Daily Archives: April 16, 2016
Brad Hunter: Modern day hunter-gatherer
Is Brad Hunter a paleo man? Well, almost. Between 15,000 and 7,000 B.C., paleo people were migratory, following their food sources. They ate animals that they hunted or fished as well as nuts, berries and vegetables that they gathered. Not until the development of agriculture were people able to stay in one place without risking starvation. Today, Brad hunts fish for animal protein and gathers seeds and cuttings to grow food on his farm. (early days) During these youthful travels, Brad visited a surfing friend in New Jersey. While there, he was offered a lucrative job with a commercial fishing fleet out of Barnegat Light, just north of Atlantic City. He stayed with the company for 10 years, doing longline fishing 200 miles off shore in the Gulf Stream. Read the rest here 18:18
State Department enters trade dispute over Maine lobsters
The U.S. State Department is adding its muscle to help resolve an impending trade dispute between exporters of live Maine lobsters and the European Union. Responding to a letter from Maine’s congressional delegation, officials in the Obama administration have committed the State Department to address the trade threat. In March, Sweden announced it was attempting to ban live North American lobsters from the 28-country EU, citing concerns that some of them have been found in European waters and are an “invasive species” that threatens Europe’s native lobster species. “The State Department is on our side,” Sen. Angus King said Friday evening, “and I think they’re going to be aggressive.” Read the rest here 11:27
Cape Cod seals return in masses on video: Great whites and fishermen woes follow
Before 1972 you were lucky to see a single seal in the waters or on the beaches of the Cape. Then when the Marine Mammal Protection Act went into effect, the hunting abruptly stopped and they were able to grow in number and that brings it up to the masses of seals being spotted today! They inhabited the beaches in masses until they were almost hunted to extinction along the Cape’s waters decades ago. Now that they are a protected species, their numbers are up, too far up for some folks who live and work on the Cape and surrounding areas. The fishermen who utilize these waters for their livelihood say that the seals are eating all the fish. The seals do eat a lot of fish. An 800-pound male seal “could consume up to six percent of his body weight each day. That’s 50 pounds of fish, including valuable species like cod and flounder.” With the seal population numbering in the thousands, you don’t have to do the math to see these summer residents are competition for the fishermen. Video, read the story here 10:56
Retired Key West fisherman gets year for defrauding BP oil spill program
A retired Key West commercial fisherman who swindled $30,000 from the BP relief program set up after the 2010 oil spill will spend one year and one day in prison for fraud. Raul Rioseco, 73, was sentenced Tuesday at in Key West by Judge Jose Martinez, after taking a plea deal last month in which he admitted to one count of mail fraud. Rioseco, who has been retired since about 2004, was also ordered by the court to make reimbursement of $144,606. But federal prosecutors say he and his daughter combined raided nearly $500,000 from BP for purported income losses in Key West, which didn’t get a drop of oil from the April 20, 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. His daughter, Caridad Rioseco Alejandrez, awaits sentencing July 11 before Martinez in Key West, after prosecutors say she filed some 600 claims after the BP oil spill. Read the rest here 10:34
P.E.I. to offer boat building course to unemployed, underemployed workers
P.E.I.’s provincial government is part of a push to help unemployed people find work in boat building — and provide workers for the boat building industry, through a 13-week training program. The province has teamed up with the Central Development Corporation, Island boat building businesses, and the Nova Scotia Boat Builders Association to offer a Fundamentals of Fibreglass Lamination. Economic Development and Tourism Minister Heath MacDonald said after discussions with the industry, it was clear that there was a real need for additional workers, due to the high demand for fibreglass boats. The program will be offered to unemployed, underemployed, and young people on P.E.I. It has space for 15 participants. The deadline to apply is April 24. Link 10:19
Hawaiian leaders urge President Barack Obama to expand marine conservation area
A group of Native Hawaiian leaders have urged President Barack Obama to expand what’s already one of the largest marine conservation areas in the world. But the president of the Hawaii Longline Association said Friday the lobbying effort is using Hawaiian culture as an excuse to close off more waters to fishermen. Papahanaumokuakea (pah-pah-HAH-now-moh-cuh-ah-cay-ah) Marine National Monument is a 140,000-square-mile area of the Pacific where remote islands, atolls, islets and coral reefs serve as habitat for some of the world’s most endangered species. The region is also a sacred place in the history, culture and cosmology of Native Hawaiians. Read the rest here 09:47
Video: Coast Guard Rescues 3 From Sinking Fishing Vessel Near Grays Harbor, Wash.
A Coast Guard boat crew rescued three fishermen after their vessel took on water and sank less than one mile outside of Grays Harbor Friday. The Coast Guard said a crew from Coast Guard Station Grays Harbor transported the fishermen to shore, where emergency medical services personnel evaluated one of them for a reported heart condition. The crew of the 74-foot fishing vessel Privateer called Station Grays Harbor watchstanders via VHF radio channel 16 at 2:26 p.m., stating they were taking on water through an 8-to-12-inch hole, deploying their life raft and donning immersion suits preparing to abandon ship, the Coast Guard said. Read the post here Watch video here 08:45
Mayday on the Carolina Queen III
The seven fishermen aboard the Carolina Queen III, a 76-foot scalloping boat that set out from Norfolk, Va., had been at sea for four days when the skies darkened off the coast of the Rockaways. A powerful storm system that had already lashed the East Coast, bringing tornadoes, thunder, lightning, high winds and heavy rains, was barreling down on them. Homes had been flattened, vehicles had been tossed like Tinkertoys and trees had been ripped from their roots. At least seven people had died. The crew knew they were in for nasty weather, but they were scallopers. Weather comes with the job. Read the story here 07:52
