Daily Archives: October 15, 2016
The 106th Rescue Wing: Pararescueman from ‘The Perfect Storm’ will speak in Westhampton October 22
In one of the dramatic scenes in the movie The Perfect Storm, a rescue helicopter appears, hovering in the wind and rain over the 80-foot seas—possibly the largest seas ever off the Northeastern shore—so its occupants can attempt a daring rescue of two women and a man aboard a 30-foot sailboat that has foundered down below. There are five men aboard this helicopter—Lt. Colonel Graham Buschor, it’s co-pilot, Lt. Colonel David Ruvola, the other co-Pilot, Jim Mioli, the flight engineer, and two pararescuemen, John Spillane and Rick Smith. Over the foundering ship, Spillane and Smith fearlessly leap out of the chopper carrying 110- pound packs on their backs, splash into the water and proceed to put the three victims into baskets that have been lowered by cable. Then, above the rolling, violent seas, the victims are choppered over a nearby Coast Guard ship and lowered down to safety. Of course, this story is not over. The chopper returns and with the same rescue method, cables up the pararescuemen. But now the chopper is running low on fuel. An attempt is made to conduct a mid-air refueling with a propeller driven Hercules four-engine refueling plane that comes over. But the wind is so high, the effort fails. They try again and again to link up, but in the end, the helicopter goes down into the ocean. And though four of the five men onboard are rescued from these enormous seas by the Coast Guard cutter, the fifth man is lost, never to be seen again. Of course, there are other dramatic activities going on in this monster storm—indeed, the main plot of The Perfect Storm is of the men aboard the Andrea Gail fishing boat, out of Gloucester, Massachusetts, who are also never seen again. Read the story here 18:15
PHOTOS: Lobster season Dumping Day in Digby
Lobster boats loaded with traps and gear steamed out of Digby Harbour for the 8:45 a.m start of the annual lobster fishing season in the western end of LFA 35 on Friday, Oct. 14. Harbour manager Ed Chisholm estimated nearly 75 lobster boats left the harbour for the Bay of Fundy with several dropping the first few strings in the Basin before heading out through Digby Gut. “This morning’s departure went smoothly considering the large number of boats leaving the wharf,” Chisholm said. “Most fishermen have been here before so know what they are dealing with.” Digby is the last wet port as you head up the Bay of Fundy and fishermen from other parts of LFA 35 make use of Digby port during the lobster season for that reason Chisholm said. Photo gallery, read the rest here 15:36
Shellfish harvested from RI waters test negative for toxins
While Rhode Island’s shellfishing industry is still on hold as toxin levels in area waters remain high, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management reported Friday that shellfish meat tested negative for toxic phytoplankton. “Every time we have found toxicity in the water column, we’ve never found it in the shellfish,” Angelo Liberti of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management told NBC 10 News. A harmful algae bloom forced a precautionary closure of Narragansett Bay, Mt. Hope Bay, Kickemuit River, Sakonnet River, as well as their tributaries, on Oct. 6 and Oct. 7. Authorities hope that the shellfishing industry will be fully operational again soon. That’s good news for shellfishermen, who have been out of work since the closure was enacted. If the remaining shellfish samples come back negative, they could be back in business as soon as next week. Read the story here 15:05
F/V Cornelia Marie will not be featured on “Deadliest Catch” Season 13
From Josh Harris – Thank you to all for your patience. I had a family matter to attend to, so I have had to leave the boat to come home and take care of a few things. First and foremost, we want to thank everybody for all of your messages and wishes. The Cornelia Marie captains and crew really appreciate and are humbled by your outpouring of support. I am here today to set things straight in regards to the filming of Season 13 of Deadliest Catch. The Cornelia Marie and her crew are making their way out to the fishing grounds today. We do not have a camera crew aboard this king crab season. This was not our decision, and it was not made by the owners nor the captains of the Cornelia. This was not a dispute over money, this was simply a decision made by production Discovery. They have creative control over pretty much everything that airs on Deadliest Catch, and we respect that. We are fishermen and we will be doing what we love to do this king crab season, but we will be doing it alone. Video, Read the rest here 12:41
