fishing with plant poison

[Tartar Horde]

Hunter gatherer societies work on the priciple of getting the most food for the least amount of energy expended. This is why trapping methods are the main weapons of choice in these societies. Traps etc work 24 hours a day whist hunting is only effective while you are doing it, you also have to be good at field craft to get close enough to kill your prey.
Many of these societies use plant toxins to fish as it it far superior to fishing with rod and line (more fish for less energy). A knowledge of plants that have the ability to do this would in a SHTF situation be very usefull in the UK. I have some knowledge about this and would like to share it.
The Petty Spurge (Euphorbia Peplus) can be used to kill fish in any pond, lake or river. The Milky sap effects the nervouse system of fish, once affected they float to the top, and are very easy to collect. The toxins do not affect the muscle tissue so the fish can be eaten. Collect as much of the plant as you can and put into a container,
(WARNING-wear gloves and make sure you have no cuts etc and keep away from eyes, mouth etc) add a little bit of water to the crushed plants to make a solution then simply add to pond etc. If the extract is strong enough any fish in the water will be yours and it is VERY effective. Alternatively make the same solution and evaporate the water so you are left with a brown tar like substance, put this on arrows, darts etc and you will drop an OX, efficient cooking will destroy the toxin, to make the meat safer cut out the meat from the wound.
I hope this post is not too controversial, the information is offered in the spirit of knowledge as another way to gather food using Mother Natures gifts.
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[Tarrel]

Or, for a more sustainable alternative, there's always Electrofishing!

We went out the other week with a guy from SEPA (Scottish Environmental Protection Agency), who demonstrated the technique. They use it for auditing fish stocks in rivers.

Basically, the guy had a Backpack on, which contained a car battery and an inverter to push the voltage up to, IIRC, 400V. One lead was connected to a kind of lance with a metal ring on the end (maybe 20 cm dia.), the other was connected to a braided cable which dragged in the water. He was wearing heavy duty waders and got in the water. He immersed the lance in the water and they just came to it.

What looked like a completely empty gravel stream bed was soon teeming with eels, trout, small salmon - all sorts. He just scooped them out to count them before returning them.

Apparently the method works by causing the fish's spine to go into spasm, first one way, then the other. They literally find themselves swimming towards the lance. (Imagine a tractor-beam on a sci-fi space ship and you'll get the general idea). The fish are not harmed. In fact, they're not even stunned. If you were doing this in order to catch fish for food, you could take what you need and leave the rest to reproduce for another day.

It's illegal, by the way, but in a post-SHTF scenario, who knows??

[Tartar Horde]

(3 October 2012, 22:17)Tarrel Wrote: Or, for a more sustainable alternative, there's always Electrofishing!

We went out the other week with a guy from SEPA (Scottish Environmental Protection Agency), who demonstrated the technique. They use it for auditing fish stocks in rivers.

Basically, the guy had a Backpack on, which contained a car battery and an inverter to push the voltage up to, IIRC, 400V. One lead was connected to a kind of lance with a metal ring on the end (maybe 20 cm dia.), the other was connected to a braided cable which dragged in the water. He was wearing heavy duty waders and got in the water. He immersed the lance in the water and they just came to it.

What looked like a completely empty gravel stream bed was soon teeming with eels, trout, small salmon - all sorts. He just scooped them out to count them before returning them.

Apparently the method works by causing the fish's spine to go into spasm, first one way, then the other. They literally find themselves swimming towards the lance. (Imagine a tractor-beam on a sci-fi space ship and you'll get the general idea). The fish are not harmed. In fact, they're not even stunned. If you were doing this in order to catch fish for food, you could take what you need and leave the rest to reproduce for another day.

It's illegal, by the way, but in a post-SHTF scenario, who knows??

In a post SHTF situation electro fishing will be difficult because of keeping the equipment servicable, plus it is not a very covert action. Plants grow everywhere for free, you could apply the toxin and then wait in cover, or come back a bit later to collect the fish.
taking more than you need is not wasteful, because you can process the fish either by drying or smoking thus having food for many days. Saying that if you do have access to an electro fishing set up and the world goes to crap then deffo use it.

[Tarrel]

Yes, I accept that it is a tech solution but, looking at the kit,it seemed fairly basic in design.

Do you know what sort of locations the Petty Spurge grows in, and what it looks like?

[Paul]

What a useful article.
Petty Spurge has another use I have found.
Treating minor skin cancers.
Mother Earth's kitchen or what.
Many thanks.

[Tartar Horde]

http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/organicw...php?id=105
The weed is very common in most areas of UK, so large amounts can be collected easily

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Here is a picture of petty spurge