MANASQUAN, New Jersey — April 10 2014 — The Coast Guard has suspended its search off the New Jersey shore for a commercial fisherman from Virginia who apparently fell overboard.
Thirty-year-old Renee Lopez of Newport News, Virginia, was reported missing from the fishing vessel Yvonne Michelle approximately 45 miles east of the Manasquan Inlet around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.
The search ended at 9 a.m. Thursday.
Read the full story from the Associated Press here
April 9, 2014 — The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene announced that a skin infection is spreading through raw fish contaminated with Mycobacterium marinum in Chinatowns across Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.
Thirty cases of the infection were reported in March. Since April 2, that number has risen to 66.
The health department warned that the bacterium enters through wounds in the skin and that those who handle fish in Chinatown should wear gloves to prevent infection. However, no risk is associated with eating the fish.
“Symptoms of M. marinum include red, tender swelling under the skin of the hands and arms, hand or arm pain and difficulty moving fingers,” the press release said.
If left untreated, the infection can require surgery to be cured.
Environmental studies professor Jennifer Jacquet, who researches fisheries and marine conservation, said she suspects irresponsible fish farming is the cause.
Read the full story at the Washington Square News
April 9, 2014 — The following was released by the Maine Department of Marine Resources:
With ice-bound waterways breaking up and river flooding an increasing threat, the Maine Marine Patrol and the Maine Warden Service are well-equipped for search and rescue operations on both coastal and inland waters thanks to grants from the Outdoor Heritage Fund and the Maine Emergency Management Agency.
The grant funds allowed the two agencies to acquire a hovercraft in 2012 and after two years of training, the Marine Patrol and Warden Service are prepared to use this unique piece of equipment for rescues on ice-choked harbors and waterways, as well as coastal flats and other areas that are difficult to access by boat.
Housed in the Marine Patrol’s Rockland boat repair facility, the hovercraft is available to both agencies for search-and-rescue operations in the mixed terrain they often encounter throughout the year due to its ability to navigate over nearly any terrain.
Manufactured by Michigan-based Hovertechnics, the hovercraft is propelled by fans mounted on the stern. Part of the fan thrust is ducted through the double skin hull to lift the craft off the surface on a cushion of air. This lift air is contained under the craft by flexible segmented skirts that keep the air cushion pressure up, which allows it to travel over a variety of terrain from ice to water to marshes.
“It’s like no snowmobile, ATV or watercraft that anyone would have operated,” said Sergeant Ron Dunham of the Maine Warden Service. “There’s no resistance to the surface once you’re on hover. So it takes a unique set of skills. The operators have been hand-picked by the respective departments. We’ll be training more operators as time goes on.”
“As we come into flood season this spring, this piece of equipment will be extremely helpful,” said Marine Patrol Pilot Steven Ingram, who is directing the Marine Patrol operator training. “The Patriots Day flood in 2007 and the St. John Valley flood in 2008 were great examples of situations where the hovercraft would have helped us and the Warden Service in our search and rescue and evacuation efforts.”
“The partnership is very important because Marine Patrol and the Warden Service cover very similar areas and often times work together to perform searches and rescues,” said Dunham. “It’s important to have a variety of operators in different parts of the state, and we’re collaborating with the Marine Patrol to share that responsibility to have available operators in any emergency throughout the State of Maine.”
Training was conducted by both agencies in January on Chickawauckie Pond in Rockland, during which officers from the Marine Patrol and the Warden Service took turns navigating the hovercraft over the ice and through a series of cones.
Acquired with grant money from the Outdoor Heritage Fund, which receives proceeds from the Outdoor Heritage lottery tickets, and the Maine Emergency Management Agency, the hovercraft cost approximately $78,000.
“It’s important to have this type of technology,” said Ingram. “It’s another tool in the tool box. If this hovercraft saves one life, it has paid for itself for the rest of its existence.”
To view a video about Maine Marine Patrol and Maine Warden Service training on the hovercraft, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AjOdOq48Lk.
Photo Caption: The Maine Marine Patrol and the Maine Warden Service conduct winter training in the hovercraft, acquired by both agencies with grant money from the Outdoor Heritage Fund and MEMA. The unique vehicle will be used by both agencies in rescue operations in areas that are difficult to access by boat.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — March 23, 2014 — Authorities say two people have been rescued after falling through the ice while ice fishing in Foxborough.
NECN reports that a 41-year-old man and 60-year-old man fell through the ice around 3:50 p.m. Sunday. A female friend on shore called 911 and then fell in herself while trying to help the men. She was able to get out on her own.
Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Boston Globe
NEW YORK — March 5, 2014 — A rare skin infection has been traced to raw seafood purchased at fish markets in New York City’s three large Chinese neighborhoods, city health officials said Wednesday.
There have been 30 reported cases of infection caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium marinum, according to the city Health Department.
Symptoms include red, tender lumps and swelling under the skin of the hands or arms. Those infected sometimes also develop swelling or pain in their hands or arms and have difficulty moving their fingers. Anyone who is infected should be treated with antibiotics, the department said.
