Coast Guard is semper paratus * (again)
By KARA HANSEN
The Daily Astorian
July 16, 2007
http://www.dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=395&ArticleID=43
842&TM=34667.35
Stranded swimmers spurred a surge in activity for the U.S. Coast Guard over the
weekend, as temperatures edged into the 80s and water warmed to about 61 degrees off
Oregon beaches.
Three swimmers off Rockaway Beach and three off Pacific City were reportedly
struggling in the ocean Friday, along with two more swimmers in Pacific City on Sunday
and another three near the north jetty of Tillamook Bay - at least 11 cases over three days.
The Coast Guard launched HH-60 Jayhawk helicopters on all of the cases, said Bob
Coster, civilian search and rescue controller at USCG Group Astoria today. However, all
those swimmers were either rescued by local citizens or made their way back to shore, he
said.
In addition, all were teenagers 17 years old or younger, said Coster, and most were from
Portland.
Apparently, "they misjudged their skill level as compared to environmental conditions,"
he said, noting a lack of parental supervision likely contributed to the upswing in
struggling young swimmers.
Not every case ended so smoothly.
A 17-year-old Oregon City boy was presumed drowned after he was swept out to sea by a
riptide off Neskowin Beach. He and his brother, also 17, were swimming Friday
afternoon while on a vacation with their family. One of the boys was rescued from the
undertow. The Tillamook County Sheriff's Office, U.S. Coast Guard and other authorities
searched until dark Friday and again Saturday morning before suspending their efforts
that afternoon.
In other weekend Coast Guard activity, the agency assisted Skamania County officials
when a man fell from a cliff near Beacon Rock in the Columbia River Gorge.
The unidentified man plummeted up to 50 feet Saturday afternoon, suffering back, neck
and head injuries. said Coster. A helicopter crew from Air Station Astoria flew to the
scene at about 3 p.m., planning to hoist the man off the cliff. However, a Skamania
County, Wash., "reach and treat" team had helped him out of the rocky area and
transferred him to the helicopter on the Skamania Elementary School ball field, he said.
The crew flew him to Legacy Emanuel Hospital and Health Center in Portland, where he
was reportedly listed in stable condition, Coster said.
* Semper paratus is the motto of the USCG. It is Latin for always prepared.
Judge: Federal agency used flawed data in Ore. coho decision
7/16/2007, 5:29 p.m. PT
The Associated Press
http://www.oregonlive.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/news20/118463245110230.xml&storylist=orlocal
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A federal fisheries agency violated the Endangered Species Act by relying on scientifically
flawed data from Oregon in deciding against listing the Oregon Coast coho salmon as a threatened species, a federal
magistrate ruled.
Magistrate Janice Stewart wrote that the National Marine Fisheries Service's decision not to list the fish "in the face of
Oregon's competing conclusions or uncertainties" was "arbitrary, capricious, contrary to the best available evidence and a
violation of the ESA."
She recommended that the agency be ordered to issue a final ruling consistent with the Endangered Species Act within
60 days of her July 13 decision.
If either side objects by July 30, she wrote, the case would go to a federal judge.
Brian Gorman, the NMFS spokesman in Seattle, said the agency was undecided.
"We're still looking at it. It's a pretty long ruling," he said Monday.
Stewart ruled in a lawsuit brought by Trout Unlimited, Pacific Rivers Council and the Pacific Coast Federation of
Fishermen's Associations, among other plaintiffs.
"We can recover coho to Oregon and restore local communities and fishing jobs. But we've got to protect and restore the
streams they rely on," said Jan Hasselman, a lawyer for Earthjustice, which represented fishermen and conservation
groups in the case.
The main defendant was the fisheries service, which is charged with administering the ESA with regard to threatened of
endangered marine life.
The agency had twice proposed listing the fish as threatened but withdrew the requests at the urging of Oregon.
Trout Unlimited contended the decision not to list the fish was not founded on the best science, thus violating the ESA.
A panel of scientists later decided that the Oregon coho did not face immediate extinction but could become endangered if
current trends continue.
Oregon adopted a plan to address the coho's decline but much of it was voluntary and lacked specifics. The fisheries
service called the plan a failure.
But the federal agency withdrew its proposed listing based on the predicted effects of future and voluntary conservation
measures based on Oregon's plan.
A Northwest Fisheries Science Center review called Oregon's estimate of the coho to increase with low spawning
numbers as overoptimistic.
Trout Unlimited contended that the "best available science" requirement required the federal agency to give the benefit of
the doubt to the species.
The Oregon plan relied in part on a theory of density dependence, which holds that coho produce more offspring when
populations are small, an idea that did not appeal to peer groups who studied it.
Il-prepared fisherman found off La Push by Coast Guard
Monday, July 16, 2007
Port Townsend Leader
http://www.ptleader.com/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=4&ArticleID=18275&TM=38094.48
The Coast Guard assisted a fisherman whose boat had run out of fuel near La Push in the early
morning hours of July 16. An HH-65 helicopter crew from Air Station Port Angeles located the
vessel anchored seven miles offshore from La Push. The man was located safe aboard his
vessel but without fuel, flares or a radio. A 47-foot motor lifeboat crew was launched from Coast
Guard Station Quillayute River to tow the boat back to port. The man was issued a citation for
missing flares, which carries a maximum fine of $1,000.
Coast Guard Station Port Angeles received a call at 2:30 a.m. that a fisherman from Olympia left
for a fishing trip Sunday at 9 a.m. aboard a 22-foot pleasure craft. The caller reported the man
said he would be back at 5 p.m. Sunday but failed to return.
"Boaters should make sure they have all mandatory safety equipment on board and in workable
condition," said Dan Shipman, Coast Guard recreational boating safety specialist. "It is also highly
recommended that marine VHF radios be on board every vessel in order to contact rescuers in
the event of an emergency. With the newly established Rescue 21 system operating in that area,
the vessel could have been rapidly located and assisted to port if a marine VHF radio had been
aboard and used to contact the Coast Guard."
Boaters are reminded to file a float plan with the Coast Guard or let family and friends know
where they will be and for how long. A good description of the vessel or a photograph can also
aid in locating boaters in distress. Nearly three hours were spent locating the man, costing
taxpayers approximately $26,500.
"Situations like this are avoidable, and becoming an educated boater will only help you enjoy
what boating has to offer," said Shipman
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