A couple of weeks ago my wife and I went deep sea fishing off the coast of Panama City, Florida. We were on a charter boat with interesting people from all over the United States that were brought together for this fishing trip, but stories about our fellow fishermen and women are for another time. We had quite a successful day as the fish were biting. Several types of fish were caught including rock bass, white snapper, flounder, and grouper.

The one fish that was caught more than any other by everyone onboard was the red snapper. Florida now has a law that red snapper can only be kept June 1 thru August 15, and there is a limit of two fish per person. The day we fished, there were easily 50 red snapper thrown back into the ocean including five of my own. According to officials, the red snapper are endangered to the extent that the state of Florida is even considering not having a red snapper season at all next year.

What is intriguing about this story is that for years people kept all the red snapper they caught. As a result, the red snapper is now smaller than their normal average, so, when they are thrown back into the ocean, dolphins are patiently waiting to eat them. According to people who study and know about such things if this trend continues soon there will be no red snapper. This is just one animal that is affected by current trends, and this type of story could be told over and over with different animals and plants.

Our world is intricately connected. We are part of each other and part of this universe in ways that we will never fully understand. Everything that we do has an impact on someone or something in this world. We often don't think about what we are leaving in our wake as we trod through this life, but what we do and how we take care of our world is going to greatly impact future generations. What kind of legacy do you want to leave for your descendants? Will your great grandchildren miss out on knowing what a red snapper looks like? Sounds like a small thing, but how many other things are they going to miss out on? Just some fish food for thought. Enjoy your summer.