Category Archives: High Seas

In a joint operation with the Indian Navy, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has seized approximately 2500 kg of narcotic substance suspected to be high purity methamphetamine, a recreational drug, from the Indian waters. A statement from the NCB said a suspected Pakistani national has been detained following a joint operation with the Indian Navy. The seized drugs have been valued at Rs 15,000 crore by the NCB.

"The seizure was part of Operation Samudragupt targeting maritime trafficking of drugs originating from Afghanistan, said a press statement from the NCB. The statement also said that this was the third major seizure of drugs through maritime trafficking by the agency in the last one and half years. This is also the largest seizure of methamphetamine in the country.

The NCB statement said the seizure was possible because of intelligence gathered on a 'Mother Ship' carrying the Methamphetamine from Makran coast. The details were shared with the Indian Navy, which deployed a vessel in the vicinity of the probable route the ship carrying the contraband would take. The Navy recovered 134 sacks of Methamphetamine from the ship. A person suspected to be a Pakistani national was also detained from a speed boat intercepted by the Navy.

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Makran coast is a semi-desert coastal strip that lies stretched across Balochistan in Pakistan and Iran, along the coast of the Gulf of Oman.

When asked why the Mother Ship was not taken into custody, an officer with the NCB said the vessel was sinking when it was intercepted by the Navy. During the naval operation, while approaching the ship it was sinking and the crew tried to escape in a speed boat. This is what the Navy told us. Hence the mothership is not with us, the official said. The Pakistani national, the intercepted boat and some other items salvaged from the Mother Ship were brought to Mattancherry Wharf in Kochi on May 13, 2023.

Operation Samudragupt has so far resulted in seizure of a total of 3200 kilogram methamphetamine, 500 kg of heroin and 529 kg of hashish, the statement said. The primary objective of Operation Samudragupt is to collect actionable inputs which could lead to interception of ships carrying narcotics contraband.

The statement said as per their primary analysis all the packets contained methamphetamine. As the seizure procedures are still underway, the exact quantity of methamphetamine recovered is not clear yet. However, from the number of packets recovered, we estimate it to be around 2500 kg, it said.

The statement said as the seizure procedures are still underway, the exact quantity of Methamphetamine recovered is not clear yet and their estimation is a conservative figure. However, from the number of packets recovered, we estimate it to be around 2500 kg, the statement said.

When asked about the valuation process for the seized drugs in bundles which have not been weighed or examined, the official said the price valuation is based on UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes) protocols There is farmgate price, retailer price and peddling price with which we can assess," an NCB official told TNM.

NCB launched operation Samudragupt in January 2022. "For this task, the team exchanged and gathered information from drug law enforcement agencies such as DRI (Directorate of Revenue Intelligence), ATS (Anti Terrorist Squad) Gujarat etc and intelligence agencies such as Intelligence Wing of Indian Navy, NTRO etc," the statement said.

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Meth worth several thousand crores seized from high seas by Indian Navy, NCB - The News Minute

Norfolk, VA

With 350,000 sailors and 300 ships spread across the globe, the U.S. Navy is one of the largest in the world. But, China is outpacing the U.S. when it comes to shipbuilding. So, right now, Navy brass is leaning on the manpower and training to prevail on the high seas.

In todays Salute to Sailors, CBS21s Michael Gorsegner gets an inside look at the technology and tools preparing these men and women for battle.

Technology has improved our training drastically, said Lt. Commander Tommy Getty, Surface Warfare Officer.

During a simulation, five sailors are put through the paces. A small boat armed with two .50 caliber heavy machine guns fend off the enemy. Instead of spending huge amounts of time and money with live fire training, a simulator acts as a guide.

There is a lot of learning curve associated with it. It's just a different way for the Navy to implement their pre planned responses, said Lt. Commander Getty.

We can put the sailors through any environments or situations that are just too dangerous to simulate at sea, said Lt. Commander Matthew Campbell at the Submarine Learning Facility.

Before getting behind the controls of a billion plus dollar Los Angeles class fast-attack submarine, crewman run through a simulator. Learning to experience operations underwater is a vital part of the experience where mistakes dont cost lives.

We can do any number of things in here from basic level servicing, evolutions to periscope depth or we can do complex casualties that actually really test the team as a group, said Lt. Commander Campbell.

We are looking at the LCAC. One of the greatest things in the Navy, said Petty Officer Breana Harris, Gas Turbine Mechanic.

Technological advances fuel the Navy at every turn. With 16,000 horsepower turning four double sided fans, the LCAC, or landing craft, air cushion, is able to transport materials, equipment and personnel from ship to shore.

Anything that we can strap on the deck that they need to get from the ship to the beach, we are the transportation, said Petty Officer First Class Marty Little, Gas Turbine Systems Technician.

We transport Marines. Whatever they need, we take them where the ships can't go, said Petty Officer Harris.

Air cushion technology makes the LCAC unique because it is able to land just about anywhere. In fact, only about 15 percent of the worlds coastline is accessible to conventional landing craft. With the LCAC, that number jumps to 70 percent. At top speeds of over 40 miles per hour, the LCAC is a big, fast, expensive taxi.

It is a one-of-a-kind job. I really really enjoy operating it, said Petty Officer First Class Little.

To get the LCAC, the hovercraft, from place to place takes a much bigger effort. Enter the USS Carter Hall. This well deck right here floods with water from two feet all the way to eight feet. That way, the hovercraft can come on board to not only complete, but start a mission.

This is where we launch and recover landing craft, said Lt. Commander John Horst, Surface Warfare Officer.

With a motto of working for peace, ready for war, the Carter Hall is a dock landing ship tasked with transporting Marine personnel, landing craft, vehicles and cargo to forward positions.

Our offensive capability is the ability to take Marines from the city and put them wherever they need to be on land, said Lt. Commander Horst.

With 350 sailors on board, Lt. Commander Horst, from Lancaster County, oversees about two dozen men and women to make sure Carter Hall and her crew are ready for both military and humanitarian efforts. Almost two decades of service has expanded the world view of this Central PA native.

I have seen so many more countries than I would have ever normally seen as a kid from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, he said.

