Category Archives: National
Nautic Alert Gives Boat Owner Confidence During Hurricane Harvey
When hurricanes and severe storms strike, boaters often find themselves on-edge hoping they don’t receive the dreaded high-water alert, and hoping their float switches and pumps are up for the job and in working order. As Hurricane Harvey unleashed its fury onto Galveston, Texas, one owner of an Island Packet 485 with a Nautic Alert system on-board received notifications during the heaviest of storms that not only confirmed all was well, but enabled him to get insight into exactly what was occurring in his bilge. click here to read the story 15:21
National Hurricane Center – Hurricane Maria Public Advisory
At 1100 AM AST, the eye of Hurricane Maria was located near latitude 16.3 North, longitude 63.1 West. Maria is moving toward the west-northwest near 10 mph (17 km/h), and this general motion is expected to continue through Wednesday night. On the forecast track, the eye of Maria will move over the northeastern Caribbean Sea today, and then pass near or over the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on Wednesday. Maximum sustained winds are near 160 mph (260 km/h) with higher gusts. Maria is a potentially catastrophic category 5 hurricane click here to read the update 11:23
National Hurricane Center – Hurricane Jose Public Advisory
At 800 AM EDT, the center of Hurricane Jose was located by an Air Force Reserve hurricane hunter aircraft near latitude 36.3 North, longitude 71.6 West. Jose is moving toward the north near 9 mph (15 km/h). This general motion is expected to continue through today with a turn to the northeast anticipated tonight. On the forecast track, the center of Jose is forecast to pass well offshore of the Delmarva peninsula later today, pass well to the east of the New Jersey coast on Wednesday, and pass offshore of southeastern Massachusetts by Thursday. click here to read the update 08:12
Parasitic sea lice plagues global farmed salmon industry
A surge of parasitic sea lice is disrupting salmon farms around the world. The tiny lice attach themselves to salmon and feed on them, killing or rendering them unsuitable for dinner tables. The lice are actually tiny crustaceans that have infested salmon farms in the U.S., Canada, Scotland, Norway and Chile, major suppliers of the high-protein, heart-healthy fish. Scientists and fish farmers are working on new ways to control the pests, which Fish Farmer Magazine stated last year costs the global aquaculture industry about $1 billion annually. click here to read the story 20:26
Hang him! Hang him high!
OK, OK, I get it! Carlos Rafael, aka, “The Codfather,” has done some pretty reprehensible things while amassing what seemingly is the largest percentage of ownership of the US multispecies groundfish fleet. I am not going to try to defend his actions, or his reasoning, but I would like to point out that there is plenty of guilt to go around and some people should not be so quick to point their finger at him alone. What is it that they say about casting the first stone? Apparently, among his sins is his aforementioned ownership of the largest fleet of multi-species groundfish vessels, as well as some scallop vessels. While this may be true, let us ponder what enabled, abetted, and allowed him to gain such an advantage over everyone else. At this point, he wasn’t breaking the law, he was only taking advantage of it, and of those who most fervently wanted it! click here to read the op-ed 09:27
Zinke tells Trump – Shrink at least 4 national monuments and modify a half-dozen others
The secretary’s set of recommendations also would change the way all 10 targeted monuments are managed. It emphasizes the need to adjust the proclamations to address concerns of local officials or affected industries, saying the administration should permit “traditional uses” now restricted within the monuments’ boundaries, such as grazing, logging, coal mining and commercial fishing.,, The White House is reviewing the recommendations and has not reached a final decision on them. click here to read the story 08:58
Hurricane Jose Expected to Bring High Surf to the Eastern Seaboard in the Upcoming Week; Tropical Storm Conditions Possible
Jose, a Category 1 hurricane in the western Atlantic, will continue to produce dangerous high surf and rip currents as it moves parallel to the Eastern Seaboard in the upcoming week. Rain and tropical storm-force winds could also brush portions of the East Coast. Jose is currently located around 355 miles southeast of the Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and is moving north at near 10 mph. At this time, the majority of forecast guidance still shows Jose curling north, then northeast off of the U.S. East Coast. click here to read the story 13:09
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for September 15, 2017
Click here to read the Weekly Update, to read all the updates, Click here for older updates click here 08:04
Bi-Partisan Opposition: East Coast Republicans join Democrats to lobby Trump against Atlantic oil exploration
State and federal lawmakers from both parties have joined East Coast business interests to convince the Trump administration to halt its plan for fossil fuel development in the Atlantic Ocean. It’s a surprisingly diverse collection of power players: members of Congress, dozens of lawmakers from both red and blue states, nine attorneys general, six governors and thousands of business owners from Florida through the Carolinas and up to New Jersey. They hope that mix and their economic, not environmental, argument will sway President Donald Trump’s Interior Department as it nears a decision on testing that could open the door to oil and gas exploration, and eventually drilling, off the coast. click here to read the story 18:14
