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November 15th, 2009 – At Sea, 08 44N, 056 27W
by Herb McCormick
In yesterday’s crew log, we vowed this weekend to address several open-ended items, stories we’ve been more or less tracking during the progress of our voyage. Today, in the second of two parts, we continue to march down that promised trail. First, we’ll again kick things off with a note from the captain on the present, cool, refreshing state of affairs aboard the good ship Ocean Watch:
Seeking Cayenne, and Not the Pepper by Skipper Mark Schrader
“Some sailing days certainly seem longer than others but when I look back through the ship’s log it is apparent a whole bunch of them have fallen off the calendar.
This is the 168th day of the voyage. We’ve covered 11,945 nautical miles since leaving Seattle on the 31st of May. Packed into those days are stops in 21 communities, towns or cities with short but interesting anchorages along the way in another dozen or so harbors.
And, we’re not yet halfway through the voyage by distance or by time – close, but not there yet. We’ll celebrate those milestones in Rio and Punta del Este, respectively.
“With no change in the wind direction and none expected for the next several days we’re heading for Cayenne, French Guiana, for a quick fuel stop. If the environment in Cayenne seems interesting and welcoming we’ll probably stay a day or so and do some exploring. None of us have ever been to French Guiana so this will be a new experience for all of us. With just over 350 nautical miles to go it looks like Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning for our estimated time of arrival.
“The outside air temperature has been stuck on 82° ever since leaving St. Lucia with the cabin temperature moving through the very narrow 91° to 93° range. It doesn’t seem to matter if it is day or night – the temperature has stayed as stable as the barometric pressure, 1010 to 1011 mb.
“This area isn’t devoid of wildlife. A great dolphin show entertained most of the crew a couple of days ago. Birds occasionally do a fly by to check us out – more likely they are hoping we’ll cause a school of flying fish to show themselves so they can have an easy meal. And, we’re fishing – or at least trying to fish. So far I’m quite certain we’re the first circumnavigation of the Americas to practice a 100% catch and release policy. Two were released yesterday (one on purpose) and another was released this morning (spontaneously). I’d be happy with a 90% catch and release policy, so we’re eating the next one.”
More on this last item in a moment.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium “Seafood Watch”
A long time from now (well, next May), in a place far, far away (well, California), if all goes according to schedule the crew of Ocean Watch will pay a visit to the renowned Monterey Bay Aquarium. We can’t wait! We were reminded of that fact during our recent tour of the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, where we picked up a wallet-sized Southeast Sustainable Seafood Guide that the college had reprinted as part of the Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program.
What is the Seafood Watch? The pamphlet explains:
“Worldwide, the demand for seafood is increasing, yet many populations of the large fish we enjoy eating are overfished, and in the U.S., we import 80 percent of our seafood to meet the demand. Destructive fishing and fish-farming practices only add to the problem. By purchasing fish caught or farmed using environmentally friendly practices, you’re supporting healthy, abundant oceans.
“Our recommendations are researched by Monterey Bay Aquarium scientists. For more information about your favorite seafoods visit www.seafoodwatch.org. Pocket guides (for different regions) are updated twice yearly. Get current information on our website or by adding our free app to your iPhone.”
The lists of fish are broken down into three categories: Best Choices (abundant, well-managed and caught or farmed in environmentally friendly ways); Good Alternatives (an option, but there are concerns with how they’re caught or farmed – or with the health of their habitat due to other human impacts); and Avoid (fish that are caught or farmed in ways that harm other marine life or the environment). Also, some fish are further categorized because there are concerns about mercury or other contaminants (see www.edf.org/seafood for more information) or because they’re certified as sustainable to the Marine Stewardship Council standard (visit www.msc.org for more).
We have to admit, it makes for highly interesting, if somewhat troubling, reading, and we urge you to keep up on this important issue.
Just as an aside, we’ve been trolling for fish on this leg of the journey with, well, miserable results. Resident fishermen Rick Fleischman and Dave Logan have ever so briefly hooked several mahi mahi (Good Alternatives) but so far all they have to show for their efforts are several lost lures. Nevertheless, for the record, it must be stated: The crew of Ocean Watch is doing everything possible to ensure the safety of fish from human consumption just about everywhere they go!
Good (and Bad) News from Above the Arctic Circle
Our voyage through the Northwest Passage has given us a special appreciation for the waters above the Arctic Circle, and our collective ears perk up when we hear news from the far north. We’ll start off with some positive developments.
According to a story from the Associated Press, in August, the nation’s secretary of commerce approved a plan “to prohibit an expansion of commercial fishing in the Arctic, at least until more is known about the area. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke (has) approved the Arctic Fishery Management Plan, which was prompted by changes in the Arctic that have come with global warming and the loss of sea ice.
“Locke said the goal now is to come up with a sustainable fishing plan that will not harm the overall health of the fragile Arctic ecosystem. ‘As Arctic sea ice recedes due to climate change, there is increasing interest in commercial fishing in Arctic waters,’ Locke said. ‘This plan takes a precautionary approach to any development of commercial fishing in an area where there has been none in the past.’ (It also prohibits) industrial fishing in nearly 200,000 square miles of U.S. waters in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas until researchers can gather sufficient information on fish and the Arctic marine environment. It identifies Arctic cod, saffron cod and snow crab as species that likely would be targeted by commercial fishermen.
