SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " fishing " 100 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
Sign in to save shuffle history.
How fishing is helping these Georgia men talk about mental health
Atlanta nonprofit Fishing the Good Fight uses fishing, the outdoors and community to help men connect, build friendships and talk openly about mental health.
Rabid beaver attacks boy fishing at New Jersey lake, prompting health officials to warn residents
An 8-year-old boy was attacked by a rabid beaver while fishing at Lake Henry in Mahwah, New Jersey. The frightening encounter was captured on video.
Guest columnist: Bill appears more political than science-based
Senate Bill 39, initially “An Act Relating to Fishing in Privately Owned Lakes and Ponds,” was passed by the 2026 General Assembly this year. In the last minutes of the […]
'If you do want to be a criminal, there is no better place to do it': Author Rose George dives into the dark depths of the fishing industry
Live Science spoke with Rose George, journalist and author of "Every Last Fish," about her book, which delves into the murky world of the fishing industry, the intelligence of the animals harvested, and the hurdles preventing sustainability in the oceans.
Florida Yacht Charter Business Fights $1.5 Million Tax Bill
A Florida yachting venture that participated in high-stakes offshore fishing tournaments before unforeseen setbacks forced a pivot to luxury charters told the US Tax Court the IRS wrongly defined its business as a hobby and assessed more than $1.5 million in tax liabilities.
Why Banning Shark Fishing Isn’t Enough to Save Them, According to Science
As of 2021, Caribbean reef sharks are categorized as Endangered by the IUCN Red List. To protect them, we need to stop exploiting them by introducing shark fishing bans. A new Florida International Un...
As lakes turn brown, trout and bass decline while pike and walleye thrive
Freshwater lakes across North America and Europe are becoming noticeably browner, reducing underwater visibility and reshaping fish populations. Research found that several popular sport fish, including trout, bass, perch, and whitefish, tend to decline in darker waters. Meanwhile, walleye and northern pike often become more abundant because they are better adapted to low-visibility conditions. The shift could change both lake ecosystems and the fishing experience for millions of anglers.
Unsafe levels of fecal bacteria in Siletz Bay trigger health advisory
The Oregon Health Authority issued a public health advisory for unsafe levels of fecal bacteria in the water at Siletz Bay in Lincoln City.
NOAA is putting commercial fishing ahead of conservation
Critics say the new agenda could weaken science-based rules and marine protections.
Hinckley Boat Launch Opens May 16 for 2026 Season
Boaters and anglers will soon have access to the Hinckley Dam and Reservoir as the recreational boat launch and fishing area open for the 2026 season.
Hatsune Miku gets glowing fishing rod and reel in wild new collab
Hatsune Miku is officially getting her own fishing gear, because apparently even the virtual pop star needs her own tackle box.
Kids program in Old Forge to focus on loon conservation, lead-free fishing
The Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation will lead a children’s program on loon protection and lead-free fishing practices from 5 to 6 p.m. Thursday, July 9, at the Old Forge Library.
Scientists develop 'floating scarecrow' to protect threatened seabirds
New research has shown that a "floating scarecrow" developed by U.K.-based scientists and a repurposed bird-scaring kite can help save threatened seabirds from getting caught in fishing nets.
Historic Kenyan drought reshaped livelihoods, health and daily life
The historic drought in northern Kenya affected nearly every part of life for a pastoralist community, from health and food security to where people lived and how they made a living, including a shift toward fishing as an important source of food and income.
Ahead of fishing opener, health officials update fish consumption guidelines
The new fish consumption guidelines include warnings about eating too much fish caught in northeastern Minnesota lakes and rivers, where fish tend to have higher mercury levels. And the state warns against consuming fish from the Vermillion River, south of the Twin Cities, because of PFAS contamination.
Opinion: Bad optics and bad politics with fisheries decision
A North Carolina fisheries ruling enters its remedy stage as debate intensifies over inshore net fishing, agency performance and the General Assembly’s constitu...
Hawaii is turning ocean plastic and fishing nets into roads
Hawaii researchers are giving old fishing nets and recycled plastic a second life by mixing them into asphalt roads. Early tests found these roads didn't release more plastic particles than standard pavement, with tire wear overwhelming any plastic signal from the recycled material. If future studies confirm the roads are durable, the technology could help tackle both marine pollution and overflowing landfills.
Rare Pokémon game that deletes itself found 20 years later
PokéPark Fishing was only accessible for a while, to a select group of fans in Japan. The 2005 game has since resurfaced, but there's a catc
Whit Fosburgh Misstates Menhaden Science on Qualified Captain Podcast and Overlooks American Fishing Families
WASHINGTON, D.C. / ACCESS Newswire / October 6, 2026 / The Qualified Captain is a North Carolina-based boating and maritime interview podcast hosted by Aaron Stasiak. On the podcast, Stasiak
Hunting and fishing in Colorado are worth protecting from politicians
Colorado voters should approve Initiative 302, a constitutional amendment on the right to hunt and fish, in the Nov. 3 general election because the measure would amend the state constitution. A 55% supermajority of voters must cast a “yes” vote on their ballots for it to pass. The “Constitutional Right to Hunt and Fish” will constitutionally […]
GTA 6 Ultimate Edition Pre-Order Details Confirm Major New Gameplay Features, Giving Players A First Look At Safehouses And Custom Vehicles
The latest GTA 6 Ultimate Edition news reveals plenty of fresh gameplay details, including fishing, fencing, fixing up classic cars and much more.
Why Teams Don’t Just Lose—They Change
Today’s guest column is from professors John Cairney and Rick Burton. With spring here, we thought we’d look at what sports leaders can learn from fishing—or more accurately, from a particular fish, a glass wall and what happens when the environment thwarts an organization’s best attempts to reach a goal To borrow from behavioral science, …
I quit my finance job in Manhattan and moved to Mexico to fish, surf
After leaving her finance career in NYC, Mary Grigsby moved to Mexico and started a fly-fishing business. She's now a mother with no plans to leave.
