{"id":32282,"date":"2024-07-17T15:01:40","date_gmt":"2024-07-17T20:01:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/?p=32282"},"modified":"2024-07-17T15:01:40","modified_gmt":"2024-07-17T20:01:40","slug":"the-anchovies-of-the-bay-of-biscay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/?p=32282","title":{"rendered":"The Anchovies of the Bay of Biscay"},"content":{"rendered":"\n


I woke up today with serious Writer’s BLOTT<\/strong>. Luckily, an email from UC#3 was waiting in my inbox.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Anchovies Are Always a Good Idea<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dude – you were ahead of your time with anchovies and sardines.
https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/07\/17\/opinion\/anchovies-umami.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regards,<\/p>\nUC#3<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n


This is both fortuitous and prophetic, and perhaps even onomatopoeic<\/strong><\/em>, because UC#3 was unaware that I had recently purchased a case of anchovies:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sustainable Anchovies and the Bay of Biscay<\/h3>\n\n\n\n


Good web site<\/a> with an interesting quirk: Anchovies are also known as Anchovies<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bay of Biscay<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The Bay of Biscay<\/strong> is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea<\/strong>. It lies along the western coast of France from Point Penmarc’h to the Spanish border, and along the northern coast of Spain, extending westward to Cape Ortegal. The southern area of the Bay of Biscay that washes over the northern coast of Spain is known locally as the Cantabrian Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The average <\/strong>depth is 1,744 m (5,722 ft<\/strong>) and the greatest <\/strong>depth is 4,735 m (15,535 ft<\/strong>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parts of the continental shelf extend far into the bay, resulting in fairly shallow waters in many areas and thus the rough seas for which the region is known. Heavy storms occur in the bay, especially during the winter months. The Bay of Biscay is home to some of the Atlantic Ocean’s fiercest weather<\/strong>; abnormally high waves occur there.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Climate<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In late spring and early summer a large fog triangle fills the southwestern half of the bay, covering just a few kilometres inland.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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As winter begins, weather becomes severe.<\/strong> Depressions enter from the west very frequently and they either bounce north to the British Isles or they enter the Ebro Valley, dry out, and are finally reborn in the form of powerful thunderstorms as they reach the Mediterranean Sea. These depressions cause severe weather at sea and bring light though very constant rain to its shores. Sometimes powerful windstorms form if the pressure falls rapidly, traveling along the Gulf Stream at great speed, resembling a hurricane and finally crashing in this bay with their maximum power, such as the Klaus storm<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Gulf Stream enters the bay following the continental shelf’s border anti-clockwise (the Rennell Current), keeping temperatures moderate all year long.<\/p>\nWikipedia<\/a> \/ map by Eric Gaba – see Celtic Sea and Bay of Biscay bathymetric map-fr.svg, CC BY-SA 3.0<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Cyclone Klaus, Jan 23-24, 2009<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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WLBOTT:<\/strong> What is the annual anchovy harvest from the Bay of Biscay?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elder G:<\/strong> The annual anchovy harvest from the Bay of Biscay is estimated to be around 143,000 tons<\/strong>. This figure comes from the results of the Bioman scientific campaign, which measures the biomass of adult anchovy in the region. This estimate is well above the historical average of 75,000 tons and indicates a healthy stock, ensuring the sustainability of the fishery.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Photo Courtesy of NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Bay of Biscay forms a gentle ou<\/strong> between the southwest shores of France (right) and the Iberian Peninsula (bottom). On April 29, 2005, the brilliant blue and green swirls of a phytoplankton bloom filled the entire bay. Phytoplankton — tiny ocean plants that grow in the sunlit surface waters of the ocean — thrive in areas where cold water is pushed to the surface. The cold water, rushing up from the ocean depths, carries with it nutrients that had settled on the ocean floor, providing fertilizer for the surface plants. In these circumstances, the plants flourish, forming large blooms that are visible from space. The air above the bay is riddled with the thin white lines of cloud (contrails) left by the numerous jets that cross the bay each day.<\/p>\nDVIDS<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Semi-Sequitur: Ou<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The Bay of Biscay forms a gentle ou <\/span><\/strong>between the southwest shores of France (right) and the Iberian Peninsula (bottom).<\/em><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
WLBOTT Wonders:<\/strong> Is ‘ou’<\/strong> a typo, a description of shape based on the letters, an obscure acronym, or is it something much, much deeper?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The \u02bb\u014d\u02bb\u016b  is a species of Hawaiian honeycreeper <\/strong>endemic to the Hawaiian islands. It has a dark green back and olive green underparts; males have a yellow head while females have a green head. Its unusual beak seems to be adapted to feeding on the fruits of Freycinetia arborea. It has a strong flight which it uses to fly considerable distances in search of this vine, but it will eat other fruits, buds, flowers and insects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though it was formerly widespread on the six largest islands of that group, this Hawaiian honeycreeper declined precipitously from the turn of the 20th century. The last recorded sighting was in 1989 on Kaua\u02bbi<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
OU as an Acronym?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Thanks to AF<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Our WLBOTT Con<\/strong>spiracy The<\/strong>ory Pe<\/strong>rsonnel E<\/strong>mp<\/strong>loyees (ConThePeeps) conclude these are the most likely interpretations of “OU”:<\/p>\n\n\n\n