Catch of the Day

This headline caught my attention....

RADM W

Gulf seafood may be the most tested, and safest, fish you can find.

Davies and Starr / Getty Images

When President Obama took his August microvacation along the Gulf of Mexico, he swam in the water, munched on fish tacos, and said, “Let me be clear. Seafood from the gulf is safe to eat.”

More than 90 percent of the shrimp consumed in this country comes from Thailand, China, India, and Ecuador, where the shrimp is raised in ponds so overcrowded, they also serve as breeding grounds for salmonella, bacteria, and parasites, which are combated by adding massive doses of antibiotics and fungicides to the water. Then there’s the taste and texture, which Dave Pasternack, chef at Manhattan’s Italian seafood mecca Esca, calls “disgusting.”

Given the imports’ lovely provenance, it’s ironic that Americans are now squeamish about the catch in the gulf. We spot-test less than 2 percent of the shrimp that comes in, compared with the 20 to 30 percent required by the European Union. Contrast that to what’s going on in the gulf, where waters must be free of oil for a month before fishing is allowed. Samples of all fish and shellfish (directly from the water, as well as from docks and markets) are then aggressively tested for contaminants by both the FDA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which subjects them to microscopic analysis and the “sniff test” (by people trained to detect the presence of oil). To Pasternack, such measures mean that “gulf seafood is the safest seafood in the world right now.”

Oil and gas exploration in America

Captains

Alaska's North Slope, the Chukchi Sea and the Beaufort Sea inevitably come to mind as one wonders about the future of oil and gas exploration in the post-Deepwater Horizon years. One thing I learned during my Gulf of Mexico experience is that local leadership matters. The Gulf Coast mayors are dealing with the aftermath of BP's Mississippi Canyon drilling accident. Mayor Itta of the Alaska North Slope is dealing with BP, Shell, and ConocoPhillips before they drill in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas.

RADM W

Alaska politician Edward Itta, an Inupiat Eskimo, stands at the center of our country's struggle to balance environmental and energy demands

by Bob Reiss

published: 07/18/2010

Edward Itta, 65, may be one of America’s most powerful mayors—but you’ve probably never heard of him. He governs the Wyoming-sized North Slope Borough of Alaska, a territory larger than 39 of our 50 states. However, his influence doesn’t come from the size of that area but from what lies beneath the land and its adjacent waters. The North Slope contains the country’s largest oil field, Prudhoe Bay, which is now producing less than one-third of its former peak flow. The next great energy find—up to 27 billion barrels of oil and 132 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, according to U.S. government sources—is thought to be under the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, directly offshore from the North Slope.

President's commitment for the DWH Spill response

After being Deputy Federal On-Scene Coordinator for a month, I relieved RADM Mary Landry so she could resume her job as the Eighth District Commander. My tenure as the FOSC began with clear guidance from the top.

In his meeting with the Governors, Congressional members and parish presidents, President Obama gave his full commitment to the response and restoration of the Gulf coast from the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

RADM W

"The Largest Cleanup Effort in U.S. History"

Posted by Jesse Lee on May 28, 2010 at 04:47 PM EDT

Following up on his press conference discussing the BP oil spill, the President travelled to the Gulf Coast to get another first-hand look at the progress and to be briefed by those on the ground.

Federal On-Scene Coordinator

Captains,

I handed the reins of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response to RADM Paul Zukunft this week, so will try to catch up on the last two months by posting a series of blog entries. It has been an honor to serve Admiral Thad Allen, USCG (ret) during my assignment as the Federal On-Scene Coordinator.

RADM Jim Watson

Admiral Paul Zukunft to Assume Role of Federal On-Scene Coordinator

NEW ORLEANS – National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen today announced that Rear Adm. Paul Zukunft is scheduled to relieve Rear Adm. James Watson as the Federal On-Scene Coordinator for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response on Monday.

Watson will return to Portsmouth, Va., where he serves as the Coast Guard Atlantic Area deputy commander, which oversees five Coast Guard Districts, 42 states and more than 4 million square miles of navigable waters.

“In my role as Federal On-Scene Coordinator, I have seen federal, state and local agencies work with industry and non-governmental groups on the largest oil spill response in U.S. history,” said Watson. “As the Atlantic Area deputy commander I am committed to restoring the Gulf, and will continue to support Rear Admiral Zukunft and the Deepwater Horizon Unified Command.”

Deepwater Horizon well control operations

Captains,

Well control operations following the MODU Deepwater Horizon accident have been compared to NASA's Apollo 13 accident operations. Leading engineers from BP and throughout the industry assembled in Houston for the unprecedented task of mitigating the outflow and ultimately stopping the flow from the well head which is a mile below the surface of the sea. Coast Guard Marine Safety Center and Minerals Management Service engineers are overseeing these activities. Marine professionals working above the well head are constantly exposed to the volatile organic compounds rising from the well as they maneuver remotely operated vehicles and specially designed tools to contain the outflow and seal off the well.

A riser insertion tool was installed at the open end of the 1500' long riser pipe yesterday and is currently working to bring some of the outflow to ships on the surface. A top-kill operation to stop the outflow at the well head itself will be tried next. In the mean time sub-surface dispersants are being applied with remotely operated vehicles to help reduce the amount of oil and volatile organic compounds from rising to the work area above the well.

RADM W

Deepwater Horizon oil spill mapping and planning

Captains,

The National Incident Commander for the Deepwater Horizon response is USCG Commandant Admiral Thad Allen. RADM Mary Landry and I have been in Louisiana performing the Federal On-Scene Coordinator function. BP and Transocean are active Responsible Parties in accordance with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.

Thanks to modern imagery and mapping, the command and control during the Deepwater Horizon response has been excellent so far.

RADM W