A View from the Beach

Friday, December 19, 2025

Fish Pic Friday - Bridget Fabel

From the mountains to the sea:

Bridget Fabel @bridget_fabel

Athlete Owner @chunkytroutoutfitters & @dixietopoutfitters
Captain⚓️Fly Fishing🎣Hunting🏹Ranch Life🐴
@ford F-150® ambassador

Probably Not

VIMS wonders Can Virginia stop the blue catfish? New research shows the Chesapeake Bay’s top invader is hard to control

For decades, the Chesapeake Bay’s rivers and tributaries have been home to a troublesome guest whose presence continues to ripple through the ecosystem. The blue catfish — first introduced in the 1970s for recreational fishing — has since become an ecologically disruptive force in Virginia waters. In response, scientists at William & Mary's Batten School & VIMS are making critical discoveries about blue catfish biology, impact and commercial market potential, and playing a key role in advising how the commonwealth can address the challenge.

Through the long-running juvenile finfish trawl survey, Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences & VIMS Professor Mary Fabrizio, along with her students and colleagues, has documented both the spread of blue catfish and the corresponding decline of native species. “As the blue catfish population started to increase in our tributaries, we saw a decline in the native white catfish and white perch, which is likely due to predation or competition for resources,” she said. “And some of our colleagues in Maryland have evidence suggesting the blue catfish may be impacting striped bass, likely predating on the eggs and the juveniles.”

The Blue Catfish problem in Chesapeake stems from the State of Virginia stocking them into the James and Rappahannock Rivers as a game fish.

According to Fabrizio, another icon of the Chesapeake Bay may also be threatened: “The other effect is that blue catfish, especially the medium sized fish, are preying on blue crabs. And because there are so many medium sized blue catfish, that translates into a lot of removals. They’re eating a lot of blue crabs.”

To investigate that interaction, Fabrizio recently led a two-year diet study, published in Marine and Coastal Fisheries, which quantified blue catfish predation on blue crabs. “We worked with a commercial waterman who was setting gillnets out in the James River. He would bring back the catch, and we would examine the stomach contents,” she said. “We looked at predation year-round, which hadn’t been done before.”

The results were sobering: “It turns out blue catfish are eating the same things in winter as in spring and fall, so there’s blue crab predation happening year-round,” said Fabrizio. Stomach content analysis also showed that blue catfish are specifically targeting juvenile crabs. “Older, larger crabs may be too feisty and fight back, or perhaps they’re faster and able to escape. Either way,” she said, “blue catfish are eating the juvenile crabs that Virginia counts on to sustain the future blue crab population.”

At his retirement party from SERC a couple of weeks ago, I asked Mr. Crab himself, Tuck Hines, former director, if he thought Blue Catfish were part of the current problem with Blue Crabs. He told me almost assuredly yes, and that he and collaborators have a paper coming out soon to that effect.

Maryland, My Maryland

TNP, Democrat Lawmakers Override Governor’s Veto to Establish Slavery Reparations Commission

State lawmakers in Maryland overrode a veto from Governor Wes Moore (D) to adopt Senate Bill (SB) 587, legislation that establishes a government commission to study reparations for residents whose ancestors had been enslaved. Late Tuesday, the Maryland state Senate voted 31 to 14 to override the veto, while the state House of Delegates voted 93-35 to override. Both chambers surpassed the three-fifths threshold needed to circumvent the governor.

The Maryland Reparations Commission, established by the legislation, is now tasked with studying and making “recommendations relating to appropriate benefits to be made to individuals whose ancestors were enslaved in the State or were impacted by certain inequitable government policies.” A preliminary report to the Maryland General Assembly is required to be submitted by January 1, 2027, and a final report must be submitted to the governor and state legislature by November 1, 2027. The commission will explore potential reparations, including monetary compensation, property tax rebates, childcare support, debt forgiveness, and tuition waivers for higher education.

Gov. Moore had initially moved to veto the bill in May of this year, contending that the state already has engaged in multiple studies on slavery reparations and that the lawmakers pushing the issue would better serve their constituents by focusing on policies that directly address alleged racial disparities. In the veto letter sent to Senate President Bill Ferguson (D), Gov. Moore noted that the Maryland state government had established numerous commissions and panels over the last 25 years examining a myriad of related issues.

The legislation drew uniform opposition from Republican lawmakers. Speaking on the state House floor on Tuesday, Delegate Matthew Morgan (R) warned the bill was a move toward “race-bait handouts.” He stated, “This bill betrays the original intention, the unifying event of the civil rights movement. It’s immoral, and it’s fiscally ruinous to this state, and it sends a message to the generations out there now in Maryland that if you’re concerned about fairness, dignity, opportunity… flee Maryland.”

