Daily Archives: August 31, 2017
Coast Guard capture images of daily operations in support of Hurricane Harvey
A recently rescued Texas resident overlooks the tarmac of Coast Guard Air Station Houston, Aug. 27, 2017. The Coast Guard partners with local Emergency Operations Centers and established an Incident Command Post to manage search and rescue operations. click here for more images 16:46
Fishing Vessel Owner Convicted for Oil and Garbage Offenses Off American Samoa
A fishing vessel company that operated in and around American Samoa was convicted and sentenced today for maintaining false and incomplete records relating to the discharge of oil and garbage, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood of the Environment and Natural Resources Division and United States Attorney Channing D. Phillips. The company, Yuh Fa Fishery (Vanuatu) Co. Ltd., owned the Fishing Vessel (“F/V”) Yuh Fa No. 201, the vessel that was responsible for the pollution. click here to read the story 16:13
Lobstermen plagued by low catch, low prices
As the shedder, or soft shell, season winds down with higher value hard shell lobsters on the horizon, local lobstermen are hoping to turn what has so far been a dismal season around. Lobsters are in hiding, or so it seems to lobstermen. “I’d say we’ve caught about half the lobsters [than in recent years],” Stonington lobsterman Tony Bray said of the 2017 season. The Stonington Lobster Co-op, which buys a large proportion of the local catch, reported a 25 to 30 percent drop in volume over last year. “The lobsters are out there, so this is not likely reflective of a resource decline,” said Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries scientist Carla Guenther, who follows Department of Marine Resources data monitoring. “It may be reflective of a habitat shift as to where the lobsters are, and a behavior shift as a reaction to the colder water.” click here to read the story 15:16
The Legacy of the N.H.-Maine Lobster War and Why It May Wage On
“That’s the line we’d use. We probably used it a century or so, between the New Hampshire and fishermen.” That’s Jack Newick, a lifelong lobsterman from Dover. Newick says in the old days, if you were out at sea, all you had to do was imagine a straight line connecting the lighthouses– and that was the border. They called it the “lights on range.” Newick, the New Hampshire lobsterman, remembers how it started. “For some reason, one particular Maine fisherman, he was a mean, ornery son-of-a-gun and he called the state of Maine down to establish a line.”Maine game wardens responding to the call found a New Hampshire lobsterman named Ed Heaphy with lobsters in his boat that were illegal in Maine. But Heaphy, using the “lights on range” said he wasn’t in Maine, he was in New Hampshire. The wardens disagreed. Things escalated. Ed Heaphy’s shipmate, Brockie, had a loaded pistol. Audio report, read the story here 14:26
As Texas recovers from hurricane, Harvey moves north as tropical depression
Hurricane Harvey was downgraded to a tropical depression as it moved through Louisiana and Mississippi on Thursday. Now that much of Harvey has moved northeast of Texas, officials throughout the state are beginning to quantify just how destructive the storm, which has led to at least 38 deaths, has been. More than 32,000 people remained in shelters statewide, including nearly 19,000 in the Houston area. With the opening of Houston’s NRG Center to evacuees, another 30,000 beds are available, Gov. Greg Abbott said. He added that 210,000 people have registered with FEMA for emergency assistance. click here to read the story 13:14
“It Just Consumed Me”
Normally, not something you want a shark scientist to say. But Eric Stroud is talking about his chemistry-lab quest for the ultimate shark repellent, which he appears to have found. The questions that remain: Does it work on the great white, the ocean’s most fearsome predator? And can a couple of rookie entrepreneurs get it to market? There’s a house in Mossel Bay, South Africa, high on a hill overlooking the Indian Ocean, five hours east of Cape Town, where shark nerds from around the world come to live each year. I arrived this past June, after a long day on a small boat watching great whites chasing roped tuna heads. click here to read the story 12:00
Bristol County Sheriff’s Dept. captain charged with smuggling in Rafael case
A captain with the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office was arrested and charged late Wednesday in connection with helping Carlos Rafael, the owner of one of the largest commercial fishing businesses in the U.S., smuggle the profits of his illegal overfishing scheme to Portugal, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. James Melo, 45, of Dartmouth, was charged with one count each of bulk cash smuggling, structuring and conspiracy. He was released on a $10,000 unsecured bond following his appearance in federal court in Boston late this afternoon, authorities said in a news release. click here to read the story 10:37
Lobster Being Stolen in Large Numbers From Commercial Traps
Some South Florida lobster fishermen say they’re suffering what they call an “organized and orchestrated effort” to steal their valuable lobsters. “It’s an epidemic,” said Mike Henry, who owns Bleaufish and catches lobsters exclusively for Fountainbleau Miami Beach. He says he’s seen substantial losses since the beginning of lobster season in early August. “These are not recreational divers taking our lobsters, but commercial divers systematically taking the lobster traps,” he said. video, click here to read the story 09:03