Trade groups want 10-year requirement removed from Magnuson-Stevens Act
As Congress gets ready to address reauthorizing the Magnuson-Stevens Act, representatives from commercial fishing interests are urging lawmakers to revisit some of the current law’s regulations they feel have hindered the industry. In particular, they’re urging officials to do away with language that caps rebuilding plans for overfished species to 10 years. It’s an arbitrary figure that has too rigidly applied across all federally managed species, said Lori Steele, the executive director of the West Coast Seafood Processors Association, at a hearing Tuesday of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation’s Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard. click here to read the story 10:50
The Magnuson Stevens Act and its Ten Year Rebuilding Timeline: Science or Fiction? By Meghan Lapp – click here to read the article
From Captain Jack Molan – Book Launch! We have lift off!
My book of short stories, “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up!” is available on Amazon, both paperback and E-Book (click here) This covers thirty years in the Bering Sea, the stories will grab you! Please share with your friends, in the new world of self publishing, its the best way to spread the word. After reading, please visit Amazon and leave a review. The reviews are really important and will get the book more exposure. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I did writing. Click here for a short video about how I came to write such a tail. 16:57
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 43′ Torres Tuna/Charter, Twin Detroit 6V71TA’s, Westerbeke-BTD-10 KW Generator
Specifications, information and 48 photos click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 13:51
Dongwon chairman had direct control in price fixing say lawsuits
Dongwon Enterprise chairman Jae-chul Kim, a legend in the tuna sector, directly controlled US subsidiary and tuna brand Starkist Co during the years of the alleged price-fixing conspiracy, a new wave of class-action lawsuits against the big players in the sector claim. Two lawsuits filed on Aug. 29 by retailers Moran Foods and Dollar General Corporation and a third filed on August 30 from Krasdale Foods are the latest to make allegations that the involvement in a price fixing conspiracy went right to the top at the South Korean firm, which owns US-based Starkist via its Dongwon Industries operation. click here to read the story 18:00
Florida, Georgia, South Carolina Reeling After Irma’s Historic Assault; Navy Dispatches Ships, Aircraft Carrier to the Keys
An aircraft carrier has been dispatched to the Florida Keys to help with relief efforts as Irma after its historic assault on Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, killing at least nine people. Five deaths have been attributed to the storm in Florida, including two deaths in Hardee County, one death Orange County, one in St. Johns County and one in Winter Park. Deaths were also reported in Georgia’s Worth and Forsyth counties and the Atlanta suburb of Sandy Springs. click here to read the story 09:59
Canadian power crews head to Irma-hit Florida to help restore service – Dozens of Canadian power crews are heading to Florida to help restore power to millions of people affected by Hurricane Irma. click here to read the story
Hearing! 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday – MSA Reauth – Oversight of Fisheries Management Successes and Challenges
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), chairman of the Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard, will convene the hearing titled “Reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act: Oversight of Fisheries Management Successes and Challenges” at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 12, 2017. The hearing is the third of the series and will focus on the perspectives of commercial, charter, and recreational fishermen on the state of our nation’s fishery laws. click here to read the press release This hearing will take place in Russell Senate Office Building, Room 253. Witness testimony, opening statements, and a live video of the hearing will be available on www.commerce.senate.gov. 23:24
Tropical Storm Irma Public Advisory – 1100 AM EDT
At 1100 AM EDT (1500 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Irma was located near latitude 30.3 North, longitude 83.1 West. Irma is moving toward the north-northwest near 17 mph (28 km/h), and this motion is expected to continue through Tuesday. On the forecast track, the center of Irma will move into southwestern Georgia later today, and move into eastern Alabama Tuesday morning. Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 65 mph (100 km/h) with higher gusts. Continued slow weakening is forecast, and Irma is likely to become a tropical depression on Tuesday. click here to read the update 11:10
Hurricane Irma blasts Florida: ‘Monster’ storm charges up coast after hitting Miami and Tampa
5.8 million without power as Hurricane Irma tracks coast – Storm kills at least four in Florida after 38 dead in Caribbean – 10,000 could have stayed in Keys to ride out hurricane – After Tampa, Irma heads to southern Georgia and South Carolina – Hurricane weakens to tropical storm, but surge threat remains – Stranded Britons told French planes can’t take ‘UK refugees’ – Richard Branson shares video of devastation on Necker island – Island by island: How Irma brought havoc to paradise click here to read the story, live updates.