To the best of my knowledge (it's a little unclear on my mother's side) all my ancestors immigrated to the United States from Germany after the Civil War. Similarly, all of Georgia ancestors immigrated from Italy and Ireland after the civil war. So we won't have the pay the special "reparations" tax, am I right?

However, I am surprised Gov. Moore vetoed it.

Flotsam and Jetsam - Trump Addresses 'Affordability Crisis' and Blockades Venezuela

Taking murder off the top, sundance at CTH hosts President Trump Delivering an Address to the Nation, starting to address the issue of "affordability." News Wax, Trump Tells Americans 'the Best Is Yet to Come.' Fox Bus, Scott Bessent says real affordability relief, 'substantial drop' in inflation coming soon. "Treasury secretary warns Democrats could derail economic progress by shutting down government in January." Pop Times sees JD Vance Completely Cooks the Democrats’ Affordability Crisis Narrative From LifeZette, Schumer Shutdown 2.0?: ‘The Toothpaste is Already Out of the Tube’ After Jan 1st. ET, House Republicans Forge Ahead With Vote on Health Care Reforms. "The GOP bill includes market reforms to lower health care premiums but does not extend the expiring Obamacare subsidies." Rick Moran at PJM says Extending Obamacare Subsidies Won't Fix a Broken System. Fox Bus, Four Republicans buck Mike Johnson to join Hakeem Jeffries' Obamacare push. "The Democrats' bill could get a vote sometime early next year, despite Speaker Johnson's objections."

News Wax reports Trump Orders Total Oil Tanker Blockade on Terror-Linked Venezuelan Regime. Beege Welborn at Hat Hair, Trump Makes the Move on 'Sanctioned Oil Tankers' From Venezuela Official. Ace, Trump Announces Total Blockade On All Sanctioned Venezuelan Oil Tankers; Demands Venezuela Return "All Lands, Oil, and all other Assets they previously stole from us." "I sense that Maduro's Minister of Propaganda will get a fawning interview on Tucker Carlson's show in the next couple of weeks." News Wax again, with Venezuela Reacts Defiantly to US Oil Blockade and Oil Jumps 2% as Trump's Venezuela Blockade Stokes Uncertainty.

Sundance, Russian President Vladimir Putin Responds to Zelenskyy and EU During Remarks to Defense Ministry At RedState, Erik Durneika sees The Myth of an American Retreat From the Indo-Pacific Debunked.

From ET, FBI Releases Video Timeline of Suspect in Brown University Shooting. "Authorities are offering a $50,000 reward as the search for the gunman who killed two students and wounded nine others enters its fourth day." Ace, Brown University Releases Blurry Photos of Second Person Seen "in Proximity" of Actual Suspect. "This could very well be a complete rando who was a stranger to the chubby shooter. Asking for information about this likely rando shows how lost and desperate the Brown crew is." C3 @C_3C_3, "Brown University has offered $0 as a reward to catch the shooter. You read that correctly. $0 The FBI offered the $50,000. Brown University… $8 billion endowment $3.17 million a year salary for president $180 million in taxpayer dollars per year $0 for reward. Unreal." William A. Jacobson @wajacobson, "Incredible: "When college students tore down posters of kidnapped Israeli children in October 2023, parents asked: where did this come from? The answer lies in curriculum materials developed at Brown University. These materials reached approximately one million students annually in roughly 8,000 high schools across America. What teachers didn’t know, and what parents never learned, is that the professor who shaped these materials was funded by a Middle Eastern government. His purpose was to advance one specific narrative: Israel as a settler colonial project. Not to debate it. Not to present multiple perspectives. To establish it as fact." . . ." Quote Eric Buesing @sleuth_fox, Replying to @wajacobson, "Absolutely, the racialization of med ed is a symptom of deeper foreign-funded ideological infiltration across higher education. My latest piece explores how it's turned our system into a Trojan Horse for antisemitic and anti-American social engineering:" A trio from Sundance, Brown University Received a Letter from 34 Human Rights Groups in August Requesting They Disable Their CCTV System, Providence-area Radio Host Asks Brown University About Their Intentional Disabling of CCTV Systems and Do Not Look Away on This One, Jessie Waters takes on Brown. PJM's Matt Margolis wonders Is Brown University Protecting a Suspect in the Campus Shooting? News Wax hears Brown Vows Full-Scale Security Review After Shooting.

