Parks Canada Tuesday, Mar 22 2011

Recently, I worked with Parks Canada to promote their speaker’s bureau and work that they are doing. Several members of Parks Canada were in New Orleans last week to attend the George Wright Society biennial conference.

 

 

 

 

While we weren’t able to garner as much publicity as we would have liked, one of the speakers bureau members – Denyse Lajeunesse – spoke at Tom Sherry’s Conservation Biology class in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Tulane University about Canada’s parks, bio-diversity and species at risk.  (They have a Dr. Darwin there even!!)

 

 

I learned a lot I didn’t know about Canada’s parks including that camping is on the decline, in part, because many new Canadians come from backgrounds where living in tents may have been part of an unhappy experience, rather than the fun experience it was for me as a child. We used to camp across the country when younger, and then set up a tent in my parents backyard for fun.

I also learned a lot about species at risk, and the success Canada is having rebuilding populations of endangered animals.

There was also a Parks Canada booth set-up to provide information about the work that is being done.

2011 is the 100th anniversary of Parks Canada. So there was also cake presented by the President of the George Wright Society board. Parks Canada is the oldest national park service in the world!! Go team Canada!!

The CEO of Parks Canada and the US National Parks Service spoke at a plenary on the future of parks. Both spoke about some amazingly innovative programs that are taking place across both countries to draw attention to both the wildlife aspects of parks and historic sites (which fall under the purview of parks). In New Orleans for example, Jean Lafitte park includes the Wildlife Preserve in Lafitte, the French Quarter and the Chalmette Battlefield, site of the Battle of New Orleans in 1815, where for some reason the US thinks it won  the War of 1812.

I also took Parks Canada folks on tours of the areas hardest hit by Katrina. They were able to see firsthand some of the devastation that continues here, as well as the impact of environmental degradation in Bayou Bienvenue.

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Red Shrimp and Oil scare Friday, Nov 26 2010

On Wednesday NOAA – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association - closed a section  of the Gulf of Mexico to royal red shrimping due to tar balls being found in the net of a shrimper. My favourite part of the press release from the Joint Information Center was the opening sentence “out of an abundance of caution”.

The press release reads: today, out of an abundance of caution, NOAA has closed 4,213 square miles of Gulf of Mexico federal waters off Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama to royal red shrimping. The precautionary measure was taken after a commercial shrimper, having hauled in his catch of the deep water shrimp, discovered tar balls in his net.

Fishing for royal red shrimp is conducted by pulling fishing nets across the bottom of the ocean floor. The tar balls found in the catch may have been entrained in the net as it was dragged along the seafloor.

Other fishing at shallower depths in this area has not turned up any tar balls and is thus not impacted by this closure. The fisherman who reported this catch had trawled for brown shrimp in shallow waters in a different portion of the area to be closed earlier in the day without seeing tar balls.

Following the report of tar balls, NOAA was in contact with shrimpers involved in royal red shrimping in this area. Only a handful of the approximately 250 permitted royal red shrimp fishermen are currently active in the fishery. The tar balls are being analyzed by the U.S. Coast Guard to determine if they are from the Deepwater Horizon/BP spill.

This decision was made in consultation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The closure becomes effective at 6 p.m. EST and does not apply to any state waters.

“We are taking this situation seriously. This fishery is the only trawl fishery that operates at the deep depths where the tar balls were found and we have not received reports of any other gear or fishery interactions with tar balls,” said Roy Crabtree, assistant NOAA administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service southeast region. “Our primary concerns are public safety and ensuring the integrity of the Gulf’s seafood supply.

Royal red shrimp are caught in Gulf waters deeper than 600 feet and are the only species targeted with trawls at these depths. The more common Gulf shrimp species are brown, white and pink shrimp and are caught in waters less than 300 feet deep. The agency has received no reports of tar balls from fishermen that target other species in that area. Fishing for other shellfish and finfish species within this area is still allowed.

These waters were closed to all commercial and recreational fishing earlier this summer because of the Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill and were reopened to all fishing on November 15 after hundreds of seafood specimens sampled from the area, including royal red shrimp, passed both sensory and chemical testing. Additionally, no oil was observed in the area for a period of 30 days prior to the reopening.

