this food, monarchs are unable to reproduce. Loss of wintering groves and climate change are also possible contributing factors. Groups including the Xerces Society, the Monarch Joint Venture, and Monarch Watch, are all working on programs to restore the monarchs’ habitats and food supplies. 

How can you help? Across the country individuals and groups are establishing butterfly gardens in their communities. An easy way to get started is with a Monarch Waystation Kit available through Monarch Watch. 

Guess this “short” wasn’t so short after all. 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Why Saturday Short Subjects? Some readers may recall  being dropped at the movie theater for the Saturday matinee — two action-packed feature films with a series of short subjects (cartoons or short movies, sometimes a serial cliffhanger) sandwiched in between. Often the short subjects were the most memorable, and enjoyable, part of the morning. That explains the name. The reason behind these particular posts is that we are all short on time. My Short Subject posts should not take me as long to write or you as long to read (or try).

Meatless Monday: Foraging for Ocean-Friendly Fish…

in all kinds of places. It’s not as easy to purchase ocean (and consumer)-friendly seafood as in the old days when you could walk into the neighborhood fish market and purchase the local catch.

Now it’s important to consider whether the seafood for sale is ocean-friendly — caught in a manner and quantity which will allow the stock to thrive, or farmed under clean and ecologically sound conditions. Is the fish a Best Choice, a Good Alternative, or one you should Avoid altogether?

The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program provides all the tools you need to make choices which are good for the ocean, in  the form of a handy, frequently updated, pocket guide to help you select the best seafood from your available options. The Guide exists in printed form which you can pick up at the Aquarium or a wide variety of locations if you are lucky enough to visit the Monterey Bay area. You can also access it online and print out your own copy. The Guide is tailored for different geographic regions, so be sure to select the version of the Guide correct for you. [There is also a National version and one for Sushi.] And, if you have a smartphone, you are in luck. Download the free app and you will be able to enter the name of a fish and immediately access information on your selection and see the program’s recommendation. If you use the app on your phone, be sure to enter any good sources you find so others can share in your good fortune through Project Fishmap.

I brought my phone with me on Saturday as I did my weekend shopping. At Whole Foods I bought a 2 lb. bag of BlueBay cultured mussels, farmed on Prince Edward Island in Canada, a Best Choice. Relatively inexpensive at $5.99, and higher in Omega 3s than any other shellfish, they were also very easy to prepare. Farmed mussels are clean and beardless — no scrubbing necessary. That night we steamed them in a bottle's worth of local beer until they opened. [Tasty broth, I might add.]

Next I hit Trader Joe’s in the hopes of stocking the freezer. At TJ’s you need to be careful as there are a few good choices amongst quite a number of not so good ones. By carefully reading the labels and using the app, I was able to pick up arctic char farmed in Iceland (a Best Choice) and some crab cakes from Maryland (a Good Alternative) which I was cautioned to eat in limited quantity due to concerns about mercury content. 

Next up was a stop at home to put the purchases away. But one errand remained – a stop at IKEA for lightbulbs and a cheap cafeteria lunch. IKEA now offers Atlantic Saithe (another name for Atlantic Pollock) in their New Haven cafeteria as a replacement for their previous offering of farmed salmon (on the Avoid list). IKEA sources have informed me through email  that the saithe is sourced from MSC-certified fisheries off the coast of Norway, which would seem to make it a Good Alternative or Best Choice, depending on which type of nets were used. I was also informed that this information is not displayed since IKEA has chosen not MSC-certify their restaurants. Saithe is a mild, flaky fish, and the price of the meal is certainly a deal. I’m glad to know I can enjoy it from time to time in relatively good conscience. I haven’t given up on trying to find out more, and I am hoping that IKEA has set improving their seafood sourcing as one of their goals.

Saithe with jerusalem artichoke gravy, etc…

That’s a wrap on my weekend of fish hunting.

I hope you’ll join me in watching what seafood you eat. There is great power in numbers. The more people who ask for ocean-friendly seafood, the better! 

I am one of the Aquarium’s many volunteer Seafood Watch Advocates. If you decide you’d like to take your commitment to saving the oceans to the next level, check it out. It’s free.

Happy Monday!

I often blog on food or food issues on Monday in support of Meatless Monday, one of several programs developed in the Healthy Monday project, founded in 2003 in association with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications. Meatless Monday’s goal is “to help reduce meat consumption 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet.”

Meatless Monday: A Meet-Up in Monterey

Two seal watchers observed on our walk to meet Ryan. 

Two weeks ago my husband and I were in Monterey, California, where we had the opportunity to a real-life meet-up with one of my longtime online acquaintances, Ryan Bigelow, Outreach Manager of the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program. Fish is a choice for many observers of Meatless Monday, so this seems an excellent moment to tell you a bit about our visit with Ryan.

We covered many topics while sitting outside near Fishermen’s Wharf under bright blue skies. We learned more about his role with Seafood Watch, his work with large companies to guide them in making better fish purchases, the criteria Seafood Watch uses to determine its ratings, the need for consumers to read labels carefully no matter where they make their purchases, and why sometimes food miles is not always as important as how the fish are caught or raised…

He also gave us lots of tips on how to spend our 5 days in Monterey. We began with an afternoon at the Monterey Bay Aquarium where we learned about the ecosystem of the Bay, explored the kelp forest, experienced jellyfish, found about the secret lives of seahorses, and discovered how sardines are cooked in their cans. All along the way we had many opportunities to take action to improve the health of the oceans. A favorite exhibit was the interactive diner where a menu selection elicits an entertaining video response on why the choice was a good (or bad) one. 

Jellies

We had a wonderful afternoon and a great week. More on our Monterey adventures in the days to come. 

In the meantime, check out the latest news and tools from Seafood Watch here. Be sure to download the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Pocket Guide which is right for you. Never underestimate the impact of your seafood choices.  

Happy Monday! Always remember your potential to make the world a better place.

I often blog on food or food issues on Monday in support of Meatless Monday, one of several programs developed in the Healthy Monday project, founded in 2003 in association with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications. Meatless Monday’s goal is “to help reduce meat consumption 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet.”