Interior Department announces biggest hunting expansion in U.S. history
More than 95% of wildlife refuge lands are now open to hunting and sport fishing
How jellyfish bycatch could be valuable collagen source for cosmetics and biotech
Dr Ainara Ballesteros is a Juan de la Cierva postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Environment and Marine Science Research at the Catholic University of Valencia, where she leads a research group focused on jellyfish biology, aquaculture, and the sustainable use of marine resources. Her work is centered on developing innovative solutions based on marine science, particularly through the study of underused organisms as sources of high-value compounds within circular bioeconomy and zero-waste strategies. She is joined in this work by Raquel Torres, a PhD student at the same institute, who is carrying out her doctoral thesis within this line of research, focused on jellyfish valorization, collaboration with the fishing sector, and the sustainable management of marine resources. They are co-authors on a new Frontiers in Marine Science article which investigated whether jellyfish accidentally caught by small-scale fishers in Spain could be transformed into a valuable resource instead of being treated as waste. The team worked side by side with fishers to better understand their perceptions of jellyfish bycatch, identify which species are most frequently caught, and evaluate whether one of them, Rhizostoma pulmo, could serve as a sustainable source of high-quality collagen.
Canadian dollar dips after US-Canada talks collapse into trade war; oil prices fall ahead of US sanctions on Iran
Washington imposes 50% tariffs on Canadian goods including fishing rods and hockey sticks, while Canada retaliates with levies on US steel and electronics
Colorado real estate veteran casts off with launch of charter fishing business
After a decade in Denver real estate, Ilan Reissner has traded apartment deals for fishing trips. His new charter business takes corporate groups and families onto two Denver-area reservoirs.
France to Offer Loans to Small Businesses Hit by Fuel Costs
The French government will offer loans of as much as €50,000 ($57,600) to small businesses that are the most exposed to rising fuel costs in transportation, fishing and agriculture.
Fly fishing program aims to curb isolation, boost mental health for disabled veterans
A Northstate nonprofit group is offering a variety of fly fishing programs to benefit disabled veterans.
John M. Williams on hunting rights, wolves and the urban-rural divide
Colorado hunter, angler and founder of Colorado Wolf Tracker, John M. Williams, joins The OpEdge to discuss Amendment 83, wolf reintroduction and the growing divide between urban and rural Colorado. Williams tells host and deputy opinion editor Antonio Olivero why he believes protecting hunting and fishing rights is essential to wildlife conservation, what he sees […]
Maple Grove Fishing Lure Business Hooks Customers
Throwback Swimbaits in Maple Grove sells 1,500 lures a month direct to customers and through major retailers
Walleye Weekend brings together fishing, entertainment and family fun
(WFRV)- Since its start as a small fishing festival in 1978, Walleye Weekend has grown into a major event, offering not only competitive fishing but also days of family fun. In this segment, Aaron …
Opinion: Bad optics and bad politics with fisheries decision
A North Carolina fisheries ruling enters its remedy stage as debate intensifies over inshore net fishing, agency performance and the General Assembly’s constitu...
Perry: Minnesota waters are full of ancient fish ― and the science behind them is pretty cool
Contributing columnist David M. Perry joined the U’s GarLab team on an electrofishing expedition June 15 to learn more about gar and other native rough fish species.
The Politics of Heat, Homes, and Lobster Boats.
The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by First National Bank. MOUNT DESERT ISLAND REGION—The candidates’ forum focusing on House District 15 and incumbent Holly Eaton and Clifford Noyes last week spent a lot of time on the candidates’ thought of heating, communication with constituents, property taxes, education costs, and other issues. It also was a time for the community to ask their own questions and see two candidates up close and personal at the Southwest Harbor Fire Department firehouse. Jim Vallette organized the hour-long event, which was moderated by Carrie Jones of the Bar Harbor Story. Ken Rozsahegyi provided technical support for the congenial event. House District 15 serves Brooklin, Deer Isle, Eagle Island Township, Frenchboro, Isle au Haut, Marshall Island, Southwest Harbor, Stonington, Swan's Island, Tremont, and Vinalhaven. Jones advised as she began the question and answer part of the event, ”Treat everyone here like they are going to be the ones who might give you a ride in a rainstorm, pull your pet out of a burning building, or be the one grading your kids’ papers at school, okay?” She continued. “That’s it. Tonight isn’t meant to be a gotcha debate. The goal is to give people in the district a chance to get to know both candidates, hear what they care about, and understand what they’d actually try to accomplish in Augusta.” The questions and discussion throughout were kind. Eaton currently serves in the position. She’s a Democrat from Deer Isle, raised in a fishing family and has worked in nonprofits and volunteered for her school board. Noyes is unenrolled (politically) and from Southwest Harbor and currently a school board member, self employed as a mason. He focused on fiscal issues throughout the forum. Eventually, at Jones’ prompting, the candidates played “Rock, Paper, Scissors” for who would go first for their closing statements. Noyes used the opportunity to urge others to head to the ballot. “Whether you vote for me or Holly, it’s important that people vote,” Noyes said. He hoped the voter turnout in the district would be over 35 percent because that would mean people were truly engaged. Eaton stressed that she’s a Democrat, but in Augusta, her role isn’t about party. “I am a Democrat, but when I go to Augusta, I am there to represent the people of District 15. I want people to feel as though I’m accessible, that I’m responsive, and that I show up for the district,” Eaton said. Being there for others was vital, she explained. “When something comes before me in Augusta, I try to look at it through the lens of the people and the communities that I represent. How will this affect the people who live here? Does it make it easier or harder to raise a family here, to operate a small business, to work on the water, to afford a home, to keep our schools open, or provide the essential services our communities depend on?” Eaton said. Noyes spoke about fiscal responsibility and about the state being more responsive to communities and the ideas that come from them. “I feel that we desperately need to restore some