(Update 9/25/09 – Mike surpassed his modest fundraising goal by an impressive 43% and to date has raise $575 for the cause.)

I received a nice email from Mike Morris (prior rider) today.  Here’s his email, cause, and call to help – please help if you can:

Friends,

On Thursday I’m going to be wearing a bald-cap all day long in support of cancer fighting charities.  It’s probably going to be harder for me than riding 100 miles on my bike since I hate wearing hats, even worse latex skull-caps.  I’m raising money and need your help.  My goal is to raise a modest $400 by Wednesday.  I’m at zero as I write this email.

Coincidentally, Shonda and I just found out yesterday that her grandfather lost his fight with lung cancer.  Her grandfather was her father figure growing up.  Cancer fighting causes take on a whole new light when it hits close to home.

I’m personally and through my businesses supporting this cause and you can watch me talk about Shonda’s personal fight with Cancer in this video [embedded below]:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HF7yQiaeudI

You can donate here, it takes seconds.

http://beboldbebald.kintera.org/faf/search/searchParticipants.asp?ievent=308395&lis=1&kntae308395=6846EFB5667A4F1593B4B4D08B9234BC

Or: http://beboldbebald.org/

Thank You!

Mike Morris, NASM-CPT, CES
Co-Owner
Corrective Exercise and Movement Specialist
Fitness Together, Arlington & Back Bay
—————————————————————————–
Back Bay, Boston  -  36 Newbury St, 3rd Floor
617.247.3900
617.247.3911 (fax)
www.FTBackBay.com

Arlington – 37 Broadway
781.316.8500
781.316.8501 (fax)
www.FTArlington.com

I was unaware this film was in the making but just saw a post from Patagonia about it.  Perfect timing and a beautiful trailer.

Patagonia wrote (via @CleanestLine), “The End of the Line is not against fishing. It is not against eating fish. It’s for responsibly fished oceans. http://endoftheline.com”

Enjoy:

I’m still researching ideas on where we can best utilize our fundraising ideas.  Fortunately, I’m getting great support.  I’d like to take a few minutes to discuss one of the causes I have been considering.  It’s certainly not finite but I’d like our fans to know a bit more about why I may seem stubbornly passionate about coastal Maine conservation and protection (aside from being an outdoorsman).  Here’s a quick history on my experience witnessing the decimation of fishing in Maine.

Growing up spending summers in Midcoast Maine we used to be able to catch a lot of fish, namely Cod, Stripped Bass, Bluefish, and infinite amounts of Mackerel.  Over the course of one summer, however, the fishing fish population was all but completely destroyed.

My dad used to take my brother and me out fishing and a few times each summer we used to get schools of Blues coming into our harbor to feed on baitfish.  It was an amazing scene to witness; every 30 seconds or so the surface of the water the area of a two-car garage would appear to boil as baitfish leapt out of the water to escape their predators.  It was an absolute feeding frenzy.  The chaos would ensue for a minute before the Blues would regroup and plan their next attack.  This process would last for almost an hour and fishing during this time was always extremely exciting.  We could catch almost as many Bluefish as we could real in.  Nothing went to waste; what we didn’t eat we gave to a friend to use as bait in his lobster traps.

Example trawler.

Then in the late 90’s the Russian fishing trawlers came into US waters under a joint-project allowed by the New England Fishery Management Council (Source: CHOIR).  They anchored their gigantic processing ship off the coast of Pemaquid Point.  In the course of a couple months they managed to completely decimate the population of fish.  We caught fewer fish in the decade following their arrival than we did in one day  prior.   The only Strippers and Blues I have caught since all fell on one day when we caught four.  Coincidentally, it was the morning of my wedding in 2005.  I have not caught any others since.  You hear stories about environmental disasters, over harvesting, and poor land management but to be able to witness something so first hand and clearly is something amazing.  Like turning off a light switch, the trawlers turned off fishing.

I’m researching the problem and looking to see if anyone is addressing it.  Is it simply a political issue or are their environmental issues at play here, too.  Again, it’s just an idea but can Wicked Philanthropy help the fish population recover?