Tag: Atlantic ocean

Ahead of the EU Fisheries Council Meeting which will take place on 17-18 December in Brussels, NGOs have written to EU Fisheries Ministers, providing recommendations for total allowable catches. These regard selected Northeast Atlantic and North Sea stocks in 2019.

Petroleum Geo-Services launched a concept for collecting plastics at sea using seismic vessels. This project involves a single seismic vessel towing a boom and skirt arrangement with a bubble curtain that lifts plastic. The pilot will be carried out offshore, over a period of about two months in either the Atlantic or the Caribbean.

The proposal considers the obligation for fishermen to bring to land all catches as of 1st January 2019. It also reduces the catch limits in seven fish management areas compared to 2017-2018 levels, including for alfonsinos and black scabbardfish. Fishing for orange roughy will remain prohibited.

Mexico and Japan have already exceeded their bluefin fishing limit for the second year in a row, according to Pew Charitable Trusts. The western Atlantic bluefin is one of the fastest and most commercially valuable fish in the sea, but its population has sustained a severe decline after decades of overfishing and mismanagement. 

A recent research shows that more Arctic sea ice is entering the North Atlantic Ocean, increasing the risks for ships which sail in these areas in spring. The ice trapped many ships, even causing some to sink, as it damaged their hulls. The study authors say that warming temperatures cause by climate change are melting more Arctic ice, increasing ice mobility and opening channels that are normally frozen shut.

The US Coast Guard advises operators in the mid-Atlantic region to be very careful, as a storm system is expected in the region, with winds of over 30 miles-per-hour and seas up to or surpassing 10 feet. Operators are also advised to stay up to date on the weather as conditions can change suddenly and with little warning.

Marine tech company MSubs, Plymouth University and charitable research foundation Promare, are creating a 21-metre autonomous vessel based on a classic Oyster hull. The ship will be finished in two years, and will conduct sea trials. After its first journey, the vessel will sail around the world.

After the Argentine navy submarine, 'ARA San Juan',  lost its communication last week, there are now hopes that it may be found as the Defence Ministry stated that it had received signals on Saturday, which may originate from the submarine.

Hapag-Lloyd informed that the period of icebergs, drifting out of the Arctic Ocean and into the North Atlantic, starts from April and lasts until August. The authorities recently reported that there are more icebergs this year than usual. The company’s captains keep their vessels south of the drift ice limit, so as to avoid any dangerous collisions.

Although the Uruguayan Navy expressed its very few hopes, research operations are continued for the 22 crew members of the cargo vessel "Stellar Daisy", after it has gone missing and believed to have sunk, on on March 31, off Uruguay. A research with eight ships and two aircrafts is underway by Maritime Rescue Coordination Center of Uruguay.