fiscal sanity, a little bit. So when the legislature meets again,” Noyes said, “it could be critical for Maine residents that we don’t keep digging this hole that we’re in financially and keep raising our taxes so the struggling families struggle even more.” The two answered a series of questions from Jones, then answered questions from the audience and participants via Zoom. Jones asked what they heard the most from people about what was making their lives hard and what can the legislature in Augusta do it about those issues. Both spoke to concerns about heating oil costs. Noyes spoke to the three H’s: health, home, and heat. Eaton and Noyes spoke to the burdens of families with lower incomes, with Eaton mentioning LIHEAP (Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program). They both were in favor of free community college and trade programs. They both supported the working waterfront. Both said that data centers—such as the one proposed in Eastport, which is out of the district—should be a local decision, but neither were in favor of it. The working waterfront was supported by both. Eaton’s served on the Maine Marine Resource Committee in the legislature. She advocated a diversity of fishing resources and less of a reliance on lobstering. Shrimp, she hoped, would make a comeback. Noyes worried about out-of-state pressure on the lobstering industry, also spoke of shrimp harvesting timings, and said he supported the lobstering industry. QUICK NOTE Carrie Jones is, obviously, the co-founder of the Bar Harbor Story, which made us have a bit of a hard time putting out this story and thinking it through and how to present it. We ended up with this article. The debate in its entirety is below, many thanks to Ken and Jim for making it publicly available. UPCOMING AND PAST EVENTS The following events are or were organized by the League of Women Voters Downeast. DISTRICT 7 DISTRICT ATTORNEY DISTRICT 13 Thursday, Oct 15, 2026 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM Candidate Forum: House District 13 125 State St , Ellsworth Featuring candidates Michael Cunningham (D) and Russell White (R), moderated by Cyndi Wood, managing editor of the Ellsworth American. DEMOCRACY FORUM Friday, Oct 16, 2026 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM Democracy Forum — Election 2026: What’s on Your Ballot RECENT PRESS RELEASES AND BRIEFS To see all the press releases, click here. To see our news, click here. For the full archive, click here. All of these are on our dedicated website. [ ](https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/feeling-stressed-kids-corner-invites) [ Feeling Stressed? Kids’ Corner Invites Parents, Educators, and Caregivers to Rediscover the Joy with National Speaker Raelene Ostberg Oct 14 ](https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/feeling-stressed-kids-corner-invites) [ Read full story ](https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/feeling-stressed-kids-corner-invites) [ ](https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/mainely-meats-pink-party-for-breast) [ Mainely Meat’s Pink Party for Breast Cancer Awareness is October 18! Oct 14 ](https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/mainely-meats-pink-party-for-breast) [ Read full story ](https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/mainely-meats-pink-party-for-breast) [ ](https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/conners-emerson-school-announces) [ Conners Emerson School Announces Public Surplus Property Sale Oct 14 ](https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/conners-emerson-school-announces) [ Read full story ](https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/conners-emerson-school-announces) [ ](https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/planting-the-writers-garden) [ Planting the Writer’s Garden 12:15 AM ](https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/planting-the-writers-garden) [ Read full story ](https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/planting-the-writers-garden) [ ](https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/artist-maria-de-los-angeles-explores) [ Artist Maria de los Angeles explores migration and belonging in COA public lecture 12:19 AM ](https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/artist-maria-de-los-angeles-explores) [ Read full story ](https://barharborstory.substack.com/p/artist-maria-de-los-angeles-explores) HELP SUPPORT THE BAR HARBOR STORY When we started The Bar Harbor Story, we didn’t know if anyone would read it. But you showed up. You shared. You sent tips. Now—over 400,000 views every month later—it’s clear: people here care about their community and each other. We’ve kept everything free because news should never be out of reach, but every one of our stories takes time to write, and your support keeps The Bar Harbor Story going. If you value our work, please consider a paid subscription, a founding membership, or a sponsorship. It truly helps us cover one more meeting, tell one more story, shine one more light. Even $5 a month makes a difference. Click here to become a one-time supporter now. Thank you so much for being here. Founding member information can be found here. Have questions about sponsorships? Just send Shaun an email at sfarrar86@gmail.com, he’d love to hear from you. Subscribe Share Bar Harbor Story Share Leave a comment
Whales Have Rebounded in the Southern Ocean. Scientists Worry Commercial Fishing Could Threaten Their Comeback.
Researchers are calling for stricter regulations on krill fishing in Antarctica as climate change shrinks the habitat of whales’ primary prey.
Alaskans Reel From the Loss of National Science Foundation Ocean-Monitoring Instruments
In the nation’s fastest-warming state with a multi-billion-dollar fishing industry and storm-threatened coastal communities, scientists say the federal government’s decommission of a deepwater sensor system is ill-timed and wrong-headed.
Opinion: Bad optics and bad politics with fisheries decision
A North Carolina fisheries ruling enters its remedy stage as debate intensifies over inshore net fishing, agency performance and the General Assembly’s constitu...
Panama looks to science, fishers, and the law to protect its sharks and rays
PUERTO CAIMITO, Panama — It’s a late April morning and the Tabor, an industrial fishing boat, is sailing around Chepillo Island in Panama Bay. Under the eyes of the crew, Yehudi Rodríguez, a marine biologist specializing in sharks, and sailor Joel Cordoba free a large black devil ray from a purse seine net and launch […]
Harshman finds retirement a good time to enter politics
Rather than tennis and fishing, John Harshman finds retirement a good time to run for Sarasota City Commission.
Health advisory issued for toxins in Oregon Coast lake near Seaside
A health advisory was issued for swimming, fishing, and drinking water in Cullaby Lake near Seaside because of toxins from an algae bloom.
