Caught By The Sea My Life On Boats Free Download
Vaniria Setser
Many marine animals, like whales, dolphins, seals, sea lions, and sea turtles become entangled in fishing gear and other marine debris as they swim or while on the beach. Many objects can entangle marine life, such as fishing gear that is being used to fish both commercially and recreationally, lost or abandoned gear, and other types of rope/line and trash, including plastic bags that find their way into the marine environment.
Entanglement of marine life is a global problem that results in the death of hundreds of thousands of marine mammals and sea turtles worldwide every year. Entangled animals may drown or starve because they are restricted by fishing gear, or they may suffer physical trauma and infections from the gear cutting into their flesh. Entangled animals may also be unable to avoid vessels like they normally would, thus increasing the risk of vessel strikes.
Smaller marine animals, like sea turtles, seals, porpoises, dolphins, and smaller whales, may drown immediately if the gear is large or heavy. Large whales can typically pull gear, or parts of it, off the ocean floor, and are generally not at immediate risk of drowning. But they do face risks from exhaustion and infection. Entanglement is considered a primary cause of human-caused mortality in many whale species, especially right whales, humpback whales, and gray whales.
Our Office of Protected Resources works with entanglement response and stranding network partners around the country to safely free marine mammals and sea turtles from life-threatening entanglements, while also gathering valuable information that can help reduce the frequency and effects of entanglements in the future.
Responders have developed specially designed tools and techniques to disentangle whales and other marine animals, all from the relative safety of small inflatable rescue boats. In addition, we use satellite transmitters and receivers to track an entangled animal over time. This satellite tracking method is especially helpful in relocating entangled whales that cannot be disentangled during the initial response.
For smaller animals such as dolphins, seals, sea lions, and smaller sea turtles, entanglement response and stranding network partners can capture animals in the water or on the beach and then remove the entanglement. To do this safely, network members are trained in proper techniques for safe capture, restraint, and removal of gear from various marine species. Depending on the type of animal, severity of injury, and circumstances, the animal may need to be evaluated and treated at a permitted rehabilitation facility.
NOAA Fisheries continues to work with numerous partners to minimize or prevent entanglements. Each successful disentanglement provides information to guide gear modifications and management strategies to further reduce threats.
Only responders who have been authorized by NOAA Fisheries and who have the training, experience, equipment, and support needed should attempt to disentangle marine animals. Entanglement response efforts also rely on many state and federal agencies (including law enforcement agencies and the Coast Guard), non-governmental organizations, fishermen, and others working together to respond to, and ultimately prevent, entanglements.
If you see an animal that appears entangled or in distress, immediately report it. Real-time reporting helps increase the chance of a successful disentanglement. And it allows wildlife managers and responders to better understand what led to the entanglement, which helps guide future responses.
If you encounter an entangled dolphin, porpoise, seal, sea lion, or sea turtle contact your local responders via the national entanglement response and stranding network. After you report an entangled animal, the responding team will determine whether a response is possible.
When fishing or boating, do not leave fishing gear or trash behind. Also consider participating in community clean-up efforts. Whether at the beach, river, or local park, trash can often find its way into the ocean and present an entanglement risk.
So, there I was, first trip out, flying at 1,000 feet (300 meters) in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 800 nautical miles (1,480 kilometers) from land in any direction. There was a decent breeze, a good swell and even from 10 nm miles (18 km) away I could see our boat punching into it, sending white water spraying off the bow. I had 25 minutes of fuel on board and no place to land except our boat or the sea. As I got closer, I could clearly see the boat heaving in the swell. My eyes were wide as I flew the approach and, with concentration levels dialled up, I stuck it to the pad as trained. My mechanic ran out to strap the machine down. He got the first one on and I rolled the throttle back to ground idle. I could taste the sea spray off the bow. I was flying off tuna boats and loving it!
Getting that first piloting job was hard. I made a few laps of New Zealand and on the east coast of Australia, knocking on doors and visiting anyone with a Robinson R44 who might hire a new commercial pilot. I was fortunate to pick up some casual seasonal work flying frost protection on vineyards, as well as flying with some private R44 owners, to help build my hours.