God Bless America
Remembering 9/11: Quotes, inspiration, to remember Sept. 11 terrorist attacks click here to read the story 09:00
New National Marine Fisheries Service Chief Addresses Anglers’ Concerns
This past June, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross named Chris Oliver as assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries. His responsibility is overseeing the National Marine Fisheries Service. Oliver brings more direct fisheries-management experience to the role than some other recent appointees to head NMFS. The Texas native spent the past 27 years working with the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, first as a fisheries biologist, then deputy director and — for the past 16 years — as the council’s director. Despite his experience, Oliver’s direction on policy matters of importance to the nation’s recreational anglers and attendant industries have not been well known. It’s the purpose of this exclusive interview to change that and begin to establish an idea of what we might expect from the latest head of NMFS. click here to read the story 09:22
US Waives Jones Act to Secure Fuel for Hurricane Responders
The U.S. government on Friday said it was temporarily waiving a law that limits the availability of cargoes on the U.S. coasts, a step that will ensure enough fuel reaches emergency responders during Hurricane Irma and in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. The Jones Act mandates the use of U.S.-flagged vessels to transport merchandise between U.S. coasts. The Department of Homeland Security waived the requirement for one week. This will allow oil and gas operators to use often cheaper, tax-free, or more readily available foreign-flagged vessels. click here to read the story 10:03
Former NOAA Expert, High-Accuracy Hurricane Predictor Says “Natural Cycles” Major Driver
A former NOAA meteorologist and 40-year veteran of hurricane predictions believes Irma will continue to move move west toward Florida and reach near the southern tip of the Florida Peninsula around Sunday, September 11th, as a major category 4 hurricane. Both David Dilley of Global Weather Oscillations and the National Hurricane Center now believe Irma will make landfall near the southern tip of Florida, from near or just west of Miami to just west or near Jacksonville and then run up the coast into eastern Georgia. Dilley had predicted a harsh hurricane season already back in early February, long before most forecasters were ready to go public with their forecasts.So far his predictions for the current season have been impressively accurate. click here to read the story 10:20
Leaving death and destruction, Hurricane Irma’s storm path: What you should know
Hurricane Irma made landfall in the Caribbean on Wednesday with record winds and powerful waves. The Category 5 storm – the strongest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded north of the Caribbean and east of the Gulf of Mexico – passed over the island of Barbuda overnight. The National Hurricane Center has warned of a growing possibility the hurricane could slam Florida later this week – as Texas and Louisiana are still dealing with the devastating aftermath caused by Hurricane Harvey. Here’s what you should know about Hurricane Irma and its trajectory. click here to read the story Hurricane Irma has killed at least 10 people and injured 23 in French Caribbean island territories as the dangerous Category 5 storm roared over the Caribbean, France’s interior minister said Thursday. click here to read the story 07:23
National Hurricane Center – Hurricane Irma Public Advisory 0:500 click here
Tough time for West Coast tuna fishermen as Albacore catch dwindles along the coast
Ask any fishermen, processor, buyer and they will say the same thing: It’s been an abysmal season for albacore tuna. Commercial tuna fishermen are going out further and stay out longer. Recreational tuna charters have been warning customers of the spotty fishing and suggesting salmon trips instead. In past years the albacore fishing came easier, when fish were nearer to shore schooled in numbers, but neither has been the case for the 2017 season. “The fishermen are bringing in very little or no income for their families,” said Oregon Albacore Commission executive director Nancy Fitzpatrick. The slow fishing has meant freezer boats are staying out longer to find the fish and fill their hold, sometimes as long as a few weeks beyond what’s typical. click here to read the story 13:23
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 49’11” Dixon Marine Lobster/Scalloper, 6 Cylinder Lugger
Specifications, information and 29 photos click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 11:48
Gulf fishermen applaud seafood labeling law