Colorado voters will decide fate of ‘right to hunt’ proposal
Colorado’s election office said Thursday that a proposal to add a constitutional right to hunting and fishing has qualified for the November ballot. Backed by the International Order of T. Roosevelt, a group dedicated to preserving the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, Initiative No. 302 would amend the Colorado Constitution to include language establishing […]
Gavin Newsom tells CNN’s Jake Tapper he won’t run for president if Kamala Harris runs in 2028
While fly fishing in Montana, CNN’s Jake Tapper asks Governor Gavin Newsom what it would take for him to run for president in 2028. This is part of on an ongoing series where Jake Tapper joins politicians from both sides of the aisle in some of their favorite places to discuss how they got to where they are today. For the full report go to CNN.com tomorrow at 8AMET.
Why the Academy of Natural Sciences named a fish after Ernest Hemingway
The author took scientists on fishing expeditions and mailed specimens to Philadelphia while he was between books.
New Quincy business brings recreation supplies, ammunition closer to home
For outdoor enthusiasts in Plumas County, finding the right gear for a day of fishing, a weekend in the backcountry or a hunting trip can sometimes mean a
America’s hunters get an exclusive seat at Trump’s White House table as he takes aim at Biden-era rules
Trump will sign two executive orders at the White House expanding hunting on public lands and offshore recreational fishing before a Rose Garden dinner.
Sports salmon season reopens in CA, bringing big catches and new hope to North Bay fishermen
After nearly a three-year closure, Bay Area sport salmon fishing is back, and North Bay fishermen are celebrating a season already producing impressive catches.
Federal judge dismisses DOJ lawsuit seeking personal details about Rhode Island voters
U.S. District Court Judge Mary McElroy sided with Rhode Island's top election officials and civil rights advocates, writing that federal law does not permit the U.S. Department of Justice “to conduct the kind of fishing expedition it seeks here.”
A sea cucumber venture in Zanzibar seeks to balance business and conservation
PEMBA, Tanzania — Like many coastal communities across East Africa, the residents of Shamiani have grown accustomed to watching the sea yield less and less. Warming waters, degraded marine habitats and decades of fishing pressure have all taken a toll on the resources that once sustained local livelihoods, according to community members. On Tanzania’s Pemba […]
Veteran-owned business gifting custom fishing rods to Gold Star families
Matt Moore, a veteran and owner of Hellbender Outfitters in Elizabethton is giving back to families with lost U.S. service members.
NOAA announces priorities to promote science-based American seafood dominance
Today, NOAA announced priorities for advancing reforms within NOAA Fisheries to move towards regulations grounded in science that support American seafood dominance. These agency-level actions follow the Regional Priorities guidance that was released on July 2, 2026, to apply the same standard of accountability to NOAA’s own opera
Father & son hooked on the family business
The father and son duo at Dakota Angler are helping other families get ready for Father’s Day fishing trips.
There's a hidden world beneath Ontario's rivers — and it's disappearing
Scientists are uncovering the creatures that live in our rivers with techniques like electrofishing and DNA sampling. Here's what they're finding, from mottled sculpins to mayfly nymphs, and why they say we need to know our underwater neighbours.
The cult of objectivity has broken consciousness science
With 22 competing theories and no consensus in sight, the science of consciousness is lost. In this exclusive IAI interview, Berkeley psychedelics researcher and bestselling author of a new book on consciousness Michael Pollan insists that even though consciousness lies beyond traditional forms of scientific investigation, we should resist becoming dualists who see it as something radically different from ordinary stuff in the world. Instead, he makes the case for reimagining science itself: it must stop reaching for objective descriptions of physical reality, and instead embrace subjectivity as the indispensable core of all inquiry. Alasdair Craig: How did your experiences with psychedelics get you interested in consciousness?Michael Pollan: One of the things that happens on psychedelics is that they foreground consciousness. What formerly seemed perfectly transparent and ever present—and yet, non-existent, as water is to fish—suddenly you see it. The metaphor I use in the book is that psychedelics sponge the windscreen. Suddenly you realize: wow, there’s a windscreen, there is this phenomenon that’s mediating my relationship to reality. This is not an unusual realization on psychedelics. I think a lot of people are called to think about consciousness after psychedelic experiences. So that was the proximate inspiration for A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness (2026).And then there was a more specific way in which psychedelics influence the book. That was a particular experience I had on psilocybin. I had the sensation that the plants in my garden were conscious and returning my gaze, with their own point of view and agency, and I got curious as to how to evaluate an insight like that. I mean, what’s the truth quotient of insights you have on psychedelics? And I was reading William James—who, of course, wrote beautifully about mystical experience—and he said, we can’t judge the metaphysics here, but we should pay attention to two criteria: (1) How useful is it to think this is true? He was a pragmatist, of course. And (2) can we subject it to other ways of knowing to validate it? Because maybe we should treat these insights as hypotheses. And that’s kind of how I approach psychedelics, as a great generator of hypotheses, but they need to be tested against other ways of knowing. And so that led me down this long path exploring the science of plant intelligence and plant sentience.AC: I love your phrase, “smudging the windowpane of conscious experience.” So do you now start to think, actually, even when I’m not on psychedelics, I’m just seeing a screen all the time, which is not reality, but rather is my conscious experience, behind which reality is hidden?MP: Well, you know, not when I’m brushing my teeth and making breakfast! But yes, in meditation, certainly. I mean, one of the things you realize is that my experience happens to be this way now, but it could be another way. And many things can affect it. My morning coffee changes the screen in various ways, sharpens certain things.___The only tool we have to understand consciousness is consciousness.