Daily Archives: October 19, 2017
Barry Myers is Trump’s nominee to head NOAA – Why Does This Guy Make Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz Nervous?
Hawaii relies heavily on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — in some ways, for its very safety. NOAA, which oversees the National Weather Service, is the agency that helps predict and anticipate hurricanes, tsunamis and dangerous floods, issuing warnings that help people prepare or get out of the way. But in this case, it’s President Donald Trump’s nominee to run the agency, a business executive from Pennsylvania, who is causing a political storm. Barry Myers, chief executive officer of AccuWeather, a private weather and data services company based in State College, Pennyslvania, has been named by Trump to serve as U.S. Commerce Department Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, a job traditionally held by biologists and climate scientists. This position is usually also called the Administrator of NOAA. click here to read the story 22:44
DFO raid facility, seize 3 tonnes of lobster as part of probe into unlicenced fishing
Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has intercepted 3 metric tonnes of Nova Scotia lobsters on Monday, shortly before they were reportedly scheduled to be shipped to Asia. The DFO only released the information after Global News attempted to confirm information they’d received from other sources. “An investigation is currently underway into the sale of fish not harvested under a commercial licence,” said a DFO representative. click here to read the story 19:08
Coast Guard medevacs 62-year-old man from vessel near Point Piedras
The Coast Guard medevaced a 62-year-old man from the fishing vessel Pamela Rose approximately eight nautical miles north of Point Piedras, Thursday morning. At approximately midnight, a good Samaritan contacted Coast Guard Sector San Francisco watchstanders reporting that the 54-foot fishing vessel Pamela Rose’s mast broke, which injured two crew members leaving one crew member unresponsive, and without a pulse. Watchstanders dispatched an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter,, crew hoisted the man into the helicopter and transported him to Paso Robles Municipal Airport. Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach watchstanders dispatched a 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew from Coast Guard Station Morro Bay to tow the fishing vessel Pamela Rose into Morro Bay Harbor. The medevaced man was last reported to be in stable condition. click for video -USCG-
Fishing captain’s wallet went down with his ship, but was recovered by a trawler 4 years later
Four years ago, Capt. John Allen Baker lost his ship — and his wallet — to the bottom of the North Atlantic. It was Dec. 22, 2013, when the fisherman from Canso, N.S., realized that the Gentle Lady wasn’t going to make it. Its load of sea cucumbers had shifted too quickly, causing the ship to lean over and water to pour onto the deck. Baker and his three crew members darted for a life-raft and watched the ship go down about 130 kilometres off the coast of Sable Island. The Gentle Lady is still lost to the sea, but thanks to another trawler, Baker’s wallet has risen from the depths. click here to read the story 15:01
Fishing Industry, NEFSC Team Up for Gulf of Maine Longline Study
The Cooperative Gulf of Maine (GOM) Bottom Longline Survey is now underway for the fourth consecutive year. Two Massachusetts commercial longline fishing vessels and staff from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s (NEFSC) Cooperative Research Branch will be working in the Gulf of Maine over the next three weeks. They began staging October 5 on the 50-foot F/V Mary Elizabeth from Scituate and 40-foot F/V Tenacious II, which departed from Sesuit Harbor in East Dennis October 10 for the first of several two-to-four day trips. click here to read the story 14:28
Stormwater pollution in Puget Sound streams killing coho before they can spawn
The sweet seep of autumn rain is bringing coho salmon back home to their natal streams all over the Puget Sound basin — where too often they encounter a bitter truth: pollution in a shocking 40 percent of their home range so bad it can inflict a swift death. The culprit is stormwater, and it is causing death rates so high, some populations of wild coho are at risk of local extinction, researchers found.The stormwater problem has long bedeviled the region. click here to read the story 13:14
A Northwest tribal sovereignty battle, centered on culverts – click here to read the story
Thousands fewer inshore harvesters than FFAW-Unifor claimed; FISH-NL receives union support from across Canada
The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) is pleased with the Labour Relations Board’s release of what officials describe as an “accurate and reliable” list of the province’s inshore harvesters. “It’s been almost 10 months since FISH-NL submitted our application for certification so a list of inshore harvesters from the board is a huge and welcome step forward,” says Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL. Obtained from various “sources,” the labour board’s list includes the names of 6,371 inshore harvesters — almost 4,000 fewer than the 10,200 active, dues-paying members that the FFAW-Unifor has claimed to represent. click here to read the press release 11:06
FFAW Statement Regarding FISH-NL and Labour Relations Board – click here to read the statement
Newfoundland and Labrador – What did we get for giving up MPRs under CETA?
The Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is the trade deal Canada just signed with the European Union, and the signature for Canada was Justin Trudeau. Minimum processing requirements (MPRs) reflect an established right of a province to impose minimum processing requirements for fish landed at our ports. In the past, exemptions have been approved for the export of unprocessed fish when the market required it and/or when processing was not viable. No other province in Atlantic Canada had used MPRs for fish over the past number of years, except Newfoundland and Labrador. click here to read the op-ed by Keith Hutchings10:10
It was just a normal day…then a bomb rolled out of my catch
The skipper of a fishing trawler which brought a bomb into Sutton Harbour has told of the moment he found the device. Jordan Kay, 32, said Thursday morning was just another normal day for him and the crew of the Admiral Blake. They arrived back into Sutton Harbour at about 7am with the day’s catch, before releasing it two hours later. It was only then they discovered the device – thought to be a Second World War relic. Video, click here to read the story 09:21
Reunion for trawler survivor as search moves from rescue to recovery
Ruben McDornan, so far the only survivor from a sunken trawler with seven on board, has had an emotional reunion with his wife and mother at Gladstone Airport, after being plucked from the rough seas by a passing yacht on Tuesday morning. Police have conceded it would be “a miracle” to find any of the other six missing fishermen alive, with the search and rescue moving towards a “recovery” operation on Thursday. “Our thoughts are with the boys missing at the moment because they’re all like family,” Ms McDornan said through tears. click here to read the story 08:54
Vessels Seized – Feds stake claim on 4 of Carlos Rafael’s boats
The government staked its claim to four of Carlos Rafael’s vessels on Wednesday. U.S. Marshals and agents from the Coast Guard Investigative Service boarded the Lady Patricia by Leonard’s Wharf, Olivia & Rafaela and the Southern Crusader II beyond Homer’s Wharf around noon. The fourth vessel, the Bull Dog, was seized at another port. The U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday the seized vessels will brought to an “undisclosed location.” For more than an hour after arriving, agents allowed anyone with personal property on the vessels to remove it. click here to read the story 08:25
