

The Accidental Lobster Farmers - daddy_drank
http://modernfarmer.com/2014/12/maines-accidental-lobster-farmers/

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code_duck
I don't think we need to resort to analogies like 'Herring was acting as a
sort of Miracle-Gro' to understand that feeding wild animals makes them grow
faster.

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fit2rule
Oh but the analogy is applicable, since herring "falls" of the magnitude
provided by the lobster farmers are quite rare in nature. Its not often that
you get an abundance of packed herring as provided in your modern lobster
basket, and more to the point provided in a manner which prevents other
predators - fish and other basket-navigation incapable species - from joining
the feast.

So I think you should take back your glib criticism. Indeed, the conditions
induced by your average lobster farmer are rare in the natural world, indeed.
It is an important distinction.

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code_duck
We don't need to use a plant food analogy to understand that animals grow when
fed.

The comparison is strained considering these are wild animals, also. Is
spraying a vast wilderness area with Miracle Gro to bolster plant populations
some sort of well understood common practice?

It seems to me that this is not at all comparable to typical uses of
fertilizer. It would be adequate to say that the herring is providing extra
source of nutrient rich, human provided food for the lobsters. There is no
need to bizarrely compare them to farmed plants.