___There’s this wonderful metaphor in Aldous Huxley’s book, The Doors of Perception, where he thinks we channel consciousness, and that what the brain does is edit it, and there’s a reducing valve. And psychedelics open the reducing valve wider. I don’t know that I’m ready to buy into the idea that consciousness exists outside brains, but I do love that metaphor because there are times when you are more conscious than others. I know I’ve switched from window pane to valve, but you know, a camera aperture can open wider or narrower. And I do have a sense of that. I have a sense of when I’m being less conscious, and when I’m being more conscious, by which I mean, you know, more present, taking in more sensory information. So when you start thinking about consciousness as a matter of degree, that changes things also.I think when we scroll on social media, obviously, we’re conscious. But minimally so, because we don’t have to generate our own thoughts. We’re basically taking these little hits from other people and thinking their thoughts.The process of writing this book made me kind of relativize everyday consciousness as just one type, which is exactly what William James said. Normal consciousness is one type, separated by the flimsiest of screens from the other types.AC: If we stick with the metaphor of the smudge on the window that you get when you take psychedelics, it seems like we’re saying that consciousness has become like an object that you’re looking at, right? You’re looking at the smudge and that just is consciousness. But sometimes we’ll talk about consciousness as a state that you’re in, rather than an object you can perceive. You’re either conscious or you’re not conscious. So it’s difficult to really know what sort of thing we’re talking about when we talk about consciousness, right?MP: Yeah. When you say that consciousness is an object, what’s the subject? Consciousness also? The only tool we have to understand consciousness is consciousness. So we’re in a closed loop and when we get a perspective on consciousness, we’re not achieving any distance from it. That’s one of the problems with studying consciousness. Science is predicated on an objective, God’s eye view of things, and you never get that. There’s no such thing. SUGGESTED VIEWING The brain filters consciousness With Àlex Gómez-Marín But, yeah, there is this sense, I think, that consciousness is something you can approach. Certainly, when you’re writing and trying to recreate a conscious experience, it’s a fiction, but you’re standing back from it, and looking at it. But there’s no real subject-object distinction.AC: That’s so interesting, because when philosophers start talking about consciousness, they often talk about what they call “qualia”, which is their word for the felt experience of, say, the color red. And I think that way of speaking often makes us think of the qualia as an object, which you can see out there: the redness of red. But, as you say, we also want to collapse the subject-object distinction when we talk about consciousness. So there’s something strange going on here…MP: Oh, yeah, there are many strange things going on! *AC: Let’s talk about the varieties of consciousness. Apart from perceptions, there are, pains, emotions, thoughts, and so on. What is it that holds all this diversity together so that they all count as instances of consciousness? What is it that they all have in common?MP: Yeah, that’s a really good question. I mean, there is sensory information, right? Which we perceive coming from the world outside ourselves. And then there’s internal information, which is what’s called interoception. And this is very important too. This is where feelings come from—what are sometimes called homeostatic feelings—that are intended to get the brain to keep us in these narrow ranges of temperature and glucose and so on. That’s a very important part of consciousness. And according to some researchers, who I think are probably right, this is where consciousness begins, with these very primal feelings, like hunger and thirst and warmth and itch, and things like that. And then there’s this third thing, which is our thinking about thinking.And what holds all this together is, I think, the sense of self. Consciousness generates a self: it is probably an organizing principle. All this stuff is happening to the self. It’s a construct, I think, but it is very useful. It can connect all these different streams of consciousness to a single being or a place, metaphorically speaking.* AC: The first half of your book is about the science of consciousness. Is consciousness just another thing, like black holes or the origin of life, which we don’t yet understand, but which we should have every hope that science will one day get to the bottom of, or is there something special about consciousness that makes this unlikely?MP: It depends how you define science. As we define science now, it’s going be very difficult. Science since Galileo has had a set of rules or assumptions, which is that the proper remit of science is to deal with the objective, quantifiable, third-person world. And the physical sciences have done amazing work under that set of limitations. Galileo—for tactical reasons, not for philosophical reasons—said science should not deal with the soul, which at the time was what consciousness was considered to be. So what is subjective, what is qualitative, what is first person, we’re going to leave to the church, he said. And this was a good agreement, and it probably kept many scientists from getting burned at the stake. But it leaves science in an awkward spot, now that it wants to venture into that territory of qualities, of first-person experience. And I don’t think it has the proper tools. I think it will have to add to its toolkit in some way, and find a way to bring in phenomenology, or lived experience and introspection, which science is usually dismissive of.The challenge—we alluded to it earlier—is that the only tool you have to study consciousness with is consciousness. And what I mean by that is, the whole scientific enterprise is a manifestation of consciousness. As much as scientists like to flatter themselves with this idea that they attain a godlike perspective on what they study, when it comes to consciousness, there’s no such thing. And it’s fine for all the things you can step outside of and study from that perspective. But two areas it won’t work are consciousness and cosmology.___It could be that we live in this anomaly of not believing nature is conscious. And maybe psychedelics are teaching us something we’ve forgotten.___With cosmology, too, you have to study the universe from inside the universe. It’s not that cosmologists haven’t made progress. We know a lot about the age of the universe and expansion and things like that. But we can’t penetrate what happened before the Big Bang. We just don’t have the tools because we can’t stand outside.The fact that there are 22 full-scale theories of consciousness tells you all you need to know: we’re kind of lost. And I was surprised to find that we are more lost than I thought we were when I started this. I thought that there’d be leading theories, or that we had experiments that we could conduct that would nail some of this down. And the fact is, we don’t.So, I don’t know if science can solve it. But, of course, we can change the rules of science. A really influential book for me was a book called The Blind Spot, by two physicists, Marcello Gleiser and Adam Frank, and a philosopher, Evan Thompson. It’s a reminder that science is a social practice. It’s organized in a certain way and it can be organized in a different way. But it has this huge blind spot at the center of it, which is its failure to recognize that it is a form of consciousness itself, and it doesn’t have a good way of taking account of lived experience.AC: On the one hand, I think you want to resist traditional dualism, which would say that consciousness is something magical, something supernatural, right? But on the other hand, you’re accepting that there is this division in reality between the stuff that you can investigate objectively and measure, and so on—the stuff that science has been good at finding out about—and consciousness, which, for some reason, you can’t objectively measure. Some would take this to suggest that the dualism is actually right. Is there a way of reconciling these two strands of your thinking?MP: To call it magical is full of value judgement. I mean, you could just say immaterial. The interesting thing is, I think, that intuitively we’re all dualists. And I don’t know whether that’s because we’re children of Descartes and other cultures are less dualist than we are. Or it may be because that’s how consciousness feels. It feels different than the body. It feels separate from the body. But I don’t think we should trust that intuition.AC: So let’s think about ways that science might be changed to get at consciousness. I suppose the starting point would be the way that you begin the second half of your book. You have this nice line from William James, where he says, “We