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Salute to Sailors: Navy employs technology and training to ready sailors - WHP Harrisburg

The Ocean Race Summit Newport today celebrated Rhode Island becoming the first US state to commit to recognizing the rights of natural communities and ecosystems, and urged for global recognition of the inherent rights of the ocean.

With over 400 miles of coastline, Rhode Island is known as the Ocean State. The resolution also recognizes the importance of Rhode Islands blue economy and the steps the State is taking to protect its biodiversity. With this initiative, Rhode Island has become the first State in the United States to support the recognition of the Rights of Nature and Ocean Rights

The event, held during the stopover of the round-the-world sailing race, gathered together over 150 government, civil society and private sector representatives that explored the power of sports to catalyse positive change and Shore to Sea solutions for ocean health.

In an opening land acknowledgment ceremony, Director of Community Planning and Natural Resources Department and Vice-Chair of the Land & Water Resources Commission of Rhode Islands Narragansett Indian Tribe, Dynalin Spears, said Let us gather in deep connection to the land and the water. It is a sacred and reciprocal relationship.

Janet Coit, Assistant Administrator, NOAA Fisheries, U.S. Department of Commerce, delivered a keynote speech in which she spoke about how climate change is affecting coastal communities and the need to use science to build resilience to these effects, protect nature and promote innovation. Warning of the grave consequences that the world faces she called for aggressive action now.

Addressing the participants, Dan McKee, Governor of Rhode Island, noted: The purpose of the Ocean Race is to shine a spotlight on the importance of nature and the ocean, and you couldnt have picked a better place for that. We believe that The Ocean Race helps the world and it helps the state of RI.

Welcoming attendees to the city, Xay Khamsyvoravong, Mayor of Newport, said: Newports success is directly tied to the health of our ocean, and because of that we are proud to be a voice fighting to protect its health. Newport is Americas most inspiring seaside destination and the U.S. capital of sailing.

The ocean is the foundation of everything we rely upon, from the fresh seafood served at our restaurants, to the waters our sailors win upon, and seas from which our Navy defends democracy and peace around the world. Were fighting for ocean health because it is essential to our existence, he added.

The fourth Ocean Race Summit Newport was held during The Ocean Race 2022-23 stopover in the east coast of the United States.

Few cities in the world are as closely linked to the sport of sailing as Newport, Rhode Island. Founded in 1639, Newport is situated on Aquidneck Island, a 37.8-square-mile island nestled amongst the beautiful scenery on Narragansett Bay New Englands largest estuary and is also bordered to the south and the Sakonnet River to the east. Newport has long been a world-class sailing venue that regularly attracts the worlds best sailors and plays host to the sports top tier competitions, such as the Americas Cup. Today it is also the home of the 11th Hour Racing Team.

The Newport stopover is co-hosted by Sail Newport, Rhode Islands public sailing center, the State of Rhode Island and 11th Hour Racing, the Newport-based global sustainability organisation focused on restoring the health of the planets oceans.

In a video message, Sheldon Whitehouse, United States Senator for Rhode Island, said: We must act on climate now while we still have a little time

The first Newport stopover in The Ocean Race was hosted by Sail Newport during the 201415 edition and the fleet returned again for the 201718 race, making the 202223 Newport stop the citys third consecutive participation in the around-the-world race. The 2015 stopover in Newport marked the birth of the sustainability programme for The Ocean Race, an initiative that subsequently expanded to all stopovers in the 201718 edition, in collaboration with 11th Hour Racing.

Since its opening on 13 May, over 10 000 people have visited Ocean Live Park, the dedicated Race village where visitors can experience the event up-close and learn about how they can contribute to protect the ocean.

In her speech, Wendy Schmidt, Philanthropist, President and Co-Founder of theSchmidt Family Foundation and Schmidt Ocean Institute and Co-Founder of 11th Hour Racing, highlighted: What we are doing together makes a difference, and over less than a decade, we know this is continuous change for the better. While theres still so much to do, but, together, we have changed the conversation.

We are only beginning to discover the world we share with the ocean. One degree at a time, as we say at 11th Hour Racing, we can address the harmful legacy of extractive and polluting industries that have led the world to its current existential crisis, where the Earth is rapidly losing its topsoils and their fertility, the biodiversity of millions of years of evolution, the stable chemistry of its Oceanall of which we depend on for our own survival, she added.

The Ocean Race Summit Newport is part of a series of high-level events to promote the recognition of the inherent rights of the ocean, held in some of the stopover cities that are hosting the teams as they circumnavigate the planet during The Ocean Race 2022-23.

The Ocean Race and partners - including the Government of Cabo Verde and US-based Earth Law Center - are working to give the ocean a voice and gather global support for the adoption of a Universal Declaration of Ocean Rights by 2030.

Representing Earth Law Center, Rachel Bustamante, Ocean Science & Policy Analyst, said: Research increasingly shows that how we value and relate to the Ocean shapes how we manage human activity in the marine environment. As a member of the next generation of ocean advocates, I am encouraged by the emerging pathway of recognizing the Ocean as a living entity with inherent rights. Ocean Rights, she added, is a holistic approach that helps us shift our relationship with the ocean. Rather than just using resources or claiming ownership, we start to see the ocean as one connected ecosystem of our planet that we rely on and care for. So we make decisions that consider what the ocean needs and all the life that the ocean supports. This stems from the Rights of Nature movement and draws on learnings from Indigenous practices, where understandings of mutual dependence with Nature can guide our governance in a more holistic way.

Sports as a catalyst for positive change

In panel 1, Sport as a catalyst for positive change, top athletes discussed how sports can create positive environmental change and shared what they are doing to activate their communities: panellists included one of the sailors competing in The Ocean Race - Charlie Enright, Skipper of 11th Hour Racing Team; Zandile Ndhlovu, South African Ocean Explorer, Founder of Black Mermaid Foundation, 11th Hour Racing Ambassador, alongside Jess Hotter, Freeride World Champion, Protect Our Winters Alliance athlete.

Speaking about his experience sailing from Itaja, Brazil, to his hometown Newport the last few weeks, Enright said: It's great to be home here in Newport. The last leg was nerve-wrecking; however the reception arriving home was exceptional. I said to the team shortly afterward, Remember this feeling it's what we're striving for until the end.

