Coast Guard Assisting NOAA in Releasing 103 Sea Turtles

MIAMI - Coast Guard Station Fort Pierce, Fla., is scheduled to assist the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration by transporting 103 Loggerhead sea turtles back to sea about 16 miles east of Fort Pierce, Monday.

NOAA scientists chose to release the turtles farther out to sea in the Gulf Stream so they have a better chance of survival. Larger, older turtles will be released by NOAA from shore near Sebastian Inlet, Fla.

NOAA fisheries scientists studied the turtles during routine annual research June 16-27, on the effectiveness of turtle excluder devices (TEDs). A TED is a special component installed in a shrimp trawl that enables sea turtles to escape from shrimpers’ nets while minimizing the loss of shrimp. TEDs were made a mandatory item on offshore shrimping boats in 1989.

“Coast Guard Station Fort Pierce has an exceptional working relationship with NOAA and we’re happy to be able to assist them in any way possible, especially when it comes to protecting an endangered species,” said Chief Warrant Officer Todd Kagarise, the commanding officer of Station Fort Pierce.

Suit Filed to Force Coast Guard to Protect Whales From California Coast Ship Strikes

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, (E-wire Press Release) - Today the Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit seeking to force the U.S. Coast Guard to comply with the Endangered Species Act and protect endangered whales from ship traffic off the California coast. Last year, collisions with ships killed at least three endangered blue whales off southern California, yet the Coast Guard maintains that it need not address endangered species when setting shipping lanes and otherwise regulating ship traffic headed into U.S. ports.

The California coast provides vital feeding and migratory areas for numerous endangered whale species, including blue, humpback, sperm, and sei whales, all of which are protected under the Endangered Species Act. Unfortunately, these whales also travel through some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, including those leading to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Every year, commercial vessels racing to port strike and kill whales.

“Even a creature as gigantic as the blue whale doesn’t stand a chance against a speeding container ship that’s longer than a couple of football fields and weighs thousands of tons. We’re lucky to share our coastal waters with these amazing creatures. We need to make sure that we’re respecting their home and not mowing them down with our imported goods,” said Andrea Treece, staff attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity.

The U.S. Coast Guard regulates ship traffic in U.S. waters. Under the Endangered Species Act, the Coast Guard must consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service, the agency directly responsible for protecting endangered whales, to ensure that the Coast Guard regulates ship traffic in a way that protects these species. However, the Coast Guard has not taken this basic step. The Center’s lawsuit aims to force the Coast Guard to analyze how ship traffic harms endangered whales species and take steps to prevent such harm.

The unprecedented number of blue whales killed by ships off California last fall is unsustainable. The blue whale is the largest animal known to have ever lived on earth. Once numbering over 300,000, the global blue whale population has been reduced by commercial whaling to likely fewer than 10,000 individuals. Blue whales off California are part of a population comprised of about 1,200 animals; scientists estimate that more than one human-caused death each year will impede the recovery of the California population.

“Ship strikes are one of the leading causes of death for large whales all over the globe, and it’s a significant threat for endangered whales trying to survive off the coast of California. The Coast Guard has the ability – and the responsibility – to protect these magnificent species by instituting mandatory speed limits, moving shipping lanes and installing monitoring buoys that alert ships to the presence of whales,” said Treece. “Assessing the effects of ship traffic on endangered whales is the critical first step toward ensuring their survival and recovery.”

The National Marine Fisheries Service has proposed speed limits for ships on the East Coast to protect the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. Last year the Center petitioned the agency to institute similar speed limits off California to protect blue whales.

Coast Guard helps NOAA investigate dead whale found off Cape Cod

BOSTON - The Coast Guard is assisting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in investigating a whale carcass discovered Tuesday morning 140 miles east of Cape Cod, Mass.

At the request of NOAA officials, the Coast Guard Cutter Dependable, a 210-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Cape May, N.J., was directed to the location. The cutter launched two small boat crews who collected skin samples and samples of some gear entangled in the carcass.

The Dependable will turn the collected material over to NOAA, which will continue the investigation. The carcass was initially sighted by a NOAA aerial marine mammal survey crew.

“The U.S. Coast Guard plays an important role in the national effort to protect and recover populations of rare whales, especially those found in our region,” said Teri Frady, communications chief for NOAAs whale recovery programs in the Northeast.

Fisheries Law Enforcement Overview

A look at the Coast Guard’s role in enforcing maritime law and protecting living marine resources, including a look at what happens during a boarding.

Coast Guard Seizes 1,300 Pounds of Tilefish

NEW ORLEANS - Coast Guard crews, in conjunction with officers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Law Enforcement and the National Marine Fisheries Service seized 1,300 pounds of Tilefish in the Gulf of Mexico, May 12, 2008.

