Daily Archives: September 10, 2024
Hurricane Francine bears down on Louisiana: Here’s when and where to expect landfall
Hurricane Francine is bearing down on Louisiana with an expected landfall Wednesday afternoon packing winds of up to 100 mph as a potential Category 2 hurricane. Landfall impact remains likely at or near Vermilion Bay, but Louisiana State Climatologist Jay Grymes said Francine’s track is shifting slightly to the east, which places the state Capitol of Baton Rouge in peril on the eastern side of the storm. “The real action begins Wednesday morning with tropical storm winds before landfall mid-afternoon or evening,” Grymes said during Tuesday’s news conference with Gov. Jeff Landry. “The forecast is for a storm surge of 6-10 feet in Vermilion Bay, but the track has moved ever so slightly east so now Baton Rouge is under the gun. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:20
9 linked to illegal catfish operation in Kentucky, Alabama
The Kentucky Fish and Wildlife has charged nine people with 180 charges related to their alleged involvement in an illegal catfish operation. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife said an investigation earlier this year found thousands of pounds of catfish were harvested from Barren River Lake on 71 separate occasions. The lake is closed to commercial fishing. The illegally harvested fish were then sold to a Glasgow pay lake, according to the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife investigation. Officials said the owner of the pay lake knowingly purchased the fish. The individuals selling the fish were not licensed commercial fishermen, and the pay lake did not document any of their transactions as required by law, KYFW said. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:46
Norbert Cunningham: Coast Guard can stop poaching
Lobster is a lucrative fishery in Maine and New Brunswick, and it’s past time for the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) to step in an act decisively against American poachers. They can begin with sending in Coast Guard ships to drive intruders out while also initiating another attempt at a better resolution with U.S. authorities. The tensions aren’t new, nor is this the first such flare-up in our waters, but it may be one of the worst and have the most potential for lethal violence. Canadian fishers are seeing evidence and hearing the latest incursions are the work of organized crime, not just fishers straying a bit over unmarked and disputed lines on water. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:08
Celebrate wild sockeye salmon — the harvest that powers Bristol Bay’s economy and feeds the world
It’s the time of year again when children have returned to school and seemingly endless daylight gives way to shorter days and cooler nights. In the Bristol Bay region of Alaska, it is viewed less as the end of another summer, and more as the end of another salmon season. Many weeks of hard work harvesting and preserving tens of millions of salmon to feed our families, communities and the rest of the world has come to an end. I can’t think of a better time to pause and celebrate Bristol Bay’s wild salmon. We celebrate the incredible journey every single salmon makes; traveling thousands of miles in its life to return to its birthplace and complete the cycle of life. Over the week of Sept. 9, a diverse coalition of commercial fishermen, business leaders, lodge owners, Alaska Native people and others, all from the Bristol Bay region, is bringing this celebration to the nation’s capital. more, >>CLICK TO READ<<10:15
Craving seafood? Check out Westport’s Fresh Catch
The signs are everywhere as you drive into town, everything from oyster farms to fishing vessels offering up the ocean’s bounty with handmade, roadside advertisements. Westport on Washington’s coast is the place to find a fresh catch. So, the 9th largest commercial seaport in the nation went to work to put some of their bounty directly into the hands of visitors, one fish at a time. Westport’s Fresh Catch is a program that uses its website and a huge dockside sign to show visitors what’s in season – and exactly where to find it when they come to town. For example, craving fresh caught tuna? The sign will guide you to what month it’s generally available (July, August, September and October) and then to the fishing vessel Jetstream on float number 7. This is where Richard Toal sells tuna that he just caught, right off his boat. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:25
Federal Fisheries minister ignored DFO advice by reopening commercial cod fishery
Federal Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier ignored the advice of staff within her department when she reopened the commercial cod fishery off Newfoundland and Labrador last June. A briefing note dated May 9 reveals that Fisheries and Oceans Canada recommended maintaining the long-time moratorium on northern cod based on scientific evidence, but that political advisors within the minister’s office argued reopening the commercial fishery and hiking quotas would be “politically a victory.” Senior policy advisor Paul Carrigan wrote that DFO staff were concerned about an increase to quotas and the return of offshore boats in the fishery, which would “increase the stocks’ risk of decline.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:47