I was part of the first-ever Ocean Summit, and seeing the global impact and international recognition that we have made together as an organisation is truly amazing, he added.

Our team has sustainability at the core of all operations since our inception. We measure and track everything that we do, create or develop and share our findings openly, knowing it will aid and impact other teams and organisations. This is about solutions, finding solutions through a global campaign that can be replicated all around the world, Enright said.

Reflecting on how to improve access to the ocean so that more people care, Zandile Ndhlovu said: Sport is an incredible tool for societal change, the more we are able to create access and representation to niche sports like water facing sports, it allows a greater pool of hands to be on deck to the collective mission. We cannot protect what we do not know, have never seen or experienced.

Referencing the effects of climate change on her home mountains in New Zealand and, as a consequence, in her sport, Freeride World Champion Jess Hotter said: The thing that motivates me the most is people having a healthy space. Water is everything that connects us. Thats why I continue to keep fighting for it.

Simulating climate futures

The event also featured How to Save the World in less than Twenty Minutes, an engaging interactive session using En-ROADS, a global climate simulator that allows you to change different variables to explore the impact that dozens of policiessuch as electrifying transport, pricing carbon, and improving agricultural practicescan have on hundreds of factors like energy prices, temperature, air quality, and sea level rise. Andrew Jones, Executive Director of Climate Interactive, the US-based think tank that builds the simulation models used in the UN, US Congress, and global business, said: "Climate modelers around the world agree: its still possible to create a much better future for the climate, our oceans, and all the lives that depend on both."

Less than a mile across Newport Harbor where the Ocean Summit is being held today, a gauge that has been measuring tides for decades has confirmed that sea level has risen almost a foot in Rhode Island since 1930 and is continuing to rise at an alarming rate. This is a very direct reminder of the growing impacts and threats from climate change, and we need to continue to act now to meet these challenges, said Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) Director Terry Gray.

At the same time, despite strong steps already taken, we know we must do more to reduce plastic pollution in our waterways and oceans. We have all walked our beaches and coastlines or gone out on Narragansett Bay and seen the impacts firsthand, and there are deeper impacts to the ecosystem that we dont directly see but are clearly happening. In the Ocean State, climate change and impacts of plastic pollution in our waters are not abstractions, Narragansett Bay-born official said. Theyre real problems and theyre happening now. DEM welcomes The Ocean Race back to the site of its first The Ocean Race Summit, Fort Adams State Park. Were thrilled to participate in this event and listen, learn, share our experiences, and network. And we are excited to lend our voice to the One Blue Voice thats being raised to save the seas.

Richard Brisius, Race Chairman at The Ocean Race, said: The Ocean Race is about people, performance and purpose. Our purpose is to motivate people to do the extraordinary and help to restore Ocean Health. We are focused on driving efforts on international co-operation at scale and working towards a Universal Declaration of Ocean Rights. Since the last Summit here in Newport in 2020 we have made important progress in our influence and achievements within international co-operation and global ocean policies.

Shore-to-sea solutions for ocean health

Panel 2, Shore to sea solutions for ocean health highlighted how all ecosystems are interconnected: what happens on land affects the ocean, from waste to wastewater.

Prof. Maria Rosa, George & Carol Milne Assistant Professor of Biology, Connecticut College, said: "We have a responsibility to be good stewards for our oceans. They provide so many ecosystem services, and have been severely degraded by man-made impacts. We need novel solutions to restore and conserve our marine ecosystems, and make the conservation movement more equitable and accessible to all peoples."

Automation is what gets us in the water; it is data that will keep us there, said Dr Dennis Yance, Co- Founder and CEO at Marauder Robotics, noting the need for real-time seafloor data in order to predict when a shift in happens in an ecosystem so that marine managers can react and do something before these systems collapse.

Lela DeVine, Youth Leadership Council and Board of Directors Member EarthEcho International, stressed the need to put youth at the forefront of these conversations and make them active change-makers. She also stressed: I have consistently emphasised the need for scientists to take an activism lens in their work, and for everyone to understand the intrinsic rights of the ocean that are at stake.

For the first time ever, we have legal mechanisms to create a representative network of ecologically coherent Marine Protected Areas in the High Seas, concluded Dr Elizabeth Mendenhall, Assistant professor at the Department of Marine Affairs, University of Rhode Island,

Ocean Vital Signs Network by WHOI announced at the Summit

To contribute to better understanding of the ocean, Robert S.C. Munier, Vice President for Marine Facilities & Operations Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), announced a new tool for a new era in ocean observation.

Working with partners in philanthropy, industry, and peer institutions around the globe, we aim to establish a large-scale, full-ocean-depth carbon observatory of approximately 1 million square kilometres. This network of networks, which we are calling the Ocean Vital Signs Network (OVSN) will be an ocean internet of things comprised of moorings, underwater robotic vehicles, floats, oceanographic sensors and communication systems. It will provide the rigorous and independent measurement, data, reporting, and verification needed to understand the efficacy of ocean-based climate solutions. It will leverage our strengths in ocean science, engineering and marine operations to illuminate the oceans water column, from the surface to the seafloor and its pivotal role in our planets climateas never before, Munier explained,

Lucy Hunt, Senior Advisor Summits & Learning at The Ocean Race wrapped up the event noting that Rhode Island, The Ocean State, is the best flag bearer to boost national and international recognition of ocean rights. I invite all of you to join us, stand up, speak up and unite for the recognition of the oceans inherent rights.

The Ocean Race - the round-the-world sailing event known as the toughest test of a team in sport - holds these high-level Summits to promote ocean action in some of the stopover cities that will be hosting the teams as they circumnavigate the planet. The Summits discussions are later analysed and explored with experts in international law, policy, diplomacy and ocean science in a series of workshops called the Genova Process (named after the host city of the Grand Finale - the finish port of the Race).

The Ocean Race Summits are a key part of The Ocean Races multi-award winning Racing with Purpose sustainability programme developed in collaboration with 11th Hour Racing, - the Founding Partner of the Racing with Purpose programme and a Premier Partner of The Ocean Race.