Salmon advocate and biologist Alexandra Morton Sues DFO for Allegedly Failing to Protect Wild Salmon
Salmon advocate and biologist Alexandra Morton is suing the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, alleging the DFO is putting wild salmon at risk by failing to inspect hatchery fish for a known virus prior to transferring them to fish farms. Morton’s lawsuit charges the department with breaking fisheries regulations that say the minister can only issue a licence allowing fish farmers to transfer fish if they “do not have any disease or disease agent that may be harmful to the protection and conservation of fish.” Regulations also require the minister to ensure the transfer won’t have an “adverse effect” on other fish stocks. Morton won a similar legal case in 2015, after suing the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Marine Harvest for transferring Atlantic salmon infected with piscine reovirus into its ocean feedlot operations. The virus is associated with Heart and Skeletal Muscle Inflammation (HSMI), a contagious and often fatal disease that has hit Norwegian and Chilean fish farms. Read the rest here 11:12
OPINION: Tidal power from Fundy — Separating fact from fiction, Graham Daborn Emeritus Professor at Acadia University
There have been a number of statements in the media over the last few months about the testing of
in Minas Passage. Regrettably, inaccurate and exaggerated claims have led to a good deal of public apprehension and confusion. It only takes a few seconds to make an inaccurate or ridiculous statement. Explaining why a statement is untrue or ridiculous, unfortunately, takes rather more time or space. The following addresses a few of these issues. Claim 1: That the turbines to be installed at FORCE will “chop whales into sushi for seabirds to eat.” In response to a question during a CBC interview (on The Current, June 15), a spokesperson for the Bay of Fundy Inshore Fisherman’s Association said: “This is not a suggestion; it is a fact.”,,, The only way to determine that is to install a turbine with monitoring equipment in place to establish the animals’ responses. At present, there is absolutely no evidence that mammals would be at risk of death or injury from the turbines to be tested in Minas Passage, although they may end up having to forage elsewhere. Read the op-ed here, and keep up the fight! 10:55
Letter confirms FFAW boss Keith Sullivan is out of touch, by Ryan Cleary
I wish to respond to Keith Sullivan’s Oct. 8th letter to the editor, “Cleary would divide, not conquer,” by agreeing with his statement that I’m “no Richard Cashin.” But then, I have no desire to be. It’s ironic that Sullivan should bring up Cashin. Prior to a mid-September public meeting in Corner Brook to gauge interest in a new union specifically for fish harvesters, I was pulled aside by Stella Mailman, a senior from Port aux Choix, who still fishes with her husband. (Because she “has to.”) Stella told me how she went around decades ago with Cashin and the late Father Des McGrath, signing up fishermen on the Great Northern Peninsula for the union when it got off the ground. Stella said she was compelled to attend the Corner Brook meeting to see “history repeat itself,” because, as so many agree, it’s “time for change.” Stella later took to an open microphone and raised her fist in defiance of the union Cashin created. As watershed moments go, that was a doozy. Read the rest here 09:55
Is the Norfolk Canyon the next Atlantic National Marine Sanctuary?
For more than a year, the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center has been developing a case for making the canyon part of the sanctuary system. It has company. The National Aquarium in Baltimore and the New York Aquarium are working on nominations for ocean canyons off their states as well. “These are incredibly special places, amazing places,” said , the Virginia Aquarium’s director of research and conservation. The Atlantic canyons, of which there are more than 50, large and small, are “biological hot spots,” he said. They’re havens, feeding grounds, nurseries for thousands of species of creatures, from worms burrowing in the deepest sediments to whales breaching on the choppy surface. Swingle is leading the push for the Norfolk Canyon, the southernmost of the big ones. He said the Beach City Council will be asked soon to adopt a resolution of support, after which a nomination will be filed before year’s end with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Read the rest here 08:27