now begin our study of the mind from within.” Could you give us some sense of the ways of studying the mind from within? What does this involve?MP: I don’t know what that science looks like. But one of the points I’m making is that it depends on the humanities. I found that I learned as much, if not more, about consciousness, from reading novels and poetry. There is a sense of the fullness and complexity of consciousness that you don’t get in any scientific account. I interviewed this stream-of-consciousness writer and I approached her as an expert on consciousness, and she is. So I think that dialogue is really important.I’m reading Ben Lerner’s new novel, Transcription. Just read the first page of this novel: it’s a man falling asleep on a train, going to conduct an interview, and there is the experience of being in the train, facing backwards, there’s the view outside, but there’s a reflection of himself through which he’s seeing outside. There’s the memory of dropping his kids off at school. All this is going on in one moment of consciousness. Scientists aren’t going anywhere near that. But I think it’s useful for them to think about. That’s where we’re trying to go: like, how does such a layered experience happen? You know, it also makes you wonder, could a computer ever do this? And it gives you some doubt.*AC: Before we get to computers, perhaps we could talk briefly about plants. How did you come to feel that they are sentient?MP: Well, it was a psychedelic experience, and it’s not unusual on psychedelics. In fact, there’ve been studies about how people become animists during psychedelic experience. Their belief in animism arises after a single psychedelic experience.You know, most scientists would say this is all a myth. But we have only 400 years of the age of enlightenment and science. Before that, we were animists, and if you go around the world, most indigenous cultures are still animists, and children are animists, by and large, until they go to school. So it could be that we live in this anomaly of not believing nature is conscious. And maybe psychedelics are teaching us something we’ve forgotten.As I said, I wanted to test this idea, and see whether there was conventional scientific evidence for it. And there’s fascinating work going on in a field that calls itself—in a rather cheeky way—plant neurobiology. These are people who fully realize there are no neurons in plants, but they’re trolling conventional botanists! And they’re doing experiments that are demonstrating that plants can learn and remember, which is kind of amazing: how do you store a memory without neurons? They’re finding plants that can solve problems, that can hear and see. In fact, they have 20 senses to our five or six. For example, a bean plant looking for something to twine, and given a pole within eight inches or so of it, knows where that pole is and will aim its spiraling reach at that pole. What is that about? Is it bouncing signals off of it?One of the spookiest things is the fact that the same anesthetics that put us out put plants out. You might think that plants are already out, but they’re not. They’re just slow. If you take a plant with a fast behavior, like a Venus flytrap, and give it an anesthetic, it will stop reacting. So you have to ask yourself, what is lost when the plant is anaesthetized? Some state of alertness, of awareness, of its environment, of reactivity. I’m not prepared to call that consciousness, but maybe it’s sentience—which is a simpler form of consciousness, and involves the ability to sense what’s going on in your environment and assess what’s good and bad for you and act appropriately. That may be a universal quality of life.AC: Let’s turn from plants to AI. You point out that LLMs are trained on the internet rather than direct interactions with reality. You put this really nicely when you say the internet is not the world so much as a shadow cast by the world. So LLMs are living in this kind of shadow world, or in Plato’s cave, as you put it. What’s the significance of this for AI consciousness and moral consideration? And, to recall the beginning of our conversation, if we’re stuck behind a veil or screen of consciousness, are we also stuck in a kind of shadow world?MP: I don’t think they’re the same shadow worlds because our world includes nature and other people. And even if it’s mediated in some ways... There is a reality out there, and we are in relation to it, through consciousness. There’s friction with it. What’s missing from the LLMs is that friction with the real world. There’s more to the world than human representation, which is what they’re dealing with. And that means that so far, AI is a cultural technology for combining thoughts we’ve already had. SUGGESTED VIEWING Cracking the code for thought With Roger Penrose, Sabrina Gonzalez Pasterski, Max Tegmark, Güneş Taylor Genuine creativity is more than collage. A lot of what AI does now is tantamount to collage, putting this with that and you know, that’s part of art, certainly. But there are also genuinely new ideas that come into the world that don’t come in through manipulating the representations we already have. So it remains to be seen whether AIs can be truly creative in that more radical sense.But my arguments against AI becoming conscious have to do with the fact that the idea of AI consciousness is based on this faulty metaphor that the brain is a computer. There are dimensions in which the brain is like a computer—it certainly does its share of computation. But computers have this sharp distinction between hardware and software, and brains don’t. In a brain, hardware and software are identical. Every memory is a physical change to the brain. Brains are not interchangeable in the way computers are. So this idea that you could take the consciousness out and somehow run it on another substrate, a silicon substrate, seems foolhardy.Anyway, it’s a more extended argument, and I may be wrong. And when we move to computers that aren’t based on silicon—neuromorphic computers and things like that—all bets may be off.AC: Regarding your point about LLMs being stuck in the world of our representations—the internet or whatever—and not being able to interact with reality, are these representations, the world of the internet, themselves part of reality? We’ve created the internet, but it’s still a real thing that exists. And so while the LLMs may be trapped within that part of reality, they’re nevertheless within reality and interacting with it and so on. So it’s not obvious that there’s a barrier there to them becoming conscious and being creative.MP: Yeah, I mean, if our consciousness is built out of human culture, which is what we’re talking about with all those representations. But I tend to think consciousness comes a bit more out of nature and friction with the natural world, but...AC: So there’s a fundamental divide between the natural world and human artefacts?MP: And we lose track of that, and especially people in this computer world. You know, the people who are creating these AI systems, my guess is they’ve been into video games since the age of three, and they didn’t go outside a lot. And their own contact with nature is somewhat limited. I could be wrong, it’d be a very interesting thing to ask, all the wizards of AI, whether they like to go fishing and hiking and do things like that. Or were they on computers from a very early age? I interviewed Blake Lemoine, the Google engineer who came to believe that LaMDA, the Google LLM out at the time, was conscious and deserved personhood. It was very clear that he didn’t see a distinction between this bubble in which he lived and the real world. And I think we’ve all been distanced from the natural world, and this is taking us even further away. But it’s still there, you know, and we still have bodies, and we’re still mortal, and we don’t live in a simulation.AC: I think that’s a great place to finish. Michael Pollan, thank you very much!
