Daily Archives: January 21, 2017

Video – Coast Guard aircrew hoists injured man from fishing boat 25 miles off Cape Ann

A helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod hoisted an injured fisherman Saturday from a fishing boat 25 miles southeast of Cape Ann. The captain of Golden Girl contacted Coast Guard Sector Boston watchstanders Saturday morning and reported a crewman aboard severely injured his hand and needed medical attention. The aircrew launched and arrived on scene at about 12:20 p.m. to medevac the man. After a successful hoist, the man was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital.  Helicopter pilot Lt. Kyle Bertoluzzi said despite a low ceiling at takeoff, the skies cleared about halfway over Cape Cod Bay. He said the quick action of Golden’s Girl’s crew, flawless work by the flight mechanic, and teamwork by all helped this medevac go smoothly to get the injured man quickly into the care of doctors.  Watch the video, click here  21:09

Fishermen Discover Crate Of 19th Century Rifles Off The Coast Of Canada

In 2011, fishermen working off Newfoundland’s Grand Banks pulled in a 600 pound catch. However, what they caught was not a fish. What they discovered was a heavily cemented and silt-filled crate of 20 Pattern 1853 Enfield muskets that date back as far as the 1850’s. The guns had been underwater at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean for more than 150 years. The archaeology department at Memorial University in St. John’s Newfoundland has been working ever since to restore the relics that have been placed in a large container filled with a chemical solution that includes a bulking agent and corrosion inhibitor designed to stabilize them.  After years of conservation work, things are looking good for the restoration process. The “3-band Enfield” got its name as it could get shots out to 500 yards if shot by a skilled marksman and the barrel was held to the wooden stock by three metal bands. Read the story here 16:26

Indicted: Bay seafood distributors charged for ‘fishy’ sales

A federal grand jury has indicted the owners of a local seafood distribution company on charges involving the illegal sale of red drum and spotted sea trout to Louisiana businesses in 2014 and 2015. Lonnie M. Ray  and Shelley H. Ray face the charges in U.S. District Court in Gulfport. The indictment, which was made public Thursday, shows both face charges of conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act, which makes it illegal to sell fish taken in violation of state laws and to cross state lines with those fish. Both face two counts each of Lacey Act violations. Lonnie Ray also faces a charge alleging he illegally possessed a short-barrel shotgun on June 17, 2015.Their trial is set on a court calendar that starts March 6.  Read the rest here 15:47

New website gives you the real deal on sea level rise and rates

New analysis and graphing tools for sea-level data at SeaLevel.info which now has interactive regression analysis (line/curve fitting) and visualization (graphing) tools available for mean sea level (MSL) measurements from over 1200 tide gauges, plus spreadsheets which combine various subsets of that data. This article is intended as a primer, for how to use these new tools. But first, a few notes: Note #1: This is a work in progress. I already have a large “to-do list,” but suggestions & corrections are nevertheless very welcome. Note #2: These tools are my free contribution to the community. There’s no charge to use them. Note #3: These tools are ideologically neutral. Read the review here, and visit the website 12:49

Using cod pots could be the way of the future for cod fishery

Phillip Meintzer thinks there might be a better way to fish for cod off the waters of Newfoundland and Labrador. The master’s graduate student in science from the Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Resources, Marine Institute of Memorial University, was guest speaker for the weekly Coastal Matters series at Grenfell Campus, Memorial University in Corner Brook Thursday. His presentation discussed promoting the conservation of Atlantic cod through the improvement and implementation of cod pots in the province. Here are five things to know about cod pots. Read the rest here 09:59

Letter: No apologies for my stand on the seal hunt, Capt. Wilfred Bartlett, retired

This letter is in response to Renee Gosse’s letter in The Telegram on Jan. 9 (“Let’s stick to the facts about the seal hunt”), stating that my previous letter on the seal hunt was inflammatory and emotional. For that, I do not apologize. This is an industry that I have been involved in all my life, a very important industry for Newfoundland and Labrador. The language I used could be used by a Sunday school teacher compared to the language used by the anti-sealing groups over the years, such as “barbarians”, “murderers”, etc. Gosse stated that there was a time when the seal hunt was an economically important industry in this province, and would still be; the trouble is, people like her have destroyed the markets worldwide and certain groups run campaigns of lies and deception. Read the letter here 09:33

Gloucester Lobsterman fined $10K for illegal landings in plea deal – Apology to ‘entire fleet’ delivered in courtroom

The Gloucester lobsterman accused of landing 183 illegal lobsters last November pleaded guilty to 20 of the counts, and was fined $10,000. All other charges against him were dismissed under a plea agreement announced Friday in Gloucester District Court. James A. Santapaola Jr., 40, of 16 Forest St., stood quietly before Judge Richard Mori, responding only with a “Yes, sir,” and “No, sir” when asked if he understood the impact of his guilty pleas and whether he had been coerced by anyone into making them. The pleas, fine and dismissals all came through joint recommendations negotiated by Santapaola’s lawyer, Liam O’Connell, assistant district attorney Aimee Conway, and Massachusetts Environmental Police, which had filed the charges at Capt. Joe & Sons Inc. on East Main Street last fall. While Santapaola did not speak, and left the courtroom without making any comment afterward, O’Connell read into the court record a letter in which his client said he was “humbled and humiliated” by the incident. Read the story and apology letter here 08:03

Oregon will defy joint fish management on the lower Columbia River

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission ripped a hole Friday in the 99-year-old fabric of concurrent fish management on the Columbia River. With a split 4-3 vote, commission members defied the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission’s attempt to negotiate the long-contested Columbia River Management Plan. The plan required a switch from gill-netting to selective commercial fishing on the mainstem below Bonneville Dam. It also gave priority allocation of mainstem salmon harvest to sport anglers. Friday’s vote, however, indefinitely extends gill-netting for fall chinook salmon from Sauvie Island to Bonneville Dam and for summer chinook in the entire lower river. Read the story here 07:28