The Ocean Race started from Alicante, Spain, on 15 January 2023 and will end in Genova The Grand Finale in June 2023. It consists of seven legs with stopovers in eight cities around the world: Mindelo, Cabo Verde; Cape Town, South Africa; Itaja, Brazil; Newport, Rhode Island, USA; Aarhus, Denmark; and The Hague, The Netherlands.

Leg 5 sees the fleet return to Europe via a double points, 3,500-nautical mile, (4,028-mile/6,482-kilometre) transatlantic dash from Newport, around the top of the British Isles, and into Denmarks second largest city, Aarhus.

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The Ocean Race Summit Newport urges recognition of the inherent ... - The Ocean Race

HBO Max is about to become just Max in less than a week!

The streaming service is getting a relaunch after merging with Discovery+, though that platform will still have its own separate service.

Upon launch, Max will add 14 new titles day of, on Tuesday (May 23), joining a vast library of 35,000 hours of programming.

The streamer will be home to many Max Originals, as well as HBO originals, Studio Ghiblis 22 film repertoire, and will also feature titles from the DC universe, Wizarding World of Harry Potter, plus brands like HGTV, Food Network, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, TLC, Discovery Network and more.

Keep reading to learn more

Max is set to launch with Shazam! Fury of the Gods, and brand new Max Originals like SmartLess: On the Road, How To Create a Sex Scandal, What Am I Eating? With Zooey Deschanel, Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, Clone High, and the documentary Bama Rush.

Also new that week include Sydney Sweeneys upcoming movie Reality, a new season of Teen Titans Go!, new episodes of The Other Two, Home Town Takeover, Silos Baking Competition and so much more.

Check out the full list of whats new to Max starting May 23rd through June

May 23Bama Rush (Max Original)Clone High, Season 1 (Max Original)German Genius (Max Original)Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)Gremlins: Secrets Of The Mogwai, Season 1 (Max Original)Growing Floret (Magnolia Network)How To Create A Sex Scandal (Max Original)Maine Cabin Masters, Season 8 (Magnolia Network)Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023)SmartLess: On The Road (Max Original)Talking Sopranos PodcastVillainous, Season 1A (Cartoon Network)What Am I Eating? With Zooey Deschanel (Max Original)Windy City Rehab (HGTV)

May 24Expedition Unknown (Discovery)

May 25100 Years Of Warner Bros. The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of (Max Original)Blippi Wonders, Season 2C (Cartoon Network)Lellobee City Farm, Season 3 (Cartoon Network)Teen Titans Go!, Season 8A (Cartoon Network)Total DramaRama: A Very Special Special, Thats Quite Special (Cartoon Network, 2023)Vlad and Niki, Season 2AVgly (Max Original)

May 26100 Day Dream Home (HGTV)Being Mary Tyler Moore (HBO Original)Kendra Sells Hollywood, Seasons 1-2Mark Robers Revengineers (Discovery)Unicorn: Warriors Eternal (Adult Swim)

May 27Guys Ranch Kitchen (Food Network)Impractical Jokers, (Collection of 100 episodes from seasons 1-8)Impractical Jokers, Season 10A + Roadblock SpecialPut a Ring on It (OWN)Sarah Silverman: Someone You Love (HBO Original)

May 28American Monster (ID)Collateral Beauty (2016)Married To Evil (ID)Otter Dynasty (Animal Planet)Silos Baking Competition (Magnolia Network)

May 2990 Day Fiance: The Other Way: Pillow Talk (TLC)Motel Rescue (Magnolia Network)Reality (HBO Original)The Curious Case of Natalia Grace (ID)

May 30Angie Tribeca, Seasons 1-3 (TBS)Craig of the Creek, Season 4F (Cartoon Network)Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico (CNN)

May 31Ghost Adventures: Lake of Death (Discovery)

June 13:10 to Yuma (2007)A Star Is Born (1954)A Star Is Born (1976)Army of Darkness (1993)Balls of Fury (2007)Beautiful Creatures (2013)Big Daddy (1999)Breach (2007)Bulworth (1998)Class Act (1992)Click (2006)Dave (1993)David Copperfield (1935)Demolition Man (1993)Diggers (2006)Dog Day Afternoon (1975)Dolphin Tale (2011)Dumb & Dumber (1994)Dumb & Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd (2003)Eastern Promises (2007)Edge of Darkness (2010)Eli Roth Presents: The Legion Of Exorcists (Travel Channel)Enter The Dragon (1973)Fame (1980)Fifty Shades Darker (2017, Extended Version)Fifty Shades Freed (2018, Extended Version)Gold Diggers of 1933Gold Diggers of 1935Grease (1978)Hairspray (2007)I Origins (2014)I, Tonya (2017)Jackie Brown (1997)Jeremiah Johnson (1972)Jersey Boys (2014)Just Mercy (2019)Knock Knock (2015)Little Shop of Horrors (1986)Magic Mike (2012)Martin Lawrence Live: Runteldat (2002)Military Wives (2019)Moneyball (2011)Monster-In-Law (2005)Monsters vs. Aliens (2009)Moonlight (2016)Naked.Loud.Proud (Max Original)Narc (2002)National Lampoons European Vacation (1985)Never Say Never Again (1983)Objective, Burma! (1945)On Moonlight Bay (1951)Operation Crossbow (1965)Police Academy (1984)Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (1985)Police Academy 3: Back In Training (1986)Police Academy 4: Citizens On Patrol (1987)Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach (1988)Radio (2003)Ready Player One (2018)Romance on the High Seas (1948)Selena (1997)Sex And The City (2008)Sex And The City 2 (2010)Sunday in New York (1964)Tea for Two (1950)The Big Wedding (2013)The Blackcoats Daughter (2015)The Boy Next Door (2015)The Dead Files (Travel Channel)The Drop (2014)The Evil Dead (1981)The Evil Dead (2013)The Evil Dead II (1987)The Family (2013)The Hurt Locker (2009)The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete (2013)The Lodge (2019)The Nuns Story (1959)The Painter and the Thief (2020)The Saint (1997)The Turning Point (1977)Tooth Fairy (2010)Woodstock: The Directors Cut (1994)X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)Youre Next (2013)

