Posts Tagged ‘NOAA’
Coast Guard responds to sunken tug boat
NEW ORLEANS -The Coast Guard is working with state and local officials to investigate and clean up a light oil sheen that discharged from the tug boat, Miss Janice, that sank on the Mississippi River Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008.
Staying Safe in the Winter Waters
by Petty Officer 3rd Class Ayla Kelley
The deck was slippery with ice as the freezing rain pelted down. The captain was passing his position over the radio as his crew was zipping up their wet suits. The water pump in the engine room had broken and the ship was taking on water; fast. The crews best hope for survival 15 miles offshore was to climb into the life raft and wait for rescue crews to arrive.
Coast Guard warns offshore mariners of severe weather
BOSTON - The Coast Guard is warning offshore mariners today of severe weather conditions about 60 miles southeast of Cape Cod, Mass.
The National Weather Service is predicting 50-knot winds and seas of 22-foot tonight.
Coast Guard shore units are issuing safety broadcasts via VHF-FM radio. A Falcon jet crew from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod, Mass., broadcasted the information to mariners out of range of the land-based broadcasts this morning.
The Coast Guard recommends that mariners take necessary preparations to stay safe during the storm.
Currently there are 40-knot winds and 11-16 foot seas.
“Our main concern is to ensure offshore mariners have current weather information,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Gerald Welton, a watchstander for First District Command Center in Boston. “We strongly encourage mariners to closely moniter NOAA’s weather broadcasts.”
Coast Guard to host town meeting on bluefin tuna
ATLANTIC BEACH, N.C. - The Coast Guard will host a bluefin tuna informational town meeting at the Morehead City Civic Center Wednesday, Oct. 22, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Coast Guard Continues Blue Whale Overflight Operations
SAN PEDRO, Calif — The Coast Guard continues their support to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in conducting overflights to monitor the locations of blue whales in the Santa Barbara Channel and surrounding area. Additionally, information on whale sightings is being passed to vessel agents to increase industry awareness.
Large whales, including blue whales, humpback whales and fin whales, have recently been sighted in the Santa Barbara Channel and traffic separation scheme between Point Conception and Point Dume. The Coast Guard is working closely with NOAA concerning measures to help protect against future blue whale strikes. The following is a list of the measures that Coast Guard, in conjunction with NOAA, has taken:
- The Coast Guard issues a Broadcast Notice to Mariners during every regular scheduled Marine information Broadcast on VHF and HF radio. This Notice to Mariners advises mariners transiting through the channel and in and out of Los Angeles and Long Beach Harbors to exercise caution. The Broadcast Notice to Mariners includes NOAA’s recommendation that all vessel operators transiting the Santa Barbara Channel do so at speeds not in excess of 10 knots.
- Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) continues to issue warnings to commercial vessels planning to transit through the Santa Barbara Channel of the potential for blue whales.
- Air Station Los Angeles continues to support the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in conducting overflights to monitor the locations of blue whales.
- NOAA is using its National Weather Service marine radio program to broadcast the Coast Guard’s Broadcast Notice to Mariners with NOAA’s recommendation that all vessel operators transiting the Santa Barbara Channel do so at speeds not in excess of 10 knots.
- The Coast Guard is continuing to work with NOAA to monitor this situation and assist NOAA in the adoption of other measures as necessary.
Collisions with whales or sightings of injured whales should be reported to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at (562) 980-4017. Boaters can contact the U.S. Coast Guard on Channel 16.
For more information on U.S. Coast Guard living marine resource protection please visit:
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-o/g-opl/LMR/LMR.htm
For more information on Blue Whales from NOAA, please visit http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/cetaceans/bluewhale.htm
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.
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.