Daily Archives: January 1, 2015

Youth Gone Bad. Busted for Fishing in Eco Imperialist No Take Zone. HANDS UP! I CAN”T FISH!!

Three 17-year-olds from Newport Beach could face charges for the crime of fishing just a few miles from their homes. That is how seriously state officials and local environmentalists regard a 3-year-old no-fishing zone in effect off Laguna Beach. The no-fishing area off the Laguna Beach coast is the only such marine reserve in Orange County and part of a network of zones in California waters that form the nation’s most expansive marine reserve. Read the rest here  photo, Mike Beanan Laguna Bluebelt  19:42

Where Have All the Cod Gone?

As early as the 1850s, fishermen from Maine and Massachusetts began to pester their governments to do something about declining cod catches. Those men fished with hooks and lines from small wooden sailboats and rowboats. Fearing “the material injury of the codfishing interests of this state” by increased fishing for menhaden, a critical forage fish for cod, fishermen from Gouldsboro, Me., implored the Legislature in 1857 to limit menhaden hauls. Read the rest here 18:04

Aleutian Islands Nominated as National Marine Sanctuary

The waters around the Aleutian Islands support a dizzying range of wildlife — and major industries right along with it. Right now, the government’s job is to help find a balance. But as KUCB’s Lauren Rosenthal reports, there’s a new campaign to permanently tip the scales toward conservation in the Aleutian Chain. Read the rest here NOMINATION OF ALEUTIAN ISLANDS NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY … Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility … nominated for National Marine Sanctuary pfd here …17:19

F/V Kristin and Michael Towed to Gloucester – experiencing engine problems and had become disabled

kristin and michaelAt about 4 p.m., Wednesday, the three person crew of the fishing vessel Kristin and Michael notified watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Boston that their vessel was experiencing engine problems and they had become disabled.  Cutter Escanaba was diverted to the scene and took the Kristen and Michael in tow. Read the rest here 13:57

North Pole not ours, despite Harper’s bluster

Denmark has recently taken steps to claim jurisdiction over resources of the seabed in the vicinity of the North Pole. It’s a move that has rekindled concerns about international contention over coastal state sovereign rights in the middle of the Arctic Ocean. It also shines a renewed light on our prime minister’s ambition to secure the North Pole as a Canadian prize, which he is proposing to grab in a blatant contravention of customary international law. Read the rest here 11:33

Threat of federal penalty spurs Brunswick, Harpswell to consider raising shellfish license fees

Brunswick and Harpswell are proposing higher fees for commercial shellfishing licenses in an effort to pre-empt possible legal action by the U.S. Department of Labor. Requiring licensed harvesters to work on specific conservation projects each year isn’t new for many municipalities. But the DOL has warned that the practice violates federal labor laws. Read the rest here 10:45

Oil lobby sues feds over threatened Alaska ringed seals

The lawsuit also targets the National Marine Fisheries Service’s plan to label a 350,000-square-mile expanse of Alaska waters as critical habitat for the seals. Arctic ringed seals were designated by NOAA in late 2012 as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act — a status one step short of being endangered. Read the rest here 08:45