Daily Archives: December 13, 2015
Union of Canadian Transportation Employees alleges coast guard vessels are unsafe
Canada’s $200-million fleet of new coast guard mid-shore patrol vessels were accepted and put to use despite a series of serious safety concerns first identified before their construction, some of which are still outstanding. According to two current and one former Union of Canadian Transportation Employees officials, concerns that the fleet of nine Hero-class, 43-metre patrol vessels were not sufficiently up to safety standards were initially raised by the project team before they were built, but the problems were not mitigated during their design and construction. Read the article here 20:38
European Union: Fish talks have greater than usual significance
Increased fish quotas and greater catching flexibility must be agreed when the EU fisheries council starts tomorrow, if next year’s discard ban has a hope of working, the industry and politicians have agreed. Negotiations to finalise next year’s quotas that get underway in Brussels tomorrow have special significance for the Scottish industry because the phased introduction of the demersal Landing Obligation (discard ban) will deliver a major sea-change in the way fisheries are managed. The discard ban, which already affects mackerel and herring fishing,,, Read the article here 13:32
Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance Weekly Update, December 13, 2015
The Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance is dedicated to its mission of continuing to help create sustainable fisheries without putting licensed fishermen out of business.” Read the update here To read all the updates, click here 12:08
Cousins Evan and Nick Densmore raised the masts of their 24-metre wooden schooner Katie Belle
About 200 people gathered in Parrsboro, N.S., Saturday afternoon to celebrate the milestone of the mast raising on a schooner hand built by two cousins. Evan Densmore said seeing the masts go on the ship he spent five years building made him appreciate why historically the step was so important for shipbuilders and communities. “Traditionally when you put a mast on a boat it kind of makes it into something living, there’s going to be sails,” he said. “I’ve always known, I’ve drawn it, I’ve measured everything, I’ve planned the whole lift but when you actually see them on there, it’s wow, it actually completes the boat.” Read the article here, and view photo gallery 10:10
Nunavut hunters harvest 230 narwhal trapped in ice – ‘These whales were just waiting to drown and die,’
Hunters in Pond Inlet, Nunavut, have harvested 230 narwhal that were trapped in ice and had no chance of survival. A hunter first heard the whales under the ice in mid-November, according to the local hunters and trappers association. Then, about two weeks ago, hunters using hydrophones — microphones for listening to underwater sound — heard the narwhal and started the search for them. The Nunavut Wildlife Management Board said the narwhal got stuck when the sea ice formed in the area and they had no chance of survival. Read the article here 09:51
Hurricane-force winds out of the Gulf of Alaska sent huge waves traveling down the West Coast
Like a gigantic pinwheel, an intense 965-millibar storm with hurricane-force winds in the Gulf of Alaska last week moved into the Pacific Northwest. These winds blew for more than 36 hours over a wind fetch — the distance the wind blew over water — that exceeded 400 nautical miles. The friction between the wind and the ocean’s surface generated 48-foot seas. The greater the wind speed, the higher the waves. When these high seas moved out from under the winds, they became longer-period swells. By late Wednesday night,,, Read the article here 09:06
