Cape Fear Blue Water Fishing Club

Well we definitely had some good fishing weather the last few days. We checked the messages & the current results are in for the club member only tournaments. They are as follows:

AMOT:

Tuna: Cut N Dry 69 lbs.

Wahoo: Bullet III 58.2

Dolphin: Titus 31.5

IMOT:

King: 6 lbs Frayed Knot

Spanish: Non Weighed yet

BMOT:

Grouper: First Mate 20.06

Snapper: Reelaxation 4.9

Remeber first half goes till the end of July....Capt. Rich

Lobsters Avoid Virus by Detecting Illness in Their Own Kind

Caribbean spiny lobsters are able to detect illness in others of their kind, and employ avoidance tactics to keep their population healthy, according to a paper in this week's issue of the journal Nature.

The research results show that the usually social animals avoid contact with other lobsters that carry viruses--even before those lobsters become infectious.

Caribbean spiny lobsters are social and prefer to share dens, not always the healthy choice.
Credit and Larger Version

"Pathogens that can be transmitted from animal to animal are a major threat to their populations, especially in animals that are social," said Chuck Lydeard, program director in the National Science Foundation (NSF)'s Division of Environmental Biology, which funded the research. "This is the first record of social animals avoiding diseased individuals of their own species in the wild."

Donald Behringer and Mark Butler of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., and Jeffrey Shields of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science in Gloucester Point, Va., studied young Caribbean spiny lobsters, some of which were infected by a virus transmitted by physical contact and, among the smallest lobsters, via sea water.

"Spiny lobsters are social and share communal dens, so these modes of viral transmission would have devastating consequences if there were no mechanism to check its spread," the scientists wrote.

But a mechanism there is: healthy lobsters avoid close contact with sick ones. "Healthy lobsters, when choosing dens, don't move in with those infected by this virus," said Butler.

"This avoidance tactic could be the reason for the limited transmission of the disease among natural populations in the wild," said Behringer.

The virus, called PaV1, or Panulirus argus virus 1, "infects several types of tissues," said Shields, "primarily in juvenile lobsters, resulting in metabolic wasting and death."

The research showed that healthy lobsters steer clear of infected individuals even before they show disease symptoms. "We don't yet know how this early detection of infected individuals happens," said Butler.

-NSF-

Morehead City’s Changing Waterfront Featured in Coastwatch

Also, in the new issue of Coastwatch, Green talks with town officials and experts to explore changes since Hurricane Fran took a toll from the coast to the capital city a decade ago � including building code updates, beach recovery and new coastal insurance options.

And Kathleen Angione joins a team of researchers as they examine the diet of the Shackleford Banks’ wild horses and try to answer the question: "What are they eating out there?"

In other stories, Katie Mosher takes a look at Sea Grant Director Ronald Hodson’s career � 33 years of service to the North Carolina coast and its people � and his plans for retirement. Erin Seiling introduces a team of East Carolina University researchers and some early results of their blue crab population research project, funded by the N.C. Blue Crab Research Program. And Pam Smith takes readers to Springer’s Point � a diverse coastal community of plants, wildlife and things that go bump in the night.

New conservation effort at upcoming Governor's Cup Billfishing Series

The South Carolina Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series, entering its 18th season, will feature five tournaments along the coast beginning May 3rd at Edisto Island and ending July 1 at the Charleston City Marina’s HMY/Viking MegaDock Billfishing Tournament.

This year, the Governor’s Cup Advisory Board, in an effort to continue a strong conservation ethic to protect the blue marlin, will award Series points only for blue marlin landed that measure 115 inches or greater, from the fork of the tail, to the tip of the lower jaw. The average length of the blue marlin brought to the dock during the 2005 Series was 116 inches, with one fish measuring 134 inches. Four of the five tournaments this season have advised that they will adopt this new size limit for the blue marlin. They have plans to implement alternative scoring procedures to promote this change and guarantee winners without harvesting fish less than 115 inches.

Advisory Board Chairman John Darby said, "It is important to emphasize to the Governor's Cup participants that the recent change was made in an effort to further protect this wonderful game fish and to be a leader in conservation. The participants are encouraged to provide feedback to help improve the Series."

Another Series rule change implemented this year pertains to the Outstanding Tuna Award. Previously the award has applied only to yellowfin tuna, and this year, all legal tuna species will be eligible for the award. This does not affect the Blue Water Conservation Award, which will continue to recognize and award points for yellowfin tuna only.

Advisory Board Vice Chairman Francis Johnson said, "The Governor's Cup rule changes are a big step in the right direction for conservation. South Carolina continues to be a leader in conservation for marine fisheries."

Tournament dates and contacts for the upcoming 2006 18th Annual South Carolina Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series are:

"The Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series encourages the catch and release of blue marlin, white marlin and sailfish, as well as tuna, dolphin and wahoo," said Tom DuPré, who helps coordinate the tournament series.

Prior to the Governor's Cup, less than ten percent of billfish caught were released. Inspired by the conservation message of the Series, anglers are now tagging or releasing record numbers of billfish caught in South Carolina waters. Funds from each tournament are used to support a broad range of marine fisheries research and conservation efforts each year through the Wallace F. Pate Memorial Fund.

Boats participating in the Series amass points for billfish either landed, tagged, or released. Anglers compete for four major awards: Outstanding Billfish (single heaviest billfish), Outstanding Billfish Boat (most accumulated points) and Outstanding Billfish Conservationist (most points for tagged or released fish), and the Blue Water Conservation Award (most accumulated tag and release points for dolphin, wahoo, and yellowfin tuna).

"The Governor’s Cup encourages family participation and conservation of our ocean’s resources," DuPré said.

"By awarding points for the release of fish, the Series rewards anglers who properly land and release these magnificent fish, while at the same time promoting the South Carolina sportfishing industry, coastal tourism and the coastal economy."

By encouraging live tag and release, the Series has focused attention on the sharp decline of Atlantic billfish and encouraged conservation of all marine resources.

S.C. Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement officers remind the public of Coast Watch, which was developed to better help citizens report violations of saltwater recreational and commercial fishing laws, as well as marine environmental laws. The Coast Watch hotline number (1-800-922- 5431) is toll-free and available 24 hours a day.

- Written by Anna Martin-

NEW NOAA ENVIRONMENTAL SATELLITE LAUNCHED, REACHES ORBIT

The spacecraft separation occurred four hours and 21 minutes after the 6:11 p.m. launch. The first signal acquisition occurred six hours and 30 minutes after the launch at the Air Force Tracking Station, Diego Garcia, located in the Indian Ocean.

The NOAA satellite�initially called GOES-N�will be designated GOES-13 once it reaches final orbit. It will supply data critical for fast, accurate forecasts and warnings for severe weather, including tornadoes, winter storms and hurricanes. Additionally, it will detect solar storm activity, relay distress signals from emergency beacons, monitor the oceans and scan the landscape for the latest drought and flood conditions.

GOES-13, the first spacecraft in the new GOES-N/O/P series, features a highly stable pointing platform, which will improve the performance of the imager and sounder instruments. GOES-13 also has expanded measurements for the space and solar environment monitoring instruments. The satellite also features a new dedicated broadcast capability to be used by the Emergency Managers Weather Information Network and a new digital weather facsimile capability for higher quality transmissions of data and products.

Once it reaches geostationary orbit, GOES-13 will undergo a series of tests for approximately six months before completing its "check-out" phase. After check-out, GOES-13 is expected to be put into a storage mode at 105 degrees West. It will be ready to replace one of the two existing NOAA GOES spacecraft should either experience trouble.