5 minute read
News Briefs
WORLD NEWS news briefs
By Jordan B. Darling
LOCAL Dana Point Starts Holiday Season Nov. 17
DANA POINT— The Dana Point Harbor Partners will start the holiday season on Nov. 17 by kicking off the annual harbor light display. Over 700,000 lights will illuminate the harbor with themed light displays for onlookers. On Nov. 19, Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching will add Holiday Light Cruises on select nights throughout the holiday season. Holiday onlookers can take a 60-minute boat ride around the harbor while enjoying holiday music and light displays. On Dec. 4 and 5, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Santa and his helpers will be making 20-minute harbor cruises. The Santa Harbor Cruise is $5 per person, and proceeds will benefit the Soroptimist of Capistrano Bay, a volunteer service organization looking to improve the lives of women and girls throughout local communities and the world. Reservations to see Santa or participate in the Holiday Light Cruises can be found at the Dana Sportfishing and Wharf Whale Watching website at https:// danawharf.com/.
The United States Coast Guard Honors Captain and Crew for Rescuing 25 Migrants Adrift at Sea
SAN DIEGO— At the San Diego Port Tenants Association 32nd Anniversary Dinner, the captain and crew of the sportfishing vessel, the New Lo-an, were honored by the United States Coast Guard for coming to the rescue of 25 migrants adrift at sea. On Oct. 22, the San Diego-based commercial sportfishing boat, the New Lo-an, was out for bluefin tuna fishing when Captain Markus Medak spotted 25 people adrift on a panga boat intended for two to four people. Medak and his crew placed a distress call for help and tossed the small boat a line and basic provisions while they waited for help. The panga had been adrift for three days without food, water, or life jackets. The USCG responded to the rescue with a C-27 aircraft and the cutter Tern. USCG Captain Tim Barelli, sector commander for the San Diego sector, presented a Certificate of Appreciation from the Commandant of the USCG to Medak at the dinner. “We are grateful we were in the right place at the right time with the right experience to be able to help,” Medak said in a press release from SDPTA. “Sportfishing is our livelihood, and our passion teaches us all respect for the ocean. We appreciate the U. S. Coast Guard for this recognition and for the work they do to keep us all safe in the ocean.”
STATE/NATIONWIDE/ INTERNATIONAL CDFW Announces Completion of New Nimbus Hatchery Fish Passage Project
GOLD RIVER— The Bureau of Reclamation and California Department of Fish and Wildlife celebrated the completion of the new Nimbus Hatchery Fish Passage Project on Nov. 2. The project was over a decade in the making and created a new fish ladder that has been designed to improve hatchery operations and has relocated the entrance upstream to open up additional in-river spawning and rearing habitat for salmon and steelhead. The ladder also has underwater viewing windows and an outdoor gathering space for visitors. “Not only will this new and improved fish ladder greatly improve our hatchery operations and efficiencies at Nimbus, we’ve moved the ladder entrance to lessen the disturbance for those salmon and steelhead spawning naturally in the river,” said CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonham in a Nov. 2 press release. “We’re proud to be part of a project that simultaneously benefits both our hatchery operations and wild-spawned fish and improves the visitor experience along the river and ladder for our Sacramento-area constituents who love to tour this facility, even though it has been closed recently due to COVID-19.”
California State Parks and California Coastal Commission Collect Expired Marine Flares
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA— Alameda and East Contra Costa County recreational boaters can participate in a free expired marine flare collection event on Nov. 14. There will be two separate locations on Nov. 14, one for Alameda County from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; this event will require a reservation which can be made at the Stop Waste website https://bit.ly/3GQpCsU. The second event is from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. for East Contra Costa County recreational boaters, which is open, and boaters just need to come during the allotted time. The event is open to recreational boaters from Alameda and East Contra Costa (Antioch, Bay Point, Bethel Island, Brentwood, Byron, Discovery Bay, Knightsen, Oakley, and Pittsburg) Counties. Boaters participating in the event will receive discounted USCGapproved eVDSD for day and night, by Sirius Signal, and a free CA Boaters Kit while supplies last. For general disposal of expired marine flares information, please contact the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (800-7286942) or your local Certified Unified Program Agency for assistance.
European Citizen’s Initiative Pushes to Stop the Shark Finning Trade in the EU
EUROPE— A European Citizen’s Initiative is circulating a petition to end the shark fin trade in the European Union, which includes the import, export, and transit of fins that are not naturally attached to the animal’s body. Although removal of fins on board EU vessels and in EU waters is prohibited, the EU is one of the biggest exporters of fins and is a major transit hub for the global fin trade. The petition put forward by Stop Finning- Stop the Trade, a citizen’s initiative, is looking toward ending that shark fin trade in the EU and extending the “Fins Naturally Attached” regulation to include the export, import, and transit of sharks and rays. The petition began circulating in March 2020 and will continue to collect signatures until Jan. 31, 2022.
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