Mar 23
2011
By Tamara Audi
CRESCENT CITY, Calif.—Somewhere under the murky waters of this city’s demolished harbor lay the remains of Marty Lopez’s fishing business.
“That boat kept me alive for 27 years,” said Mr. Lopez, gazing out at the harbor where his boat, the Nellie, sank in the March 11 tsunami. The Nellie, like many boats here, wasn’t insured.
Japan’s 9.0-magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami that killed thousands and yielded an unfolding nuclear disaster. No one was hurt when the tsunami arrived in Crescent City, but the wave destroyed its harbor, threatening the economic future of the 157-year-old fishing village just south of Oregon.
Average Value of Commercial Seafood Landings 2000-2009 (Source: CA Dept. of Fish & Game)
“We’re fighting to survive,” said Richard Young, the harbor master, in an interview last week. He surveyed the damage to the small but vital fishing industry: Forty-seven boats—many of them part of the commercial fishing fleet of about 100 boats—were damaged, and 16 more were sunk.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Young told an official in another city where he had recently accepted a position as harbor master that he wouldn’t be taking the job. “Things are so bad here I just can’t leave,” he told the city official on the phone.
The harbor’s wooden docks are in pieces; chunks of broken concrete are pushed to the edges of the harbor. Masts and bows poke out of the water as divers work to map the underwater wreckage. Smashed boats are crushed against each other and the harbor wall.
Read the rest of the story at The Wall Street Journal.
Mar 21
2011
March 19, 2011
POINT PLEASANT BEACH — Some mid-Atlantic fishermen challenging a controversial system of catch quotas say that two-thirds of the fishing industry must vote in its favor before it can be imposed.
Their contention was raised during arguments in a federal court hearing in Boston. The New England case has been at the center of a legal and political battle over the catch quota system involving cod, haddock and flounder.
photo © 2009 Mike Baird | more info (via: Wylio)
When a federal judge, Rya Zobel, heard the arguments Tuesday, attention focused on one allegation raised by mid-Atlantic fishermen. They argue federal law says the catch quotas cannot be imposed without an industrywide referendum that wins support among two-thirds of the affected fishing boat owners, captains and crews.
“The arguments quickly zeroed in on the issue of catch shares being an ITQ (individual transferable quotas system) and needing a referendum,” said James Lovgren of the Fishermen’s Dock Cooperative in Point Pleasant Beach.
Read the rest of the story here.
Mar 12
2011
By Ted LandChannel 2 News1:46 p.m. AKST, March 11, 2011
JUNEAU, Alaska
The massive earthquake that struck Japan late Thursday triggered a tsunami which swept along the Alaska coastline from the Aleutian chain to Southeast Alaska Friday morning, causing no reports of damage to date.
A stretch of coastline between Attu and Amchitka Pass was under a tsunami warning Friday morning, while the rest of the state faced a less-severe tsunami advisory that continued into the afternoon.
A tide gauge at Shemya, Alaska, monitored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration showed water rising 5 feet early Friday. Meters near Adak and Dutch Harbor showed smaller rises.
The State Emergency Coordination Center activated late Thursday and plans to remain active until all Alaska communties are in the clear. There have been no reports of damage.
“Many of the communities now threatened by these tsunamis have recently received new all-hazard
Read the rest of the story here.
Mar 12
2011
By: CTV.ca News Staff
Date: Friday Mar. 11, 2011 4:05 PM PT
Harbours in California and Hawaii felt the impact from waves spawned by a devastating earthquake off Japan Friday, with damage reported and one person missing.
Record-high waves of up to 2.5 metres were seen in Crescent City, California and one man is missing after being swept out to sea while taking photos of the tsunami there.
The coast guard is searching for the man.
Four men were also swept off a beach in Oregon by the surge. Two managed to get back to safety on their own, and emergency crews saved the other two men.
There was severe damage to the docks and local residents said dozens of boats were “crushed.”
Read the rest of the story here.
Mar 12
2011
The Associated Press
Friday, March 11, 2011; 12:15 PM
MOCLIPS, Wash. — Active waves similar to any stormy day on the coast were the only sign that a tsunami had arrived in Washington.
The National Weather Service predicted the waves caused by an earthquake in Japan to reach 3 feet or more on the Washington coast Friday, but higher waves could come later.
About 60 people had evacuated to Grays Harbor Fire District No. 8 in Moclips. Volunteer firefighter Cathy Bisiack said a group of mostly elderly residents were enjoying a pancake breakfast and watching the news on TV when the waves started to hit.
Read the rest of the story here.
Mar 12
2011
Friday, March 11, 2011, 2:30 PM
Reports of serious damage are coming from the Port of Brookings-Harbor in the wake of Friday’s earthquake-tsunami in Japan.
Chris Cantwell, the port’s operations supervisor said 70 percent of the port’s commercial basin was destroyed.
“A third of our sports basin destroyed. We have boats on top of another. Probably half-a-dozen sunk,” he told The Oregonian.
Cantwell said the first wall of water came in about 8:05 a.m. Friday. Three waves in all came in before 10 a.m. The third one inflicted the most damage.
“We had one fatality … dead body found in a boat. Not entirely sure the guy died during the tsunami. Possibly before,” he said.
Read the rest of the story here.
Mar 12
2011
March 11, 2011
Surges of water hit the tiny town of Fort Bragg, 200 miles south of Crescent City, witnesses say, ripping out docks and filling the water with debris, and closing off exits and entrances to the port.
Fort Bragg is an epicenter of California’s fishing community, and dozens of boats leave from there to fish crab, black cod and salmon.
“It’s pretty brutal,” said Charles D. Smith, a fisherman who owns a boat called the Miss Smith. “The ends of the docks are floating around all over the place.”
Smith got down to the harbor early in the morning and battened down his hatches. Other fishermen sailed to sea earlier Friday to escape damage in port. There won’t be anywhere for them to dock when they return, he said.
Read the rest of the story here.
Mar 12
2011
Crescent City Harbor (Jeff Barnard / Associated Press)
By Mike Anton and Shan Li
Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
March 11, 2011, 12:01 p.m.
Eight-foot waves from the Japan tsunami destroyed much of Crescent City harbor, battered boats, closed the 101 Freeway and left one person missing.
KDRV-TV reported that four people were washed out to sea Friday. Three were hurt and one is feared dead.
Local residents reported that about three dozen boats were “crushed” in the harbor and that surging waters significantly damaged or destroyed most of the docks. Ocean water surging up Elk Creek north of the harbor reportedly lapped up to front doors of the community’s cultural center.
Read the rest of the story here.
Mar 11
2011
Times-Standard
Posted: 03/11/2011 10:03:13 AM PST
Officials in Crescent City are reporting damage after tsunami waves began hitting the harbor this morning.
“The harbor has been destroyed,” said Crescent City Councilman Rich Enea in a phone interview at 9:45 a.m. “Thirty-five boats have been crushed and the harbor has major damage. Major damage.”
Del Norte County Sheriff Cmdr. Bill Steven said most of the docks at the harbor are gone. Additionally, a recent surge filled the entire harbor and they are expecting that some of the other waves could send water into the harbor’s parking lot, Steven said.
Enea said no injuries have been reported at this point, which he attributed to plenty of tsunami preparedness exercises and the diligent work of first responders in sealing off the harbor.
The councilman said he’s heard about 100 people have shown up to a Red Cross shelter at Del Norte High School. He said tsunami waters have made it near the doors of the Crescent City Cultural Center, and he fears the worst is yet to come.
Read the rest here.
