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All that swimming for nothing 

MONTEREY – A blue shark tagged two years ago off the coast of Monterey is believed to have set a distance record for the species after being captured near Japan. 

The 4 1/2-foot shark was recently caught 560 nautical miles east of Japan after being tagged by Santa Cruz-based Pelagic Shark Research Foundation in 2000. 

“We’ve had five tags returned from (the mid-Pacific) since tagging started in the late 1980s,” said Valerie Taylor, a California Department of Fish and Game biologist. “I don’t know of any tagged fish that was caught farther west than this one.” 

Some researchers are using the distance traveled by the shark to call for more international protection of the animals from long-line and drift-net fisheries. 

“We showed that some segments of the Northwest Atlantic population of blues declined 80 percent from the mid-1980s to mid-1990s,” said Robert Hueter, director of the Center for Shark Research at Mote Marine Laboratory at Sarasota, Fla. “These fish are relatively prolific as sharks go, but they are not immune to overfishing.” 

Other researchers say the sharks, which reach lengths of 13 feet and can weigh more than 500 pounds, may not be migratory and that a decline in numbers has not been detected in Pacific populations. 

What’s that smell? 

SAN MARINO – In this wealthy town of trim lawns and rose-filled gardens, the world’s largest and stinkiest plant is ready to bloom. 

The Amorphophallus titanum, known to Indonesians as the “corpse flower,” exudes an odor that some have compared to garbage or rotting flesh. 

The exotic, 4 1/2-foot-tall plant is expected to bloom by Tuesday at The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens. 

Its unusual scent attracts pollinating, carrion-eating beetles in its native Sumatra. 

The plant has been seen in bloom only about 15 times since its first U.S. display in New York in 1937. About 76,000 people flocked to the Huntington when the flower bloomed there in 1999. 

While normally closed Mondays, the museum will remain open in case the flower should bloom. 

San Marino is 17 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. 

Mating turtles hold up bridge 

MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP, N.J. – Work on a bridge will be delayed because it is not allowed during turtle mating season. 

County officials planned to replace the Cherry Hill Bridge in the fall, but state law prevents them from disturbing the area during mating season. They have not decided when the work will begin at the Montgomery Township site. 

While it was not immediately known what species was found in the area, environmentalists say they likely are wood turtles, which are protected by the state. They say the work could stir up silt, which could kill the turtles.