June 2Magic Mikes Last Dance (2023)Painting With John, Season 3 (HBO Original)Well Designed (Magnolia Network)

June 490 Day Fiance: Before The 90 Days (TLC)Battle on the Beach (HGTV)The Idol (HBO Original) *4K UHD, HDR 10, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

June 5Louisiana Law (Animal Planet)

June 6Burden of Proof (HBO Original)Bugs Bunny Builders, Season 1E (Cartoon Network)

June 7Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) *4K UHD, HDR 10, Dolby Vision and Dolby AtmosGhost Adventures (Discovery)

June 8A Star Is Born (2018)American Pain (Max Original)

June 9AEW All Access (TBS)First Five (Max Original)

June 10Build It Forward (HGTV)Red 2 (2013)Walker, Season 3

June 12Celebrity IOU, Season 4A (HGTV)

June 13Vacation (2015)

June 14How Do You Measure A Year? (HBO Original)Small Town Potential (HGTV)

June 15Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens, Season 3Crack Addicts (TLC)Outchefd (Food Network)Rap Battlefield, Season 2 (Max Original)

June 16Hoffman Family Gold (Discovery)Meet the Batwheels shorts, Season 1C (Cartoon Network)The Cabin Chronicles, Season 3 (Magnolia Network)

June 17John Early: Now More Than Ever (HBO Original)

June 18Beachside Brawl (Food Network)The Great Food Truck Race: David vs. Goliath (Food Network)The Righteous Gemstones, Season 3 (HBO Original)We Baby Bears, Season 2A (Cartoon Network)

June 19Street Outlaws: Mega Cash Days (Discovery)

June 217 Little Johnstons (TLC)The Stroll (HBO Original)

June 22And Just Like That, Season 2 (Max Original) *4K UHD, HDR 10, Dolby Vision and Dolby AtmosChristina On The Coast (HGTV)Downeys Dream Cars (Max Original)

June 23Rich & Shameless, Season 2A (TNT)Teen Titans Go!, Season 8B (Cartoon Network)

June 25Mini Reni (Magnolia Network)

June 26Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham (2023)

June 27Chopped (Food Network)Taylor Macs 24-Decade History of Popular Music (HBO Original)

June 28Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed (HBO Original)

June 29Revealed (HGTV)Ten-Year-Old Tom, Season 2 (Max Original)Warrior, Season 3 (Max Original)

June 30Beachfront Bargain Hunt Renovation, Season 7 (Magnolia Network)

In case you missed it, this popular franchise is getting a new Max Originals series

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Max Reveals All of the New Titles Coming to It's Platform In May ... - Just Jared Jr.

The 27th annual meeting of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), that took place from 8 to 12 May 2023 in Mauritius, delivered some important results for sustainable fisheries in the Indian Ocean and concluded in the adoption of 9 important conservation and management measures.

The EU welcomes the adoption of a measure to ensure the sustainable management for the bigeye tuna.

The measure introduces clear catch limits for all countries fishing in the area to ensure that the global quota will not be exceeded. Furthermore, special provisions were agreed to enable coastal states to be able to develop their own fisheries. The EU agreed to contribute the most to the catch reduction, reducing EU catches by 18.7% against the 2017-2021 declared catch average.

Unfortunately, no agreement could be reached on yellowfin tuna, nor on setting catch limits for skipkjack tuna. The EU regrets this and hopes that progress can be made on the management of these stocks as well as soon as possible.

Another success is the adoption of the long-standing proposal of the EU to improve the compliance process of the IOTC. After reiterated EU proposals to amend the rules of the Compliance Committee, the IOTC finally agreed to this important step forward to make sure that fishing activities are conducted in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and conservation measures. Moreover, the proposal supports IOTC countries to identify the priority areas where compliance is to be improved.

Additionally, the IOTC adopted an important measure to protect seabirds, and cetaceans from adverse impacts of the tuna fisheries. The measure to protect cetaceans was co-sponsored by the EU. These measures reinforce the ecosystem approach taken by the IOTC, that aims to take into consideration the whole ecosystem when managing the fisheries.

The IOTC adopted a proposal co-sponsored by the EU to adopt minimum electronic monitoring standards (electronic monitoring system - EMS - or Remote Electronic Monitoring - REM).

The IOTC is the first regional fisheries management organisation(RFMO) that adopts such standards. This will allow to raise the observer coverage in the near future, something that was not possible with the sole use of human observers (half of the catches in IOTC are taken by artisanal vessels).

The EU regrets that, once again, the IOTC has not been able to agree on a much-needed new resolution for the management of drifting fish aggregating devices (FADs). The EU proposed a new resolution that addressed all the relevant aspects of the FAD fishery, including tackling plastic pollution to limiting the number of FADs. The proposal would have covered all fleets fishing in the region under a single management plan.

The objective was to replace and improve Resolution 23/02, which was adopted in the February special session of IOTC, but to which most of the members fishing on drifting FADs have objected. The EU believes that measures on FAD management are needed and continues to extend an open invitation to IOTC members to enter into dialogue to find a solution acceptable to all, which would have a real impact on the ground.

The EU regrets that the EU proposal to establish a scheme for the boarding and inspection of vessels in the high seas could not be adopted, in spite of enjoying very wide support. The EU will continue its efforts to find an understanding with all parties before the next annual meeting.

The Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) is the regional fisheries management organisation (RFMO) mandated to manage the fisheries on tuna and tuna-like species in the Indian Ocean and adjacent seas. It was established in 1993 and entered into force in 1996.

It is an intergovernmental organisation gathering the countries bordering the Indian Ocean and the countries having an interest in the tuna fisheries in the area. The objectives are to promote cooperation among its members for the conservation and optimal utilisation of the tuna stocks in the area and to ensure the establishment of a sustainable fisheries in the region. To achieve these objectives, IOTC embers meet annually, discuss and adopt measures for the conservation and management of tuna and tuna-like species.

The EU became a member of IOTC in 1995. The other members of IOTC are Australia, Bangladesh, China, Comoros, Eritrea, France on behalf of its overseas territories, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Seychelles, Somalia, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Thailand, the United Kingdom and Yemen.