The Weeknd is busy gaming — and he wants everyone to play this indie gem
While he’s breaking records touring as the Weeknd, Abel Tesfaye is gaming — a lot. He got in touch to talk “About Fishing.”
Dog fashion show returns to fall Uptown Marion Market
This roundup of upcoming fall events across Cedar Rapids and Marion includes GROWFEST at Kazimour Farm & Orchard, a dog fashion show at the Uptown Marion Market, and a hunting and fishing open house.
Out of Office: Fishing with Gavin Newsom as he contemplates 2028 presidential run
California Gov. Gavin Newsom went fishing with Jake Tapper to talk about his tumultuous political and personal life and whether he will run for president.
Hunting is a privilege, not a constitutional right
By Roland Halpern Colorado voters may soon be asked to place hunting and fishing in the state constitution. Proposition 302 would establish the right to hunt, fish and take wildlife using “traditional methods,” while declaring hunting and fishing are the state’s preferred means of managing wildlife. But though hunting and fishing are an important management […]
Insects are essential to vertebrate life—as food, shelter and medicine
While insects provide an essential food source for many vertebrate species, they're more than just a protein-laden snack. Chimpanzees use them to sterilize wounds, and herons use them as fishing bait. ...
Signs of the times: Kodo Arts to showcase antique Japanese signs
The upcoming Kodo Arts Warehouse Sale Oct. 10-18 will feature an unusual collection of Japanese 'Kanban' or traditional shop signs from the 1800's and 'Tairyo-bata' fishing boat flags flown to
Citadel cadet wins the 12th annual Baker Business Bowl
Stone Fish, an innovative fishing apparel brand, has won the 12th annual Baker Business Bowl, sending Cadet Bryson Barrett home with a $10,000 check.
Berman campaign: “We’re going fishing” – ER nurse and Democrat Mitchell Berman launches first ad of general election in Wisconsin’s First District Congressional race
Spot features Berman fishing and focuses on ending corruption in Washington, contrasting Berman’s working class background and Republican Bryan Steil’s corporate special interests RAYMOND, Wis. — Today, Mitchell Berman, ER nurse and Democratic candidate for Wisconsin’s First Congressional District, launched...
Bakewell aims to settle some unfinished business at the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Championship
The Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Championship at the Kissimmee Chain features a sterling field, and while everyone in the field has the talent to win, there are a handful of favorites. But most of those high on the list aren’t from Florida – this year’s Toyota Series event on Kissimmee was won by Northeasterner Alec Morrison, and […]
Trump tried to make an ally out of fishermen. Some have started to turn on him
Trump sought to make an ally out of fishermen during his first term with expanded fishing territory, aggressive trade moves and cutting down regulations. Recently fishermen expressed frustration with high fuel costs, a trade war with Canada and cuts to NOAA.
Dartmouth High marine science students go fishing for field day
Dartmouth High marine science students head out for their first field day of the year to catch fish off of Apponagansett Point in Padanaram village.
How a fishing business was financially affected by Potomac sewage spill
The stigma caused by last January’s devastating sewage spill had many people continuing to believe the Potomac River is unsafe — despite testing that showed otherwise. For those who make their living on the river, winter and spring were tough times. “Wintertime was cut short because of the advisories and we out of an abundance of caution just cut it…
WATCH: Trump signs proclamation opening more protected ocean areas to commercial fishing
President Donald Trump opened three marine protected areas in the Pacific Ocean to commercial fishing with a proclamation on Thursday that he said will boost the U.S. seafood industry.
Veteran-owned business supports Gold Star families through custom fishing rods
Hellbender Outfitters owner Matt Moore joins ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ to discuss his Tennessee-based business and how he supports military families.
Virtual Boy – Nintendo Classics adds V-Tetris, Jack Bros., Space Invaders Virtual Collection, Virtual Bowling, and Vertical Force
The Virtual Boy – Nintendo Classics app has added V-Tetris, Jack Bros., Space Invaders Virtual Collection, Virtual Bowling, and Vertical Force, Nintendo announced. In Japan, Virtual Fishing w…
Colorado’s hunting and fishing traditions rest on science, conservation and a proven heritage
By John Howard Eric Washburn’s recent column warns Coloradans the right to hunt and fish amendment is a Trojan horse designed to resurrect “cruel” practices voters have already banned and to elevate killing above every other form of wildlife management. The argument is passionate. It is also wrong on the text, the history, the experience […]
Court says defamation suit raises First Amendment questions
A federal appeals court has signaled that it might not allow a lawsuit brought by New England fishing businesses and industry groups against a California aquarium to proceed because of the case's potential impact on free speech.
Digital Vortex Entertainment to Showcase DREADMOOR at BitSummit PUNCH 2026
First-person fishing adventure to be showcased later this month at BitSummit PUNCH '26 in Kyoto.
Whit Fosburgh Misstates Menhaden Science on Qualified Captain Podcast and Overlooks American Fishing Families
The Qualified Captain is a North Carolina-based boating and maritime interview podcast hosted by Aaron Stasiak. On the podcast, Stasiak interviews ...
How Nuclear Science Enhances Seafood Safety in Namibia
Namibia's 1,500 km coastline powers a fishing industry worth over 15% of the country's foreign income. But meeting export demand means meeting strict international standards.
High diesel prices may dampen summer lobster fishing season
The spike could mean higher prices for lobster in Maine this summer.
