Week of January 21, 2013

For Your Health
National

General
Indiana
Michigan
Other Breaking News Items

 

       Weekly News Archives

                         or

       New Product  Archives

For Your Health

Used coffee grounds are a rich source of healthful antioxidants

To plant food, insect repellant and other homespun uses for spent coffee grounds, scientists are adding an application that could make the gunk left over from brewing coffee a valuable resource for production of dietary supplements. Their new report in ACS� Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry concludes that used coffee grounds are a rich source of healthful antioxidant substances.

 

Maria-Paz de Pe�a and colleagues explain that people around the world drink millions of cups of coffee every day, generating about 20 million tons of used grounds annually. Although some spent coffee grounds find commercial use as farm fertilizer, most end up in trash destined for landfills. Coffee itself is a rich source of healthful antioxidants. De Pe�a�s team wondered about the amount of antioxidants that remained in used

coffee grounds from different coffee-making methods.

 

They found that filter, plunger and espresso-type coffeemakers left more antioxidants in coffee grounds, while mocha coffeemakers left the least. Because filter and espresso coffeemakers are more common in homes and commercial kitchens, the authors report that most grounds are likely to be good sources of antioxidants and other useful substances. They note that after these compounds are extracted, the grounds can still be used for fertilizer.

 

The researchers acknowledge funding from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. �Evaluation of Spent Coffee Obtained from the Most Common Coffeemakers as a Source of Hydrophilic Bioactive Compounds�


National

Supreme Court Rules for Florida Houseboat Owner

Not every floating home is a boat

The U.S. Supreme Court sided Tuesday with a Florida man, ruling that his floating home was a house and that the city where he docked it could not seize it under federal maritime law.  The case could affect thousands of houseboat owners nationwide.

 

Fane Lozman bought the 60-by-12-foot floating home for $17,000 and remodeled it to look and feel like a house on water. It had French doors on three sides, a sitting room, bedroom, closet, bathroom and kitchen, along with a stairway leading to a second-level office, where Lozman worked as a commodities trader. The structure had no self-propulsion, no independent electricity, not even a rudder. To move it on water, it had to be towed.

 

In 2006, after Hurricane Wilma destroyed the marina where Lozman kept his floating home, he had it towed to a marina in Riviera Beach about 80 miles north of Miami.

 

Lozman soon became something of a gadfly in Riviera Beach, challenging the city's plans to build a $2.4 billion luxury development in the marina. As a result of his efforts, Lozman says, the development project fell apart and the city tried to evict him, contending � erroneously, he says � that he owed docking fees and that his 10-pound dachshund was a public danger.

 

In 2008, the city came up with a new redevelopment plan, and Lozman again said he would fight it. This time, the city went to federal court, seeking to have the floating home declared a "vessel" under maritime law. If it was a vessel under federal law, the city could put a lien on the structure until he paid the fees it said he owed.

Lozman represented himself in court, arguing that the floating home was not a vessel and rebutting the city's argument that he owed docking and trespass fees. But a federal judge ruled against him, declared the structure a vessel and ordered him to pay roughly $3,000 in docking fees. After a federal appeals court agreed, Lozman's floating home was put up for public auction and the city bought it.

 

"The city of Riviera Beach went to the auction, outbid the public that attended, purchased my home, and then the next day immediately started destroying it, along with my furniture, at taxpayer's expense," Lozman says.

 

He appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, represented by the Stanford Law School Supreme Court Clinic. On Tuesday the high court, by a 7-to-2 vote, said the city had no right to a lien against Lozman's floating home under federal maritime law because the structure is not a vessel.

Writing for the court majority, Justice Stephen Breyer noted that "not every floating structure is a vessel."

 

"To state the obvious, a wooden washtub, a plastic dishpan, a swimming platform on pontoons ... or Pinocchio (when inside the whale)," none of these are vessels, Breyer said, even though "they are 'artificial contrivances' capable of floating, moving under tow, and incidentally carrying even a fair-sized item or two when they do so."

 

Still, Breyer said, none of these is a vessel under federal maritime law because none is "used as a means of transportation." Similarly, he said, no reasonable observer looking at Lozman's floating home "would consider it designed to a practical degree for carrying people or things over water."


General

IGFA World Records for 2013 Now Available

Since the first annual IGFA World Record Game Fishes book appeared in 1971, the publication has had a legacy as one of the most reliable and complete sources of international fishing records and related reference materials. The 2013 edition has just been released this January and continues the tradition of inspiring awe, appreciation, and an ethical approach to sportfishing with the selection of Marc Montocchio�s marlin photograph for the cover. Montocchio specializes in capturing images and video of unhooked, free-swimming game fish. His focus on the health and conservation of some of the ocean�s most majestic species speaks to the IGFA�s mission and goals in 2013.

The 2013 IGFA World Record Game Fishes opens with a reflection on and celebration of one of the most momentous achievements in IGFA history: the passage of the Billfish Conservation Act into United States law. IGFA Conservation Director Jason Schratwieser then follows this conservation discussion with an article entitled Make Your World Record Count, about improving record-seeking techniques with examples of disqualifying violations that have been submitted. 

Then the topic turns to catching five of Alaska�s salmon species in one day, exclusively on fly tackle, in The Hoodoo River Salmon Slam. Author and renowned photographer Pat Ford takes a journey to the southwest Alaska Peninsula and shares valuable techniques, scenic landscapes, and spectacular salmon fishing along the way.  The theme of world-class photography continues in Is Technology Changing Fishing�s �Hero Shot� for the Better?, as cover artist  Marc Montocchio outlines the practices and ethics of taking impressive photographs of a catch, and the ways

underwater cameras are changing these images for the better.