NOAA and FDA are continuing to work together to sample seafood from inside and outside the closure, and are continuing market-based sampling of seafood processing plants and dockside sampling. NOAA is also sending vessels to the area to re-sample for royal red shrimp. The agency will reopen this area after determining there is no seafood safety concern. NOAA will conduct extensive sampling in the area, subjecting specimens to sensory and chemical analysis, including the recently approved chemical test for dispersants, in accordance with the rigorous re-opening protocol agreed to by NOAA, the FDA and the Gulf states.

An area covering 1,041 square miles immediately surrounding the Deepwater Horizon wellhead still remains closed to all commercial and recreational fishing. The fishing area closure was first instituted on May 2, at which time it covered about 3 percent (6,817 square miles) of Gulf waters around the wellhead. As oil continued to spill from the wellhead, the area grew in size, peaking at 37 percent (88,522 square miles) of Gulf waters on June 2.

Image from: seafco.com

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Billing BP Friday, Nov 19 2010

I am on the media list for RestoretheGulf.gov which is the site set up by the Obama administration following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last April. As I realize very little news comes out about the spill anymore I thought I would share the latest email.

WASHINGTON – The Obama Administration today sent an eighth bill for $25.4 million to BP and other named responsible parties for response and recovery operations relating to the BP/Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. To date, the Administration has sent these eight bills to BP and other responsible parties (Transocean, MOEX, and Andarko) for oil removal costs, of which the first six have been reimbursed in full by BP.

Responsible parties are financially liable for all costs associated with oil removal, including efforts to stop the leak at its source, reduce the spread of oil, protect the shoreline and mitigate damage to the public health or welfare.

To provide full transparency of the ongoing efforts and to ensure that the American public is not held accountable for the costs of response activities, the Federal Government bills responsible parties regularly for costs approved by the Federal On-Scene Coordinator to support Federal, State, and local removal efforts and ensure the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund is reimbursed on an ongoing basis.

This is the eighth bill the Administration has sent to date. The first seven bills have been paid in full by BP, totaling $581 million.

This invoice is based on specific Federal Government expenses that are subject to billing at this time, including expenses associated with the response of over two dozen Federal entities and agencies from four States, in accordance with the Federal On-Scene Coordinator request for assistance process. Federal response activities not subject to billing at this time, including future activities, will be billed to the responsible parties through subsequent invoices. In addition, these bills do not include any other costs for which BP and the other responsible parties are liable to any other party.

The United States Coast Guard is responsible for administering the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to ensure rapid response to oil spills, to compensate individuals and communities harmed by oil spills, and to ensure that the costs of response and cleanup are borne by the responsible parties.

More information about oil spill costs and reimbursement

 

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P&J Oyster Company Sunday, Nov 7 2010

The Deepwater Horizon well may be capped but the impact continues. A great story on the impact of the spill on oysters and in particular the P&J Oyster company.

The article says in part:

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P&J has dealt in oysters, both as a distributor and processor, for nearly 135 years, making it the oldest oyster processor and distributor in the United States. The disaster triggered by the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion on April 20 brought that tradition to a virtual standstill. On June 10, the Sunseris, having conceded their regular suppliers could no longer provide them with the volume and quality of oysters necessary to operate their business, ceased regular operations at P&J. They laid off 13 full-time employees.

“The bottom line is that our guys that we purchase from are not working,” Sal Sunseri said on the day of the shutdown.”

Click here for the rest of the story

 

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Oiled Marshes in Terrebonne Parish Sunday, Aug 22 2010

A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity (through the Coast Guard) to go out from Chauvin, Louisiana into the marshes of Terrebonne Parish to look for oil.

We left at 7:30am which meant I left my place at 5:15am. It was 39C with humidity…so hot that I had to alternately drive with the heat on or my windows down to keep the windshield from fogging…breathing was like pea soup.

The drive was beautiful and ended, literally “where the road ends” and normally, where “catching begins”. But as you will see later, mostboats I saw were docked.

The plan was that we would follow a Rapid Assessment Team but they didn’t have many reports and a storm was a-brewing, so we broke off and headed for some marsh while they went to look for some boom that was reportedly out of place.

The RAT team had two scientists, a Coast Guard liasion and a local boat captain. They respond to reports of oil, observe, take test samples of the oil and make recommendations for action.

Not far from shore,  a reminder that oil is never distant down here….

…and neither is risk….

…nor is wildlife.

A short ride away was Whiskey Island where some clean-up crews were at work.

Racing the storm, we went to Bay Junop where we saw some oil on the marshes…note the dark strip in the middle…

The oil washed ashore at high tide, hence the strip of green underneath…

…the fragility of marsh grass means that it might be safer to let air and water clean away the oil.

