Daily Archives: May 23, 2016
Fishing town blasts EU for foreign boats fishing in British waters then selling fish back to the residents.
Appledore, a town in north-west Devon, has claimed there are no British boats left in the harbour, blaming EU fishing quotas. It is a sharp decline from “about 80 to 100 boats” in 2002, says Tony Rutherford, chief executive of North Devon Fisherman’s Association. The Hannah Marie marked the end of an era of British ships sailing the costal waters, after she was sold five weeks ago bound for Denmark. Mr Rutherford, owner of Bideford Fisheries which since 1979 has bought fish from fishermen to sell to wholesalers claims most of the boats are now Belgium. Read the rest here 16:00
Operation Black Glass – Spain to Asia network of Chinese elver smugglers busted
EVERY operation undertaken by the Guardia Civil is given a special name and when the Nature arm, Seprona, started an investigation into the illegal export of Angulas (elvers or juvenile eels) it was inventively name Black Glass. Commencing in October 2015, officers became aware that large volumes of these elvers were being illegally obtained by Chinese traders, and smuggled out of Spain to Asia using false documents. Over a period of time and with the active assistance of Europol, various addresses near to the Madrid Barajas Airport were kept under surveillance and raids in various parts of the country netted 700 kilos of illegal elvers with an estimated value of €1 million. Having identified those responsible, 20 people, mainly of Chinese nationality, but including three Spaniards were arrested and the operation has been dismantled, although a further nine suspects are being hunted. Read the rest here 13:54
‘Aquatic cocaine’: Fish bladders are latest Mexican smuggling commodity
One hundred twenty-one fish swim bladders lay before Garcia Pereda on the concrete floor, most of them white, some with shades of pink. The smell of fish guts was overwhelming, a stench Garcia Pereda never grew accustomed to, even as he went from bust after bust of the illegal smuggling. This was a huge haul of “aquatic cocaine”: 39 kilos of totoaba fish swim bladders, with a Hong Kong street value of $750,000. Not quite as big as a recent bust, thought Garcia Pereda, where they’d stopped 600 bladders from getting across the U.S.-Mexico border, flowing eventually to China. The fishermen – Jorge Garcia sat on the back of his truck, selling fish filets and shrimp to tourists wandering the boardwalk in San Felipe. He looked out at the water, disgusted that his two boats are not doing what Garcia was raised to do: fish big game like totoaba. “We’re being punished,” he said. “Young fishermen from out of town are coming in, fishing illegally in the water, making tons of money.” Read the story here 11:04
Will North Carolina give up even more sovereignty to the National Marine Fisheries Service?
Next week (June 1) will be a significant day if you are concerned about Federal control of our lives. There will be a meeting of an “advisory group” in New Bern to consider whether or not the state should sign a “Joint Law Enforcement Agreement” to impose greater Federal control over the regulation of fishing within the state’s waters. Note the last part…within the state’s waters. Click here to read the announcement. Most people, even including fishermen, will not be in New Bern on June 1. The decision of whether to recommend to give this power to the National Marine Fisheries Service will be made by a small group of people who serve on this panel representing various special interest groups who have a stake in fishing regulations. As always, the dominant special interests are recreational fishing interests vs. commercial fishing interests. Read the rest here 10:03
Ocean Signal presents new M100 and M100X Maritime Survivor Locating Device with AIS
The M100 and M100X Maritime Survivor Locating Device (MSLD) with Automatic Identification System (AIS) and 121.5MHz homing beacon. Designed for the professional marine market and suitable for all offshore and lone workers, the rugged man overboard devices are designed to unobtrusively attach to immersion suits and inflatable life jackets ready for automatic activation on inflation of the jacket or on submersion when fitted to the suit. Available in two versions, the M100X is designed to meet the European ATEX directive and the IECEx approval for use in Zone 2 explosive atmospheres and is ideal for use in environments such as oil rigs, offshore platforms or other hazardous areas. The M100 device is suitable for all other commercial use, such as wind farm users, off shore workers, fishing fleets and fish farm workers, and helicopter transfers. Read the rest here 08:29