About RFMOs: Countries with fishing interests in a given geographical area form specific RFMOs. The organisations are open both to countries in the region (coastal states) and countries that have interests in those fisheries (distant water fishing nations). While some RFMOs have a purely advisory role, most have management powers to set catch and fishing effort limits, technical measures, and control obligations. Today, RFMOs cover the majority of the worlds seas. They can broadly be divided into RFMOs focussing only on the management of highly migratory fish stocks, notably tuna, (tuna-RFMOs) such as IOTC and RFMOs that manage other fish stocks (i.e. pelagic or demersal) in a more specific area.

The EU, represented by the Commission, plays an active global role by participating to 18 RFMOs. This makes the EU one of the most prominent actors in RFMOs worldwide, enabling it to promote international ocean governance and the sustainability of international fisheries.

Regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs)

Documents of the 27th annual meeting of the IOTC

European Commission proposals for the IOTC meeting

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Fisheries: agreement reached on sustainable management of ... - Oceans and fisheries

DG Okonjo-Iweala said: I am grateful for the United Arab Emirates' formal acceptance of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies. As host of the upcoming 13th Ministerial Conference to be held in February 2024, and with its affirmation of this historic agreement for healthier oceans, the UAE is providing invaluable support for the work of the WTO and its continuing efforts to ensure the multilateral trading system contributes to sustainable development.

Ambassador Al Jarman said: The United Arab Emirates is proud and honoured to be one of the early member countries to join the international efforts to curb illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. Aware of the harmful impact of overfishing and overcapacity and the urgent need to protect oceans from the widespread depletion of the world's fish stocks, the UAE has formally accepted this long-awaited and historical Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.

The UAE attaches great importance to environmental sustainability, as we are preparing to host two landmark events: the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 30 November 12 December 2023) and the 13th Ministerial Conference of the WTO, end of February 2024. In this regard, we expect a meaningful outcome on trade and sustainability in Abu Dhabi; we therefore call other countries to deposit their instruments of acceptance so as to reach two thirds of the membership, for the benefit of humanity, he said.

Adopted by consensus at the WTO's 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) held in Geneva on 12-17June 2022, the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies sets new binding, multilateral rules to curb harmful subsidies, which are a key factor in the widespread depletion of the world's fish stocks. In addition, the Agreement recognizes the needs of developing and least-developed countries (LDCs) and establishes a fund to provide technical assistance and capacity building to help them implement the obligations.

The Agreement prohibits support for illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, bans support for fishing overfished stocks, and ends subsidies for fishing on the unregulated high seas. Members also agreed at MC12 to continue negotiations on outstanding issues, with a view to making recommendations by MC13, to be held in February 2024 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, for additional provisions that would further enhance the disciplines of the Agreement.

The full text of the Agreement can be accessedhere. The list of members that have submitted their acceptance of the Agreement is availablehere.

Information for members on how to accept the Protocol of Amendment is availablehere.

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United Arab Emirates formally accepts Agreement on Fisheries ... - WTO Latest News

Representational Image

Tar balls, or greasy globules of thick weathered oil that wash ashore, have once again surfaced on Goa's coastline, deterring locals and tourists from walking barefoot.

Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte told reporters that it is an annually recurring phenomenon.

"We have already told the Environment Department about this and have asked them to study and devise plans. We have been told that it is a spillage from the high seas. It is creating problems for the beaches of Goa," he said.

Khaunte added that beach cleaning agencies are clearing them from the beaches. "But somewhere, it has to be stopped. The Goa Pollution Control Board has been given the mandate. We met with the Minister of Ports a couple of months back in this regard. It is important that we handle it," he stressed.

Locals from Mandrem in North Goa informed that presently tar balls have started surfacing on the beaches, creating problems for people.

The tar-ball menace on beaches peaked in 2011, with the state government directing the Indian Coast Guard to crack down on ships dumping their ballast off Goa, but it had not yielded the anticipated results.

Tourism industry stakeholders in the state have repeatedly urged the Goa government to take up the matter with the central authorities to ensure a permanent solution to the menace to beaches, which are a top draw as far as the tourism industry in the state is concerned.

While the government is making all efforts to satisfy the eight million tourists visiting Goa and draw more to the tiny state, it is also facing the challenge of tackling all these issues.

**

The above article has been published from a wire source with minimal modifications to the headline and text.

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Murky Tar Balls Reappear on Goa's Golden Beaches | Weather.com - The Weather Channel

File image courtesy EJF

PublishedMay 14, 2023 12:26 PM by The Maritime Executive

In a new study, researchers at University of British Columbia (UBC) have lifted the lid on the impacts of fisheries subsidies, the majority of which are being granted by governments in Europe, North America and Asia. These subsidies are fueling unregulated fishing, particularly in South American, Latin America and African waters, with harmful impacts.

The researchers found that fisheries subsidies are leading to more fishing vessels chasing fewer fish stocks, leading to adverse environmental and societal impacts.

In essence, the subsidies which are any direct or indirect financial contribution by governments to the commercial fishing industry that aid in increasing revenues or lowering the costs of fishing, have played a central role in encouraging vessels to venture into waters far off from their jurisdictions. Between 20 percent and 37 percent of subsidies are supporting fishing in areas outside of the jurisdiction of the original subsidizing nation, and another three to seven percent support fishing on the high seas.

These government support policies include fuel subsidies, tax exemptions, support for vessel construction, and investment in marketing and processing infrastructure. They alter the economics of fishing in ways that have consequences, according to the researchers.

The study shows that in 2018, an estimated $22.2 billion in fisheries subsidies were provided to the worlds fishing fleets, mainly by governments in the developed world. Of this, some $5.3 billion was likely paid out to support fishing in foreign waters and within the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of foreign nations, and another $1 billion supported fishing in the high seas. The remaining $15.9 billion supported domestic fishing within the EEZs of the subsidizing nations.

The researchers contend that the numbers mean that the benefits, and the resulting environmental and societal costs, of subsidies are not equally distributed across the places the fishing vessels go.