At approximately 4 p.m., May 12, 2008, a boarding team from the Coast Guard Cutter Bonito intercepted and boarded the fishing vessel Miss Haley II approximately 70 miles south of Destin, Fla. Boarding team members found the crew of the Miss Haley II was in possession of 1,300 pounds of Tilefish, which were caught out of season. The Tilefish season ended May 10.

The 1,300 pounds of seized Tilefish was sold at a fair market price of $2,600.

All proceeds from the sale will be held in escrow until the case has been thoroughly investigated and adjudicated.

NOAA Fisheries Service Office of Law Enforcement agents will be conducting an investigation in coordination with the U.S. Coast Guard.

Coast Guard Helps Track Entangled Whale Off Oahu

HONOLULU - Coast Guard crews assisted members of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration track an entangled whale calf Friday 28 miles southwest of Oahu.

The master of a fishing vessel initially spotted the entangled whale calf and called the Coast Guard at approximately 12:30 p.m.

A rescue helicopter crew from Air Station Barbers Point was first on scene and provided aerial support.

Crewmembers aboard the Coast Guard cutter Ahi transported a NOAA team to the location of the entangled whale calf about 2:45 p.m.

The NOAA team attached a satellite-tracking buoy to the debris the whale calf was tangled in and plans to free the whale from the debris Saturday.

“We accomplished what we set out to do today thanks to the help of the Coast Guard cutter Ahi crew,” said David Schofield, a NOAA Fisheries Pacific Island Region Marine Mammal Response Coordinator.

The Ahi is an 87-foot patrol boat homeported here.

Violations Up With Opening of Red Snapper Seaon in Florida

Mobile Ala. - Coast Guard Sector Mobile has issued multiple fishing violations for recreational anglers illegally in possession of Red Snapper in federal waters since the opening of the fishery in Florida state waters on April 15.

The Coast Guard would like to remind all recreational anglers that the Florida recreational Red Snapper season is open from April 15 - October 31 only in Florida state waters (those waters extending from the coastline out to 9 miles).

The federal Red Snapper season is currently closed. Red Snapper may not be possessed while a vessel is in federal waters, regardless of where the fish were caught, during a closed season. The federal season is open from June 1 - August 5 for those waters extending from 9 miles to 200 miles offshore. This difference in seasons creates the potential for the illegal possession of Red Snapper in federal waters.

Anglers enjoying the open seaon in Florida waters are reminded that Red Snapper must be 16 inches in total length. Bag limits are two per angler, excluding charter captain and crew.
Starting on June 1st, 2008, each vessel engaged in reef fishing will be required to possess onboard and use a venting tool, a de-hooker, and non-corrosive circle hooks.

Steadfast returns home after 52-day patrol

Steadfast returns home after 52-day patrol
ASTORIA, Ore. - The United States Coast Guard Cutter Steadfast (WMEC 623) returned to her homeport of Astoria, Ore., on Thursday from a successful 52-day deployment. The 210′ cutter and its 75-person crew conducted Living Marine Resource enforcement off the Washington and Oregon coast.

During the patrol, Steadfast conducted at-sea boardings of 30 commercial fishing vessels, enforcing the Commercial Fishing Industry Vessel Safety Act and federal law. Steadfast also assisted in the enforcement of state fisheries regulations. The unit worked in concert with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Marine Fisheries System (NMFS), the Oregon State Police, and Washington Fish and Wildlife. Steadfast issued 29 citations and terminated the voyage of one vessel due to exceptionally unsafe conditions.

The patrol included daily joint operations with helicopters from Coast Guard Air Stations North Bend, Ore, Astoria, Ore, and Port Angeles, Wash. The helicopters assisted Steadfast with locating fishing fleets and enhanced maritime domain awareness efforts in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Following the Alaska Rover rescue in early April by other Coast Guard units, the cutter also conducted training with helicopters to ensure crews from both the aircraft and cutter remained fully prepared for emergencies and search and rescue cases.

Steadfast is a Reliance Class cutter, one of 14 in the Coast Guard fleet and one of only three based on the West Coast. It was commissioned in 1968 and has been home ported in Astoria since January 1994. The cutter earned the nickname “El Tiburon Blanco,” or “White Shark” from drug smugglers while based in St. Petersburg, Fla., for its notoriously effective law enforcement operations in the Caribbean. It was the first cutter to be awarded the gold marijuana leaf, indicating one million pounds of marijuana seized.

Steadfast will be dockside in Astoria preparing for a summer patrol and a change of command in June. Public tours are available on Sundays, 17th St Pier, Astoria.