Daily Archives: December 23, 2015
New Hampshire Fishermen are optimizing the value of their catch – Fishing for new markets
Leaving New Hampshire’s shores early in the morning in small 40-foot boats and returning in the afternoon to sell the day’s catch, groundfishermen seem to personify the state motto, “Live Free or Die.” But their numbers are shrinking. In communities across the country, a movement has sprouted up aimed at helping the local fishing industry create markets that deliver higher prices to fishermen for the fish they can catch. Read the article here 19:26
Exclusive: Ocean acidification not a current problem, top NOAA scientist insists in FOIA-ed e-mails
JunkScience.com got NOAA scientist e-mails via FOIA? Why can’t Congress? Last October, the New York Times published this dire op-ed on ocean acidification, supposedly authored by NOAA chief Richard Spinrad and his UK counterpart Ian Boyd. First, the op-ed was actually written by NOAA staff Madelyn Applebaum, not Spinrad or Boyd. The purpose was to tout NOAA not inform the public about ocean acidification. Read this brilliant FOIA expose here 18:59
THE ORIGINS AND HISTORY OF THE FLYING SANTA
Airplanes, helicopters, lighthouses and a Santa Claus delivering toys along with coffee, tea, potato chips and shaving products. Seems like a strange mix for a 84-year tradition to be based on. This annual New England occurrence, though always appreciated by its recipients, has not always been completely understood. There are many elements that make up the Flying Santa experience and we hope to enlighten people with the following account of its history and customs. Through personal recollections, newspaper accounts and family histories we have been able to put together a detailed report on the origins of the Flying Santa and its evolution over the past 84 years. We continue to research the accounts of years past, so this is by no means the final word on the origins and history of the “Santa of the lighthouses”. By Brian Taque Read the story here 17:34
NOAA Failed Walrus Science, Meanwhile Polar bears are doing just fine – with some “as fat as pigs”!
Two posts: The 2015 Arctic Report Card: NOAA Failed Walrus Science!- Good scientists fully understand that complex issues with high uncertainties require two or more working hypotheses. NOAA failed to communicate the great uncertainties and alternative. Instead NOAA’s report card made claims that hinge on the unproven hypothesis that,, (Click here), and More scientific evidence that polar bears are doing just fine – a 30% increase in population with some of them “as fat as pigs.” – Svalbard polar bear numbers increased 30% over last 11 years. Results of this fall’s Barents Sea population survey have been released by the Norwegian Polar Institute and they are phenomenal: despite several years with poor ice conditions, (Click here) 15:13
‘Historic’ red tide could keep oyster reefs closed for months
Oyster season won’t be reopening any time soon in Mississippi. The CMR was told the required red tide testing to make sure oysters are safe for harvest, could take up to three months. “We’ve never had one at this level or this intensity. This is a historic event,” the DMR’s Joe Jewell said at this morning’s special meeting of the CMR. Jewell was talking about the red tide event which closed oyster season nearly two weeks ago. Read the article here 12:41
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 56.8′ Steel Stern Trawler, CAT 3406, Kubota – 30 KW Genset
Specifications, information and 8 photo’s click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 12:20
Woman found dead on a fishing boat in Westport
Digby RCMP are currently investigating the death of a woman in Westport. RCMP received a 911 call about 5 p.m. Dec. 22, which led police to a fishing vessel at a public wharf in Westport. RCMP found a 20-year-old female deceased on the boat. Digby RCMP Cpl. Sean Boulger said the death is unexplained. “We are trying to figure out how she came to be on that boat,” he said. “The community is cooperating and obviously this is very upsetting for the family.” The family of the deceased woman has been notified. Read the article here 10:53
Does fishing have a future in New England?
Cod have been disappearing from the waters between Massachusetts and Maine, and shrimp populations are so depleted that the commercial shrimp season in the Gulf of Maine has been cancelled for the last three years.,, It’s hard to predict where all this is headed, whether for individual species or local fishing communities. But it needn’t be a story of doom and gloom. These undersea changes may well dampen the prospects of the cod industry, but they will also bring new opportunities. Read the article here 09:43
Great December weather is no gift for Maine lobster dealers
Whether you blame it on climate change, a misalignment of the stars or Donald Trump, the weather so far in December has been unusually fair and that has some Maine lobster dealers sweating. Usually by the week before Christmas, most of Maine’s lobster fishermen have hauled their gear onto the bank and cold, stormy weather has kept those who are still fishing mostly in the harbor. Not this year. Read the article here 09:02
Ontario farm converts from pigs to shrimp in hopes of jumbo profits
In rural Ontario, 800 kilometres from the nearest ocean, you will find the unexpected — a successful inland shrimp farm. With pork prices low, Paul and Tracy Cocchio were struggling to make a profit with their hog farm in Campbellford, Ont., so they started looking for alternative uses for their empty barns. While searching the internet they stumbled upon farmers in the U.S. who had switched to inland shrimp farming. They decided to give it a shot themselves. Read the article here 08:24
Your Government’s Gold King Whitewash
When a private citizen or company violates rules, misrepresents facts or pollutes a river, government penalties are swift and severe. It’s different when the government screws up. Two weeks ago, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell testified before Congress on a toxic spill that federal and state agencies unleashed into western state rivers last August. Supervised by officials from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (DRMS), an Environmental Restoration (ER) company crew excavated tons of rock and debris that had blocked the portal (entrance or adit) to the Gold King Mine above Silverton, Colorado. Read the article here 07:35
NPR Claims Fish Stocks are Declining Worldwide – Comment by Ray Hilborn, University of Washington
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