The GOTY Of 2026 Could Be A Fishing Game
The Arctic Eggs creators’ About Fishing is an ambitious and alluring mystery, bound to reel in even the most uncurious
Bad optics and bad politics with fisheries decision
Suddenly declaring vast geographical areas off limits to net fishing will be an enormous shock to the coastal area no one is prepared for.
How fishing is improving veterans' mental health
One veteran says looking at the end of the rod can “change your mindset”.
What’s Next for Mark Walter’s Sports Empire?
Plus, the chaos of the WNBA, the 11-year-old chess queen and Jason Gay on the new rage in bass fishing.
CDFW: Scientists keeping an eye on river conditions to protect winter-and-fall-run salmon
From the Department of Fish and Wildlife As California continues to feel the impacts of a heat dome that is bringing higher than normal temperatures to large portions of the state, it’s a good time to remember that fish and wildlife — especially salmon — need cold water, too. River temperature management is critical for salmon’s survival and spawning. Earlier this year, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced that commercial ocean salmon fishing was back after being closed for three […]
Gulf Stream speeding up: What NOAA's new study found
NOAA satellite data shows the Gulf Stream intensified sharply from 2014 to 2023. Here's what's driving it and what that could mean for you.
Massie Visits Greene in Costa Rica for Fishing and ‘Spicy’ Political Talks
The two Republican critics of President Trump – Thomas Massie, who lost his House primary last week, and Marjorie Taylor Greene, who resigned from Congress – met up in the tropics.
BLM Southeastern States Office engages visitors at the Mississippi Sports & Outdoors Show
The Mississippi Sports & Outdoors Show, held July 24–26 at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds, brought together thousands of outdoor enthusiasts for a weekend celebrating hunting, fishing, land management, and recreation.
Astoria-based FisherPoets bringing its unique brand of seafaring entertainment to Lincoln County
The FisherPoets Gathering, a rollicking, three-day celebration of poetry, song and commercial fishing that draws around 2,300 people to Astoria each winter, is coming to Newport, Lincoln City and four other Oregon coast towns this month.
High Seas Treaty must stop the lobbyists and bring the science
Campaigners warn fishing industry lobbyists are attempting to rewrite the High Seas Treaty in their favour — with days left of UN ocean talks.
De Soto fourth grader starts business to fund love for Legos
Jackson Brady is a young businessman who loves fishing and building with Legos. A year and a half ago, the 9-year-old De Soto boy combined the two passions to start Lures for Lego Bricks, selling fishing lures at Madd Heifer boutique, 215 E. Main St., in De Soto and twice a month at the De Soto Farmers Market, 520 N. Main St. (open late April through October).
Protect Every Animal From Cruelty? Not in 2026, Oregon Democrats Say
A possible referendum in Oregon on animal rights would end fishing, hunting, even pest control, just when Democrats are trying really hard not to be seen as “weirdos again.”
Local Business Spotlight: Loon Lake Lodge
When guests arrive at Loon Lake Lodge, they are welcomed by Andrea and Derek Hofeldt and their three boys into an atmosphere filled with outdoor adventure, family connection, and relaxation along the Gunflint Trail. From donut fishing and watermelon-eating contests to hydro bikes and quiet time by the lake, the Hofeldt family—who own and operate...
A 14-year-old in a Colorado farm town built a robotic hand from LEGO bricks, fishing line and surgical tubing, then met a 7-year-old at a science fair wearing an $80,000 prosthetic arm she had already outgrown — his next version, 3D-printed, came in under $400, and NASA took him on as an intern at 17
When a teenager's LEGO creation outperformed a prosthetic costing two hundred times more, he realized the gap between innovation and access wasn't about engineering—it was about economics.
Fishing the Good Fight supports men facing mental health challenges
Former University of Alabama football player Jennings Hester founded the nonprofit Fishing the Good Fight to provide men with mental health support through fly fishing retreats and community activities.
Harmful algae bloom leads to health advisory for T. Howard Duckett Reservoir
Recreational areas will stay open, and boating and fishing will still be allowed, but cyanobacteria can bring risks.
1K views · 24 reactions | Fish make up just a tiny fraction of...
Fish make up just a tiny fraction of Europe's economy. But they play a big role in its politics. Most recently, the fishing industry dominated the referendum on whether Iceland should restart talks...
Scientists and the Fishing Industry Join Forces for Better Data and Management (Part 2)
Industry-Based Biological Sampling Fills Data Gaps to Improve Stock AssessmentsOur cooperative research team works with industry partners across New England and the Mid-Atlantic to collect fish and invertebrate samples to better understand age, growth, reproduction, and bioenergetics. These samples fill data gaps during times of year and areas without surveys or other ways of collecting fish samples.
Roger Street Days Returns with Live Entertainment and Free Museum Tours
Another annual Two Rivers event is just a few days away. Rogers Street Fishing Village is putting on Roger Str...
Crazy Taxi World Tour will offer more freedom, bite-sized missions and fishing with a car
In Crazy Taxi World Tour, The Offspring is back, and fish is on the menu.
Indigenous fisherwoman finds ‘lost’ spinach pipefish, not seen by science in 40 years
Founder’s Briefs: An occasional series where Mongabay founder Rhett Ayers Butler shares analysis, perspectives and story summaries. On the final day of a two-week expedition, where researchers were searching for a “lost” species along Papua New Guinea’s Sepik River, Helen Asu arrived with two small, greenish-brown fish. She had caught them while fishing for prawns […]
Hunting is a privilege, not a constitutional right
By Roland Halpern Colorado voters may soon be asked to place hunting and fishing in the state constitution. Proposition 302 would establish the right to hunt, fish and take wildlife using “traditional methods,” while declaring hunting and fishing are the state’s preferred means of managing wildlife. But though hunting and fishing are an important management […]
Students turn local fishing culture into hands-on science, business project
Crawford School students built crawler harnesses and perch rigs, designed packaging and sold products at local craft fair