Pacific bluefin (Thunnus orientalis) Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

chaosmanor: We started to set up these caches nearly a decade ago. They have not been nearly as popular as we had hoped, possibly because it takes a bit of a drive to get to Tuna Canyon Road, as it is one-way going down-hill. Several of them have disappeared more than once. We no longer come out this way very often, so we have decided to archive the entire string, in the hope that someone else will think up some really cool idea for this really cool road.

I almost missed this on my first pass, but I spotted it from a different angle, pretty much as we originally hid it. It has been pulled. Thanks to everyone who came out to get a Smiley [:)]

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Hidden : 3/27/2010
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

Yet another in our continuing string of tuna-named and -related caches in Tuna Canyon. Someone was practicing their horn-playing in a house across the canyon and way up on the rim, when we hid this. Enjoy the serenade! [187/165]

You are looking for a small pill bottle, painted brown and gold. It has a log in a baggie, but no writing implement, so bring your own.

There is a large pullout on the right side of the road, just before the cache. There isn't a lot of traffic along here, but when it comes by, it comes quickly, so keep your ears and eyes open!

This is the seventh of a string of caches that we are hiding down this scenic road. There's lots of room for caches, but you can't get to any of them by driving up the canyon, although you could probably easily walk up to this one from PCH, and the road is OK for bicycles going up, as long as they pay attention. For most of these caches, though, you have to go up Topanga Canyon Road, then turn on Fernwood Pacific Road, a half-mile south of the post office building. Stay on this road; at some point, it becomes Tuna Canyon Road. When you get to Saddle Peak Road, continue straight ahead; don't turn right. There is a cache at the gate (usually open, but occasionally closed in or after bad weather); all of the others are on the 5½ mile, narrow and winding, one-lane road down to PCH. Ashley's Malibu View cache (GC1A2QD) is near the bottom; this is the best way to go to get to it.

BTW: Tuna Canyon has nothing to do with fishing; "tuna" is Spanish for the fruit of the prickly pear cactus. But the name is too good not to make a bunch of puns out of it

The Pacific Bluefin is one of the most over-fished of any salt-water species on Earth. Between the insatiable appetite for sushi in Japan, America and some other places, as well as for canned tuna, and the illegal taking of this and other fish in gill-nets, the estimated stock of this too-tasty-for-its-own-good fish plummeted by 90% between 1976 and 2006. The tiny country of Monaco has led an effort to establish strict limits on the catching of this and some other fish, but this effort has met with rejection by a coalition of fishing nations, led by Japan, but including several countries in South America, the Caribbean and Africa which rely on fishing for much of their income.

In 2007, Japan imported over 30,000 *tons* of fish. In a Japanese auction, a single bluefin can sell for a $100,000. Thus, the stresses on the species are at an all-time high, and are likely to get worse over the next few years. There is a real possibility that Thunnus orientalis could disappear from Earth's oceans before the middle of this century, unless strong measures are adopted quickly to allow it to recover.

On the plus side, Japan and Australia have conducted joint research that has produced the first Pacific bluefin to be bred in captivity. If this fish can be farmed successfully, much as salmon is farmed currently, it could lead to the recovery of wild stocks. Whether farmed fish will taste as good as wild-caught is anybody's guess at this point.

Good luck! Have fun

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

vaebbgf, haqrefznyyebpxf, fvksrrghc

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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