A new regulatory program that will go into effect next year would require seafood to be labeled with its country of origin. Although some are worried about how the labeling might negatively affect the seafood industry as a whole, local fishermen and processors are seeing it as a boon. Opponents of the Seafood Import Monitoring Program, chief among them being the National Fisheries Institute that recently lost its lawsuit to stop the Jan. 1 implementation, say that the labeling for wild caught and farm-grown seafood could cost the industry millions of dollars. David Chauvin, owner of David Chauvin’s Seafood Co. in Dulac, said he believes the new regulations will help level the playing field for local fishermen and help the flagging seafood industry in the Gulf of Mexico. click here to read the story 13:15
Hurricane Irma a Growing Concern for the U S: Hurricane Warnings Issued For Leeward Islands, Hurricane Watch Hoisted in Puerto Rico
Hurricane Irma is a growing threat to the continental United States, with impacts possibly beginning in Florida later this week. Before that, Irma will bring dangerous conditions to the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, the Bahamas and Cuba. The center of Irma is located 560 miles east of the Leeward Islands and is moving west-southwestward at about 14 mph. Irma is a Category 3 hurricane and satellite imagery shows that it has become better organized in the past day with an eye now clearly evident. click here to read the story 13:44
As Irma intensifies, a disturbance churns in the Gulf of Mexico – click here to read the story Hurricane Irma Public Advisory– National Hurricane Center click here
Is There a Better Way to Farm Fish?
Aquaculture is a huge industry. In 2014, for the first time, more than half of all seafood consumed by humans came from fish farms, with salmon among the most farmed species. But aquaculture is also contentious — in large part because of the problems with existing open-net pens. Yet Jeremy Dunn, executive director of the BC Salmon Farmers Association, says the industry is already starting to move away from open-net pens. While Dunn says 90 per cent of new investment globally is in variations on the technology, leading salmon-farming countries such as Norway are investing in hitherto unfeasible technologies, such as land-based tanks and recirculating aquaculture systems. click here to read the story 10:54
Study links fish farms to spread of antibiotic resistance
New research that finds a possible link between fish farms and the spread of antibiotic resistance doesn’t surprise marine biologist Inka Milewski. “Anytime you have animals grown in very concentrated conditions in these intensive livestock operations, whether it’s pigs or chickens, or in this case, fish, you’re going to have the potential for disease problems,” Milewski said in an interview Sunday from her home in the Miramichi in New Brunswick. “The solution to a lot of these problems is to put antibiotics into the feed. And so it should come as no surprise to anyone that they have found antibiotic resistance associated with fish farms.” The study released last week by Jing Wang of Dalian University of Technology in China concluded that genes for antibiotic resistance are getting into ocean sediments through fish food. click here to read the story 09:49
Hurricane Irma Strengthens Into a Category 3; Potential Threat to the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, Bahamas and the United States
Hurricane Irma could pose a serious threat for many days to come and all interests from the Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico to the Bahamas and the U.S. East Coast should continue to monitor its progress very closely. The center of Irma is located 885 miles east of the Leeward Islands and is moving just south of due west at about 15 mph. On Sunday morning, Irma strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane. Uncertainty remains surrounding where Irma will track beyond five days due to the complex interaction of Irma with the upper-level weather pattern expected late this week in the western Atlantic and the eastern United States. click here to read the story click here to read National Hurricane Center Forecast Discussion14:59
President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Personnel to Key Administration Posts
President Donald J. Trump today announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key positions in his Administration. The list is here and there are two positions with NOAA, and Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, along with other nominations for various agencies. James Bridenstine of Oklahoma to be Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Mr. Bridenstine was elected in 2012 to represent Oklahoma’s First Congressional District. He serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the Science, Space and Technology Committee. Timothy Gallaudet of California to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere. Dr. Gallaudet is a Rear Admiral in the U.S. Navy whose most recent assignment was Oceanographer of the Navy and Commander of the Navy Meteorology and Oceanography Command. click here to read the list 10:35