What were finding out is that harmful fishing subsidies create more inequities in places where the coastal communities are already marginalized. You have coastal communities that are already disadvantaged over the big industrial fisheries because the government doesnt really pay too much attention to them, said Anna Schuhbauer, author of the study and postdoctoral research fellow at UBCs Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries.

She added that the harmful subsidies enable fishing fleets to go out fishing even if the fishing isnt profitable, meaning the vessels can go wherever they want, including to other countries.

In June last year, the WTO struck a deal that partially banned provision of fisheries subsidies. However, the deal only covered illegal fishing and fishing on overfished stocks. Another WTO meeting is slated for February 2025 to negotiate the parts of the deal that were not included, including the prohibition of all harmful subsidies.

South Atlantic and African waters are some of the jurisdictions that have come under siege from foreign vessels carrying out unregulated fishing activities, with fleets from China, South Korea, Taiwan and Spain (among others) venturing into far-off waters.

Argentina, for instance, has been forced to deploy offshore patrol vessels to monitor international fishing fleets traveling close to its EEZ en route to the South Atlantic waters where overfishing and illegal practices are depleting stocks, particularly of squid and hake species.

UN Food and Agriculture Organization data show that fish stocks risk collapsing in many parts of the world due to overexploitation. Currently, it is estimated that 34 percent of global reserves are overfished compared with 10 percent in 1974. Today, a tenth of fish stocks globally are now on the brink of collapse, reduced to just 10 percent of their original size.

The UBC study shows that Asia, Europe and North America provide more harmful subsidies to their fishing fleets than their respective regional ecosystems are affected by, making them the net subsidy-sources. Conversely, marine ecosystems within Africa and Oceania are significant net subsidy-sinks, meaning that fishing in their waters is supported by more harmful subsidies than are provided by the nations within those regions.

For developing nations, the impacts of fishing subsidies are damaging in that local fishing suffers when big boats, harmfully subsidized, take all the fish and livelihood opportunities away from local fishers. The ripple effect is rising food insecurity, especially for communities which are heavily reliant on day-to-day subsistence fishing.

The researchers contend that harmful subsidies provided to fishing fleets operating outside of the source-nations EEZs should be prioritized for removal, particularly when they operate in the high seas or the EEZs of low-income nations.

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Study: Fishing Subsidies Support Unregulated Distant-Water Fishing - The Maritime Executive

Halbrand is Galadriel's bestie in Season 1. The two meet on the high seas, where Halbrand immediately begins getting under Galadriel's skin. Slowly, her distrust is compromised ... until, hey presto! Her new best bud reveals himself to be Sauron in disguise. The Elf rejects the Dark Lord's offer of power, leading to Halbrand's rapid withdrawal from the situation.

While he does hightail it back to Mordor, there's certainly potential that Sauron could come back in Season 2 in a new way. In fact, some leaks have already hinted that he could be showing up in a different form. (He's a shapeshifter, so he can do that kind of thing.)

If that happens, we might end up seeing a different version of the Dark Lord. He might even show up in his infamous form of "Annatar, the Lord of Gifts." This is a hidden persona (like the Halbrand one) in which Sauron pretends to help the Elves make the Rings of Power. Since JD Payne and Patrick McKay's show has opted to only make the Three Elven Rings so far (a significant deviation from J. R. R. Tolkien's ring-making timeline, where they're made after the Rings for Men and Dwarves), it's entirely possible that Sauron will secretly come back in the form of Annatar to help make the rest of the overpowered trinkets.

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The Rings Of Power's Morfydd Clark Hints At 'Quite A Lot Of New ... - Looper

Oceans account for 96 per cent of all habitable space on Earth. Scientists have mapped the surface of Mars and Venus more closely than they have the seafloor, with its as yet unnumbered trenches and seamounts. Yet many marine species that once teemed in their millions have been harried close to extinction by nets, longlines and harpoons. The scale of the loss is mind-boggling. For every three hundred green turtles that swam the Caribbean before industrialised fishing, just one is left. Ninety per cent of the worlds large fish and oyster beds have gone. Seagrass meadows are disappearing at a rate of 7 per cent per year. Only one in twenty blue whales remain.

This carnage required immense, dogged effort, and a blizzard of technology (from sonar to drones to so-called Fish Aggregating Devices), nets that could swallow a Boeing 747 and longlines that extend for a hundred kilometres, snagging everything in their path. These nets and lines have been dragged through the sea by vast fishing fleets dominated by a dozen or so large corporations. The operation has relied on an indulgent political class. The fleets have been fuelled by huge public subsidies, even as they destroy coastal livelihoods. They have largely avoided scrutiny over decarbonisation an impressive feat, as Charles Clover observes in Rewilding the Sea, since bottom trawling alone releases as much carbon as the entire aviation industry.

Fish are resilient and hugely fertile. It took nearly a hundred years of industrialised fishing to dent their numbers. Global catches have been dropping since the 1980s, a fact the industry has gone to some lengths to conceal. The hunt goes on, reaping fewer and fewer rewards. A typical wooden fishing boat in 1900 could catch sixteen times more fish in an hour than its contemporary equivalent.

The industry has often presented itself as the custodian of marine life. In the 19th century, some fishermen argued that a regular trawl stimulated life on the seabed, just as a good plough increased the harvest back on land. Now that divers can film the seabed as trawlers pass by and record the devastation left behind such claims are insupportable. Nevertheless, the Marine Stewardship Council continues to award sustainable certification to those who fish species such as the Atlantic bluefin tuna, whose numbers fell by 70-80 per cent between 1970 and 2009 and are still struggling to recover. It makes you wonder what unsustainable fishing looks like.

Clover argues that the oceans can still recover some of their lost plenitude. As executive director of the Blue Marine Foundation, and a force behind many of the success stories recounted in the book, his enthusiasm carries some weight. His solution is to expand the planets network of Marine Protected Areas: zones in which fishing activities are limited or entirely forbidden. Given respite from the industrial onslaught, fish populations could return to health in surprisingly short order. If a decent slice of each MPA were designated as a marine reserve, in which no fishing at all is allowed, even better.