Read the full story by the Associated Press at The Boston Globe
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — February 18, 2014 — The Salvadoran fisherman who says he drifted at sea for more than a year left a hospital Tuesday after treatment for the psychological and physical effects of his ordeal, and told reporters he survived because of his faith in God.
Jose Salvador Alvarenga, 37, appeared strong and walked without help, but also seemed disoriented and had trouble speaking.
Alvarenga said he didn’t plan to tell his story and didn’t want to remember the ordeal.
‘‘I always had faith that I was going to survive, asking (God) every day and every night,’’ he said. ‘‘I never lost faith that one day I would be found.’’
Asked about the fate of his fishing companion, Ezequiel Cordova, 22, Alvarenga said Cordova lived four months in the boat before succumbing to starvation and exposure. Alvarenga has said that he lived on fish, turtles and birds and that Cordova had difficulty eating raw food.
Reporters asked if Alvarenga had eaten Cordova to survive, and he answered with an emphatic ‘‘No.’’
‘‘He died of starvation and the sun,’’ Alvarenga added.
He said Cordova’s parents shouldn’t worry for their son because he died praying to God: ‘‘The whole time he was asking for forgiveness.’’
Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Boston Globe
February 13, 2014 — Lobstermen say a young man who was pulled overboard and down into the dangerously cold ocean Wednesday when his foot got caught in a lobster trap line is lucky that his crew mates reacted quickly and knew exactly what to do.
And they said it’s not uncommon to fall overboard on the job.
“It’s a lot more common than people know,” said David Cousens of Spruce Island, president of the 1,200-member Maine Lobstermen’s Association. “I’ve almost gone over twice in 40 years. I had the rope around my feet both times, and luckily had a sternman who acted quickly and got me undone.”
Cousens began lobstering when he was 10. Now 55, he has heard stories of other close calls, though most lobstermen are reluctant to share them.
“They don’t want to admit it. They’re embarrassed about it,” he said. “The safest thing you can do is make sure you don’t go alone.”
Devin Pesce, 19, of Lisbon Falls remained hospitalized Thursday at Southern Maine Health Care in Biddeford, where his condition had improved from serious to fair.
Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald
February 12, 2014 — A fisherman who was pulled overboard and down into the frigid Atlantic by a sinking string of lobster traps Wednesday morning off York County was pulled back on board and successfully given CPR by his crew.
Devin Pesce, 19, of Lisbon Falls was in serious condition at Southern Maine Health Care in Biddeford on Wednesday night, a spokeswoman said.
After being on the verge of death, Pesce walked off the boat on his own, said Lucky Oppedisano, who was on the boat along with Pesce’s father, Dan, the owner and captain. Oppedisano called it a blessing.
“When you bring somebody back to life, it makes you think about all the other stuff that’s really not important,” he said.
Dan Pesce could not be reached Wednesday.
Devin Pesce was working on his father’s 42-foot boat, the Kylie Brooke out of Harpswell, pulling and rebaiting traps 15 miles east of Cape Porpoise.
The long line of connected traps, called strings or trawls, was in water 200 to 300 feet deep, where lobsters go in cold weather.
The swells were just 1.3 feet, but it was cold. The water temperature was 38.7 degrees and the air temperature was 14.5 degrees, the Coast Guard said.
Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald
SAN SALVADOR — February 13, 2014 — A fisherman who says he drifted at sea for more than a year, surviving on raw fish, turtles, and birds, is in stunningly good health but psychologically fragile, medical experts said Wednesday as the man recuperated in a hospital in his native El Salvador.
Jose Salvador Alvarenga underwent a battery of tests after returning home from the Marshall Islands, where he showed up after what he has described as 6,500-mile journey from Mexico across the Pacific that began when his small fishing boat was thrown off course by bad weather.
The medical team that examined him at the San Rafael hospital in the Salvadoran capital said he was in remarkably good physical health: with no skin lesions from overexposure to the sun, and no cardiovascular or kidney issues. His only physical problem, doctors, was a case of anemia.
‘‘All of the exams have been basically close to normal. It’s incredible,’’ said El Salvador’s minister of public health, Maria Isabel Rodriguez.
She and other Salvadoran experts who looked at Alvarenga’s results said they had no doubt about the veracity of his tale, so incredible that it left many skeptical even in the absence of an alternate explanation for his appearance on the Pacific Island atoll.
January 28, 2014 — For more than 20 years, NIOSH has been working to prevent accidental deaths in the fishing industry. Now, these safety experts are tackling injuries – the kind fishermen are used to getting every season.
In her time at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Jennifer Lincoln says she’s found a common cause behind the most serious fishing accidents.
“If you ask me what leads to fatalities in the fishing industry, it’s drowning,” Lincoln said. “It’s vessel losses and falls overboard.”
Lincoln directs the Alaska field office for NIOSH.
Their commercial fishing experts have been studying fatal accidents since 1991. Using their research, they’ve come up with a slew of mechanical gadgets – like door monitors and emergency winch stops – to make boats safer.
Read the full story and listen to the audio at Alaska Public Media