The crew on both boats were great guys who worked hard, and my own hours increased along with my experience. I went from flying 20 hours a month at the start, to up to 90 hours some months towards the end of my contract.
We were often searching for fish-attracting devices (FADs), usually manmade rafts with several meters of netting underneath. These would serve as a safe haven for small fish, which would attract bigger fish, which in turn would attract tuna.
As a contractor, I was simply required to fly and keep the helicopter in serviceable condition. This meant there was a lot of downtime to read, watch movies, study, and watch the world go by. I took lots of photos and edited some videos.
Some days were just unreal: Seeing massive whales breaching while feeding; hundreds of tonnes of tuna feeding; watching whale sharks, manta rays and huge pods of dolphins on the move. It was amazing. Plus, there were some incredible sunsets.
It was pretty much always 35 C (95 F) during the day. My mechanic Bob and I would often sit on the heli deck at night enjoying a beer, looking at the stars, spotting satellites and shooting the breeze.
One night I saw a small meteorite that came within a few miles of our boat. It streaked across the sky in front of me before hitting the ocean. I could see great detail in its contrail, it was that close.
Early on in my contract, I was out on a routine patrol looking for FADs. About 400 nm (740 km) northeast of Pago Pago, American Samoa, I spotted something that I thought was a FAD, but soon realized there were people waving from it. I descended to sea level from 800 feet (250 meters) to get a closer look.
There were 11 people sitting on top of a makeshift raft, and not one of them had a life jacket, so I was mindful to keep at a safe distance and not disturb them or the water with my rotorwash. We radioed our boat, which was 90 minutes away, to give them our position, and tried to signal to the people on the raft that the boat was on its way. We were running low on fuel, so returned to the boat. It was a calm clear day, so there was no danger of losing them.
They were longline fishermen. The captain and first officer were from Taiwan and the rest of the crew from Indonesia. Three days earlier, they had been taking a break after lunch and the boat was drifting. Everyone had been asleep. They believed their captain fell asleep with a lit cigarette on the go, and set fire to his room. By the time the crew knew what was going on, the fire was out of control, and one crewmember died trying to save the captain. They realized they had to abandon ship, grabbed whatever personal belongings they could, and threw large polystyrene blocks over the side to create a makeshift raft.
From what I could see and what I heard, the experience of a helicopter pilot working on a tuna boat depended on a huge variety of factors: which boat you got; the captain; the condition of your helicopter; which islands you stopped at; the knowledge, experience and attitude of your mechanic; and, of course, your own attitude and expectations. I had a pretty good run with the boats I was on, as did many other pilots I met in the company.
The machine was constantly being maintained and corrosion control was a daily battle. Most of the major maintenance and balancing was done during the two or three days in port while the boat was unloading. The helicopter was inspected by the company whenever in homeport and again at the end of my contract. If it had been in bad shape, the company would not have been impressed.
Having now done 7 cruises with RCI and now about to embark on an 8th, I have had this discussion with other guests on several occasions who are of the same opinion. As a keen sea angler, I am surprised that the cruise line have not tapped into this potential money maker. Sailing into many of the worlds top fishing destinations, the oportunity to fish some of these spots is being missed by RCI. There is not even the need to hire local charter boats. The ships own life boats would suffice. An initial spend of a few grand on fishing gear by RCI would probably pay for iteself after one cruise, plus the added bonus of fresh fish for the kitchens. I am positive that many guests would avail of this service. I know I would and it would even encourage me to book other cruises with RCI knowing that they provided this service. Maybe worth considering?
I for one love the idea I have questioned many times why no fishing charters in these beautiful ports as a young man sailing the Caribbean on my uncles 83 ft island hopper I never remember a time we did not have several trolling feathers dragging behind the ship we always had an ample supply of mahi fresh as can be and when in port plenty of snapper and grouper nothing beats fresh fish on the grill I think it is time to drop a suggestion in the box by guest services on my next cruise
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