Clovers good news stories begin in some far-flung places. MPAs surround a number of British Overseas Territories, including Ascension and the Pitcairn and Chagos island groups. The stories follow a pattern. A proposal to create an MPA is put to locals, who point out that they will lose their income if they are not allowed to fish or to sell fishing rights. Major conservation donors are asked to provide an endowment to support the local economy; the deal is made. The results are impressive: fish, turtles, whale sharks and dolphins start coming back.

In the Chagos archipelago, things are a little different. There are no locals to deal with, the UK government having illegally thrown them out decades ago. In 2010, during the very last days of New Labour, David Miliband declared a Chagos MPA at the time the worlds largest. The proportion of the oceans which was highly protected went from less than 1 per cent to 1.5 per cent overnight, and local ecosystems began to recover. Clover played a significant role, identifying a Swiss billionaire prepared to underwrite the running costs. He doesnt mention that in 2015 the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that the Chagos MPA was an unlawful infringement on the sovereignty of Mauritius over the islands or that Foreign Office officials had advised Miliband against the initiative. But he does say that he supports the right of return of the Chagossian people. Once they go back home, the decision whether or not to maintain the MPA will be theirs.

In the waters off the UK, the process of declaring MPAs has been complicated in other ways. Clover has spent a lot of time trying to win over politicians who have other things on their minds. Frustrated with their foot-dragging, he eventually endorsed Greenpeaces plan, carried out in September 2020, to drop granite boulders in the Dogger Bank, a once fertile sandbank in the North Sea. Trawlers now have to give the boulders a wide berth or risk damaging their equipment. One of the boulders has Charles Clover painted on its side.

Last June, the UK government finally banned bottom trawling on sections of the Dogger Bank. There have been other successes. Tens of thousands of oysters have been transported to the Solent and now spawn larvae in their billions. Those that make it to adulthood will help clean up coastal waters. Kelp beds along the Sussex shore have been nurtured back to health; locals have spotted seahorses clinging to the kelp fronds. In Lyme Bay, thanks to a conservation project initiated in 2012, the numbers of lobster and flatfish have quadrupled. Jobs in small-scale fishing have been created. Carbon is being locked away as coastal vegetation begins to recover.

Such efforts, however, have to contend with the industrial fishing lobby and its political facilitators. Many governments lack the resources as well as the inclination to protect their coastal waters. Persuading them to act requires slow advocacy. In the parts of the oceans that arent governed by any state what international lawyers call the High Seas this approach wont work. The High Seas comprise 64 per cent of the oceans by surface area and more than 90 per cent of their volume. Fishing in these areas is a free for all. Countries can, if they choose, come together to create regional fisheries management organisations, and negotiate catch limits for particular species in particular places. There are eighteen such organisations, and their performance has ranged from the moderately effective to the deplorable. They suffer from a major structural problem: a country can threaten to leave the organisation and fish as much as it likes. As a result, catch limits are often set absurdly high. The governance of the giant bluefin tuna, for instance, has been described by Jennifer Telesca, an environmental researcher in the Netherlands, as a policy of managed extinction.

Even if a state joins a fisheries management organisation and agrees to stick by its rules, any of its fishing vessels can opt to sail under the flag of a different country instead. Switching flag is quick and easy, and there is no shortage of options from Barbados to Sri Lanka to the Cook Islands to Faroe. Flag of convenience countries there are currently 42 of them, with Panama the most popular are uninterested in promoting marine conservation. Boats sailing under their colours need observe no constraint. Around a thousand Chinese industrial fishing vessels sail under flags of convenience, many of them on the High Seas.

The permissive nature of High Seas fishing has been deeply damaging. As yet unexplored seamounts have been dredged beyond repair in places where fishing looks less like farming and more like one-hit mining. BASF, a German chemical production company, has patented tens of thousands of pieces of marine genetic information holding, perhaps, the secret to medicines or chemicals of the future and paid no one for the privilege. The dream is extraction without responsibility, and state subsidies thrown in wherever possible. Anyone wondering what the future of space exploration might look like should pay attention to the governance of the High Seas.

There are many obstacles to reform. In 2006, an attempt to ban bottom trawling on the High Seas was blocked by Iceland. In 2018, a bid to create a large MPA in the Weddell Sea off the Antarctic coast was stymied by Russia, Norway and China. On 4 March this year, a new High Seas Treaty was agreed at the UN. Without it, the goal of protecting 30 per cent of land and sea by 2030 a commitment central to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework wouldnt stand a chance. The treaty provides a framework for establishing MPAs on the High Seas. But whether they can be agreed on a meaningful scale remains to be seen. Clovers suggestion that governments be forced to withdraw fuel subsidies (travelling two hundred nautical miles out to sea wouldnt make sense without artificially cheap fuel) might be more effective.

Some marine scientists are beginning to think bigger. For all the money thrown at it, only 1 or 2 per cent of total seafood production comes from the High Seas. Nobody is nutritionally dependent on High Seas fish which isnt surprising, since the poor cant afford the fuel to get there in the first place. If there were no fishing on the High Seas at all, we would barely miss it. The fisheries economist Christopher Costello has suggested that the fishing industry would actually catch more fish, and make more profit, if fish had the High Seas as a safe space in which to spawn. What if the expensive, irrational, state-sponsored destruction of the worlds largest ecosystem simply came to a halt? Such a policy could be supplemented by a network of protected areas within each countrys marine territory. The Kunming-Montreal framework aims to protect less than a third of the oceans; if the entirety of the High Seas, and half of everything else, were free from fishing, that would take us closer to 80 per cent.

Of course, designating the whole of the High Seas an enormous marine reserve wouldnt address all marine problems. Seabed mining would still need to be banned. Pollution from agricultural run-off and our throwaway relationship to plastic are major challenges. Carbon emissions on land are causing the oceans to acidify ten times faster than at any point in the last 65 million years. As the oceans get warmer, heat stress causes coral polyps to expel the algae they depend on for nutrition. Mass coral die-offs are becoming more common. Protecting the High Seas from fishing and other extractive activities wouldnt undo the damage. But it would be a start.

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Chris Armstrong Short Cuts: High Seas Fishing LRB 18 May 2023 - London Review of Books