On my way home I saw numerous boats readied to lay boom or engage in skimming operations…

…and a bunch that should have been fishing.

100 boats in 5 miles. Sitting. Waiting.

Sad.

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Flight over the Deepwater Horizon well site Sunday, Jul 18 2010

Yesterday when I woke up I felt a pop and then a sharp electrical shock down my right leg. Within an hour I could barely move. I’ve definitely pinched a nerve. Even today my toes on my right foot feel like they have pins and needles, and my calf muscles are clenched. Best remedy is rest, heat, ice and ibuprofen. Normally, that’s what I’d do too.

But then in the evening the Joint Information Center from the Deepwater Horizon Unified Command called and asked me if I wanted a flight out over the controlled burn site — ie the location where the Deepwater Horizon exploded and sank. Despite knowing it would be a 3 hour drive roundtrip and likely to be pretty bouncy on the plane, I immediately said yes! How could I not?!!

Sadly, the weather was cloudy and hazy, and the trip was pretty bumpy in parts. So while the pictures aren’t the clearest it was still an amazing opportunity and it is worth the pain I am now enduring (and drug stores here don’t carry over the counter muscle relaxants…oh what I wouldn’t give for some Robax Platinum right now).

Despite that…there were some good pictures. I had been hoping to sell some to the Toronto Star but alas that was not to be. Hopefully there will be more opportunities in the next few weeks.

This is therefore a mostly a pictorial starting with the plane, wetlands, the site itself and some oil visible in the water. There is also a video of the back hatch opening which was very cool. There was one reporter who looked petrified especially when the back was open; I loved it and would have liked to go closer to the edge.

This is the plane we went up on – a Coast Guard C-144. It is pretty loud inside but they provided ear plugs.

The first thing I noticed was how the wetlands looked from the air. It was so clear how much destruction has occurred.  Every 34 minutes the equivalent of a football field of wetlands disappears in Louisiana. In these pictures note the straight lines that represent channels that have been cut through the wetlands for boats and/or pipes.

The lighter green in this one is some form of algae.

Because this was a small and fairly casual flight I had the opportunity to go up to the cockpit.

Pilot

Co-pilot

All the thingamajigs

Me on the plane!

The opening of the hatch

An overview of the site…

The Helix is one of the production ships that would normally be siphoning oil.

The rig on the back far right is one of the relief wells being drilled.

Hazy, but these are the two relief wells…

Here you can see streams of oily sheen on the water…the white streaks in the bottom right corner are scrapes on the window.

The circled area indicates a patch of thicker oil floating in the water.

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Oil Spill – Grand Isle Wednesday, Jun 16 2010

Omnipresent in the minds of all down here is the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion and resultant oil spill from April 20th 2010. We’ll likely never know how many gallons of oil have spilled into the Gulf of Mexico but it is in the multimillions.  By conservative efforts about 40 million as I write this post or by super generous over 230 million gallons. I use the handy oil spill calculator to figure this out.

Today I went out into the Gulf of Mexico with a few others to see the oil. We left out of the Sandpiper Marina in Grand Isle, Louisiana with Captain Robert Vegas at the helm.

We wanted to see oil and boom, and we weren’t disappointed. We also saw dolphins, most swimming freely but one that was in distress; in too shallow and with oil on its dorsal fin.

We saw birds, most ok, some covered in oil; brown pelicans so a little hard to tell.

The beauty of the Gulf is being marred by this tragedy. It will continue to be destroyed for months and years to come.

This tragedy is best explained through photos.

The signs are everywhere…

But sadly, so is the oil….

The coloured booms trap the surface oil from coming ashore. The white booms absorb the oil. If they are placed properly, if there is enough (there is a shortage), if they don’t drift or wash ashore.

When the oil gets through because the booms aren’t there or aren’t working, animals and birds get hurt.

This dophin was covered with oil and thrashing because it was caught in shallow waters. We tried calling the number for reporting oiled animals – it was a BP sub-contractor in Houston who didn’t even know where Grand Isle – one of the largest hubs of response – even was.  Eventually we reported it to the Coast Guard and Fisheries & Wildlife and they went to rescue it.

Some of the birds had oil on them, but note the stained grass – the brown is oil that has washed up on the nesting grounds of the brown pelicans. Only recently removed from the endangered list I wonder if they will get added again soon.

All in all a very interesting and intense day.   Soon I hope to go out from Venice to see another area that has been badly affected by the oil.

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