“The plan (governs) all commercial fishing for all stocks of finfish and shellfish in federal waters in Arctic waters off Alaska, except Pacific salmon and Pacific halibut because they are managed under other authorities. It (does) not affect fisheries for salmon, whitefish and shellfish in Alaskan waters near the Arctic coastline (or) Arctic subsistence fishing or hunting.
“Locke said the North Pacific Fishery Management Council and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Service will establish procedures before approving any future fisheries.”
In October, however, a mere two months later, there was more fishery news from the great north, this time regarding king salmon on the Yukon River, and the message was decidedly less upbeat.
“Just a few years ago, king salmon played an outsize role in villages along the Yukon River,” reported Stefan Milkowski from Marshall, Alaska, in a piece for the Anchorage Daily News. “Fishing provided meaningful income, fed families throughout the year, and kept alive long-held traditions of Yup’ik Eskimos and Athabascan Indians.
“But this year, a total ban on commercial fishing for king salmon on the river in Alaska has strained poor communities and stripped the prized Yukon fish off menus in the lower 48 states. Unprecedented restrictions on subsistence fishing have left freezers and smokehouses half-full and hastened a shift away from a tradition of spending summers at fish camps along the river.
“The cause of the weak runs, which began several years ago, remains unclear. But managers of the small king salmon fishery suspect changes in ocean conditions are mostly to blame, and they warn that it may be years before the salmon return to the Yukon River in large numbers.
“While most salmon populations in the lower 48 states have been in trouble for decades, thanks to dam-building and other habitat disruptions, populations in Alaska have generally remained healthy. The state supplies about 40 percent of the world’s wild salmon, and the Marine Stewardship Council has certified Alaska’s salmon fisheries as sustainable. (In the global market, sales of farmed salmon surpassed those of wild salmon in the late 1990s.)
“For decades, runs of king, or Chinook, salmon – the largest and most valuable of Alaska’s five salmon species – were generally strong and dependable on the Yukon River. But the run crashed in the late 1990s, and the annual migrations upriver have varied widely since then. ‘You can’t depend on it any more,’ said Steve Hayes, who manages the fishery for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
“Officials with that department and the federal Fish and Wildlife Service, which jointly manage the fishery, say variations in ocean conditions related to climate change or natural cycles are probably the main cause of the weak salmon runs. Certain runs of Chinook salmon in California and Oregon have been weak as well in recent years, with ocean conditions also suspected.
“In Alaska, fishermen also blame the Bering Sea pollock fishing fleet, which scoops up tens of thousands of king salmon each year as accidental by-catch. The first hard cap on salmon by-catch is supposed to take effect in 2011, but the cap is not tough enough to satisfy Yukon River fishermen.
“The Yukon River fishery accounts for a small fraction of the state’s commercial salmon harvest. But the fish themselves are considered among the best in the world, prized for the extraordinary amount of fat they put on before migrating from the Bering Sea to spawning grounds in Alaska and Canada, a voyage of 2,000 miles in some cases.
“Most commercial fishing is done on the Yukon River delta, where mountains disappear and the river branches into fingers on its way to the sea. Kwik’Pak Fisheries, in Emmonak, population 794, is one of the few industrial facilities in the region. For decades, almost all commercially caught king salmon were sold to buyers in Japan. But in 2004, Kwik’Pak began marketing the fish domestically, and for a few years fish-lovers in the lower 48 could find Yukon River kings at upscale restaurants and stores.
“This year, Kwik’Pak sent just six king salmon to a single buyer in Seattle, and only a trickle of other kings made it to market. Most of those fish were caught incidentally during an opening for fall chum salmon.”
We’ll repeat that statistic, in italics, for special emphasis: Six king salmon to a single buyer in Seattle. And we’ll again urge you: Log on to www.seafoodwatch.org.
Breaking News! Canadian Teen Rescued on Arctic Ice
Zeta Strickland of the Pacific Science Center served as our onboard educator during our travels through the Northwest Passage, and like us, she was deeply moved by the experience. Zeta forwarded the following story to us via email just a couple of days ago. Again from the AP, with a dateline from Coral Harbor, Nunavut (on an island at the mouth of Hudson Bay), and under the “Canadian teen…” headline above, the story begins, “Battling hypothermia, a 17-year-old hunter stranded on a floating chunk of ice shot and killed a polar bear while trapped for more than a day before being rescued (early last week) in the Canadian Arctic.”
In summation: Teenager and 67-year-old uncle go polar bear hunting. Their snowmobile dies. They start hiking to the nearest community, but get separated. Uncle is picked up. Nephew is stranded on an ice pan with three polar bears, an adult and two cubs. The adult charges, and in the interests of self-defense, not to mention preservation, the armed teen fires and kills the bear. The cubs remain with the carcass and no more shots are fired. A couple of day’s later, search-and-rescue aircraft spot the bears, then the teenager, and he’s rescued shortly thereafter.
This is certainly a harrowing story (though thankfully with a happy ending) and we don’t mean to make light of it. But we’re currently working in a 90-plus-degree cabin, bound for French Guiana, where, you know, Papillon served some time.
For heaven’s sake: Papillon!
So it certainly speaks to our immediate prospects, not to mention our increasingly fragile state of mind, when we can honestly say that being trapped on an ice floe surrounded by polar bears somewhere in the Arctic doesn’t sound half bad at all.
- Herb McCormick with photographs by David Thoreson
This crew log submitted by Iridium OpenPort and Stratos
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