Alison Bevege at Letters from Australia says Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Allahu Akhbar: Islamists shoot up Bondi Beach, "Shut the borders." Shameful if true, Dr. Eli David @DrEliDavid, "Breaking: Australia's PM @AlboMP will not attend the funeral of any of the Jewish victims. Apparently, attending the funeral of Jews murdered by Islamists may fuel Islamophobia." Mossad Commentary @MOSSADil, "SYDNEY: JEWISH-OWNED BAGEL SHOP CLOSES AFTER FEAR OF BEING MURDERED Avner’s, a Jewish-owned bagel bakery in Sydney, has closed effective immediately following the Bondi chanukah massacre and escalating antisemitic threats. The owners say police and security agencies warned the bakery had become a potential target, and that they were unable to guarentee their safety, making it unsafe to continue operating as a publicly Jewish business. After years of harassment, the recent attack was the tipping point." Fmr Israeli Adviser to Newsmax: Bondi Beach Attack Shows 'Blatant Jew Hatred.' No Pasaran! notices "A Terrorist Ideology": For a 24-Minute TV Debate on Australia's Bondi Beach Massacre, It Takes 10 Minutes Before Mentioning the Fact that the Terrorists Are Muslim. David Burge @iowahawkblog, "I feel it would wrong to use the actions of a couple of bad apples tarnish the reputation of the entire Syndney October 7 Mass March to Gas The Jews community" Quote Campaign Against Antisemitism @antisemitism, "Were the Bondi beach terrorists at the ‘Gas the Jews’ protest in Sydney two days after October 7th? Our online investigators believe that Naveed Akram and his father Sajid Akram may have been present at the ‘Gas the Jews’ protest in Sydney on 9th October 2023. (At the time, Australian police claimed, despite witness statements to the contrary, that people were in fact chanting ‘Where’s the Jews’, as if that somehow made it better.). . ." PJM's Bob Spencer sees Sen. Tuberville Says ‘Islamists’ Are ‘Here to Conquer,’ and Great Pearl-Clutching Ensues. Toni Airaksinen, Jewish Man Stabbed in Crown Heights NYC, Perp Wished For Another Holocaust: FOOTAGE "It would be alright if the Holocaust happened today", the perpetrator allegedly said before stabbing the man."

TownHall's Matt Vespa hears White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles Felt 'Blindsided' by Vanity Fair Article, which, of course, was entirely predictable. From Althouse, "No, she meant that I’m — you see, I don’t drink alcohol. So everybody knows that — but I’ve often said..." ""... that if I did, I’d have a very good chance of being an alcoholic. I have said that many times about myself, I do. It’s a very possessive personality. I’ve said that many times about myself. I’m fortunate I’m not a drinker. If I did, I could very well, because I’ve said that — what’s the word? Not possessive — possessive and addictive type personality. Oh, I’ve said it many times, many times before." Said Trump, responding to the report in Vanity Fair that his Chief of Staff Susie Wiles had said he has an "alcoholic’s personality," quoted in "Trump brushes off Wiles' 'alcoholic’s personality' nick as allies torch Vanity Fair piece/Cabinet members and Trump himself have dismissed the unflattering quotes, claiming they were taken out of context" (Fox News)." LifeZette reports Rubio Says He Will Not Run in 2028 if JD Vance Enters Race. I endorse the Vance/Rubio ticket. From Fox, House Republican who voted to impeach Trump in 2021 won't seek re-election.

Ace, Shock: Somali Scammer Caught Perpetrating Another Somali Scam, "The moment that Tom Homan announced he was investigating Ilhan "Omar" Nur's lifetime of defrauding the US immigration system, she suddenly had an outrage to "bitch" about, as Trump said. When people began asking about her immigration fraud and marrying her fucking gay brother, she claimed her son had been pulled over by ICE and almost kidnapped in an attempt to intimidate her!!!"

Also from Ace, Axios: Kamala Harris Is Leaning Towards Running Again in 2028; Unnamed Democrats Are Attacking Gavin Newsom to Deny Him His Coronation. "I'm a pessimist, so I never believe that the best possible outcome will come to pass just because I want it to. I never believed, for example, that Biden would wind up being the nominee in 2024, despite my intense desire that he be so. But Kamala Harris is making me focus on what can be, unburdened by what has been." PJM's Stephen Kruiser sees Even Some Democrats Are Starting to Side-Eye Gavin Newsom’s Coastal Lefty Elitism. At TrashPanda, Newsom Team Resorts to ‘Stupid Hoe’ After Minaj’s Viral Newsom Takedown—She Delivers the Final Blow. Nicki Minaj @NICKIMINAJ, "Imagine being the guy running on wanting to see trans kids. Haha. Not even a trans ADULT would run on that. Normal adults wake up & think they want to see HEALTHY, SAFE, HAPPY kids. Not Gav The Gav Nots GavOUT Send in the next guy, I’m bored."

From the Pop Times, Democrats’ Voter Registration Advantage Has ‘Crumbled,’ Key Swing State Trending Red, NC. Brianna Lyman at Da Fed notices Fulton County: ‘We Don’t Dispute’ 315,000 Votes Lacking Poll Workers’ Signatures Were Counted In 2020 ‘When the law demands three signatures on tabulator tapes and the county fails to follow the rules, those 315,000 votes are, by definition, uncertified.’