Daily Archives: September 15, 2016
Marine monument designation of Canyons & Seamounts: Gov. Baker says it undermines Mass. fishermen
“The Baker-Polito Administration is deeply disappointed by the federal government’s unilateral decision to undermine the Commonwealth’s commercial and recreational fishermen with this designation,” Baker spokesman Brendan Moss said in an email. “The Commonwealth is committed to working with members of the fishing industry and environmental stakeholders through existing management programs to utilize the best science available in order to continue our advocacy for the responsible protection of our state’s fishing industry while ensuring the preservation of important ecological areas. The Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s Association condemned the declaration, accusing the president of abusing his power and “indiscriminately” drawing a border “without taking into account the complexity of the marine ecosystem and domestic fishing fleet.” Read the story here 19:02
Wonder why your progressive friends are loony? Read this! Humans Are Overfishing the Oceans Into ‘Unprecedented’ Mass Extinction
People are driving marine ecosystems to “unprecedented” mass extinction, according to a new study published Wednesday in the journal Science. Large-bodied animals will be the first to go, the study says—blue whales, great white sharks, and bluefin tuna, for example. Their size is part of their vulnerability, making them more susceptible to fishing and hunting by humans, “the dominant threat to modern marine fauna,” the researchers found. “If this pattern goes unchecked, the future oceans would lack many of the largest species in today’s oceans,” co-author Jonathan Payne, associate professor and chair of geological sciences at Stanford University, told the Guardian. “Many large species play critical roles in ecosystems and so their extinctions could lead to ecological cascades that would influence the structure and function of future ecosystems beyond the simple fact of losing those species.” Read the rest here 16:43
Debate: Is Sea Shepherd a Navy? How do we define a navy?
A lively Twitter conversation between Center for International Maritime Security (CIMSEC) members Chris Rawley, Claude Berube, and Ryan Mewett regarding the nature of a Navy, specifically whether or not the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society’s (SSCS) fleet constitutes such a force, inspired the following debate. Rawley and Berube have taken the affirmative position while Mewett has taken the negative position. A rarely asked but fundamental question is: how do we define a navy? The answer might appear to be self-evident. Merriam-Webster defines a navy as: the part of a country’s military forces that fights at sea; a group of ships; a nation’s ships of war and logistic support; and the complete naval establishment of a nation including yards, stations, ships, and personnel. But are these criteria accurate or sufficient in the twentieth century? The authors assert that under a more appropriate definition, the maritime arm of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is a navy. How does Sea Shepherd meet those criteria? Read the story here 14:44
Maritime lobster boom: Fancy pickups, a boat shortage and a nice situation for the industry right now!
The industry across the Maritimes moved into high gear last year, and has gained momentum since. Amid growing demand for the tasty crustaceans, fishermen have been hauling in record catches that are commanding the highest prices in more than a decade. Aside from $65,000 trucks, the fishermen are also buying new boats — if they can. “The order books are full and many yards are booked for a couple of years out,” says Tim Edwards, executive director of the Nova Scotia Boatbuilders Association. “They’re busier than they’ve been in at least 10 years, maybe 12.” Part of the reason why boatbuilders can’t keep up is a growing demand for longer, wider, more complex boats, typically worth between $500,000 and $750,000. The latest generation of vessels include so-called live wells designed to carry lobster in freshly circulated seawater. The tanks keep the lobsters healthy, which means they’re worth more at the dock. Read the story here 12:48
NTSB Assesses U.S. Coast Guard’s Vessel Traffic Service System
A safety study released Tuesday by the National Transportation Safety Board details 14 conclusions and 21 recommendations aimed at further reducing the risk of collisions, allisions, and groundings involving vessels operating within U.S. Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Service areas. The study, “An Assessment of the Effectiveness of the U.S. Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Service System” (NTSB/SS-16/01), focused on the performance of the Coast Guard’s VTS system, currently comprised of 12 VTS centers. The need for the study was driven by the investigation of six major commercial vessel accidents since the Coast Guard’s 2009 implementation of its “Vessel Traffic Service National Standard Operating Procedures Manual.” Information provided by the Coast Guard indicates collisions, allisions and groundings within VTS areas between 2010 and 2014 resulted in two fatalities, 179 injuries and more than $69 million in damage to vessels, facilities, infrastructure and the environment. Read the story here 11:07
Fishermen, you are not included. The its “Our Ocean Conference” starts today
The State Department holds the “Our Ocean Conference” today, where the President will announce the closure of cantons and seamounts off of the coast of New England. I went to the Our Oceans website, which you can access by clicking here. You can read the agenda by clicking here. There is also a live stream that you can watch by clicking here. You can read the bio’s of keynote speaker by clicking here. Many will be familiar to you, and after reviewing the material, I can assure you this is their ocean, not yours. 09:58
Hollywood Elitist Leonardo DiCaprio and Hollywood Elitist Oceana spy on fishing industry with “Global Fishing Watch”
Thinking of poaching a protected reef? Big Data is watching you, with a little help from the “Wolf of Wall Street” and an ocean watchdog. And the new satellite-driven system already has snagged one commercial fishing company to the tune of $2 million. Academy award winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio is expected to announce Thursday the official launch of Oceana’s new free online interactive tool, called Global Fishing Watch, which last year helped nab a Marshall Islands-flagged vessel fishing illegally in a protected area. Now, anyone can go on www.globalfishingwatch.org to police the seas. Oceana hopes the new tool will help fishery managers to stop illegal fishing. Users can generate authorization lists to see who’s allowed to fish in certain areas. Nations can ensure only authorized vessels enter their Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), generally 200 nautical miles from a country’s coastline. Read the story here 09:05
Newport lobsterman opposes plan for marine national monument
Newport lobster fisherman William Palombo is quite familiar with the territory designated for the new monument. Palombo issued his own press release Wednesday night, asserting that the inclusion of the three Atlantic Ocean canyons in the monument area will affect “100 percent” of the revenues of Palombo’s fishing vessel, the Freedom. Palombo argues that there is no immediate threat to the underwater environments. The canyon areas have been fished for more than 40 years with no damage, and lobstermen have no intention of fishing at depths deeper than 600 meters “because lobster does not reside at these … depths,” according to Palombo. “Despite the claims of proponents: the Conservation Law Foundation; the Natural Resources Defense Council; Oceana and the Pew Foundation, there are no imminent threats to the habitat and coral in these areas that require expedient action by your Administration,” says Palombo in a letter to Obama. “There are no active proposals for oil, gas, or mineral exploration, nor could there be such activity without years of environmental impact assessment and permitting review.” Read the story here 08:23
Well, he did it, but we knew he would. Obama just destroyed more fishermen and supporting businesses
President Obama will designate a section of the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Cod on Thursday as a national monument, banning commercial fishing in the area by 2023 in an effort to protect the region’s ecosystem. The move, which the president will formally announce at the Third Annual Our Ocean Conference in Washington, won praise Wednesday from environmental groups but drew condemnation from the fishing industry. White House officials emphasized the reduced size of the area of the national monument as a balance between between conservation and creating a “sustainable environment for the fishing industry going forward.” Read the story here, and here . more will be added. 07:45