 

IGFA Historian and Trustee Michael L. Farrior focuses on where the sport started in The Origins of Big Game Fishing, tracing 200 years of rich tackle innovations. Continuing in the vein of evolution, Billfish Crittercam by Sam Friederichs delves into one of the ways billfish research has entered a new era. As he describes an underwater camera he and the National Geographic magazine team have designed and deployed on billfish, Friederichs shares what scientists and anglers are learning from footage shot from a billfish�s perspective.

Finally, the articles of the 2013 Record Book close in a spirit of exploration. In Anglers Pursuing a Grand Adventure, Robert Cunningham, IGFA President Rob Kramer, and Dennis Triana share how they have pushed themselves on amazing quests that offer not only incredible fishing, but also opportunities to learn, experience, and feel truly alive.

This edition of the IGFA�s signature publication will also feature additional online content, including videos from Montocchio and Friederichs. And as always, the most coveted features of the book � the world records and species identifications � will appear fully updated, newly organized, and illustrated in full color. 

 The only way to acquire the 2013 IGFA World Record Game Fishes book is to become a member of the IGFA. Joining online is easy at http://membership.igfa.org, or you may call 954-924-4226 to join today.   www.igfa.org


Indiana

Indiana boater Wins West Marine's "Dream Charter" Sweepstakes

Longtime Boater Will Enjoy Week-Long Stay in the British Virgin Islands

West Marine, the largest specialty retailer of boating supplies and accessories, along with The Moorings (providing yachting holidays for over 40 years around the globe) announced that Rita Flynn of New Albany, IN is the winner of a seven day, six night voyage on the British Virgin Islands.  Flynn was selected as part of the company�s �Moorings Dream

Charter� sweepstakes that took place in all West Marine locations as well

as on the web site at www.WestMarine.com.

 

Flynn enjoys boating and fishing with her husband. The couple discovered the Moorings years ago while on a trip to Tortola. �I�ve been dreaming about a yacht vacation since.  I entered the sweepstakes and now our dream has come true,� said Flynn. Flynn is able to choose between a Sailing Yacht Charter, Power Yacht Charter and Crewed-Yacht Sail-Away Stateroom as the grand prize.


Michigan

DNR Seeks Input on Betsie River Site Feb. 25

The Michigan DNR will host an open house from 7 to 8 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 25, in Room 206 of the Benzie County Governmental Center, 448 Court Place in Beulah, Mich. The open house will offer the public an opportunity to provide input and suggestions on the development of a proposed access site on the Betsie River, located off Kurick and Dziubanek roads in Manistee County.

 

Proposed access site improvements may include barrier-free enhancements, design of the parking area and future site improvements. DNR Parks and Recreation staff and a DNR Fisheries biologist will be on hand to field questions and comments.

 

Anyone needing accommodations to attend the open house should contact Grawn Field Office supervisor Hampton Hobson at 231-263-7905

 

at least five business days prior to the meeting. For details or updates on

this project, please contact Hobson at [email protected]. To view locations of public boat launches in Michigan, visit www.mcgi.state.mi.us/MRBIS.

 

Michigan is one of the nation's leaders in registered watercrafts, approaching nearly 1 million. Boaters enjoy more than 11,000 inland lakes, 36,000 miles of rivers and streams and 3,000 miles of freshwater shoreline - more than any other state. This project is supported through the Michigan State Waterways Fund, which is comprised of revenues received from boat registrations and marine fuel taxes. These revenues are dedicated by state law to be used for the benefit of boating, including the construction, operation and maintenance of recreational boating facilities.


Michigan DNR Seeks Public Comment on Fisheries Plans

The Department of Natural Resources' Fisheries Division has released its draft five-year strategic plan, which will guide its future management activities for 2013-2017. "Charting the Course: Fisheries Division's Framework for Managing Aquatic Resources" can be found online at www.michigan.gov/fishing. The DNR encourages readers to share input on the draft plan's proposed strategies for managing Michigan's aquatic resources.

 

Public comments will be accepted through Feb. 10, 2013, and may be emailed to [email protected].

 

According to Fisheries Division Chief Jim Dexter, the 2013-2017 strategic plan provides a vision and relevant activities for managing the various

components of Michigan's fisheries, including its fish, their habitat and anglers. It is designed to assist the division in meeting its long-standing responsibilities to protect, manage and enhance Michigan's aquatic

resources for the benefit of current and future generations.

"This strategic plan provides citizens with an overview of Fisheries Division's current and future management of Michigan's fishing resources," said Dexter. "It also highlights the various ways we will continue to offer some of the best freshwater fishing opportunities in the country."

 

The draft plan was developed through a process that engaged the public at large, Fisheries Division staff and constituent group leadership. More than 10,000 people provided input into the draft plan's content through online surveys or phone interviews.


No fishing license required in Michigan on Feb. 16-17

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources reminds everyone the annual Winter Free Fishing Weekend is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 16-17. That weekend, everyone - residents and non-residents alike - can fish without a license, though all other fishing regulations still apply.

 

Michigan has celebrated the Winter Free Fishing Weekend every year since 1994 as a way to promote awareness of the state's vast aquatic resources and many fishing opportunities. With more than 3,000 miles of Great Lakes shoreline, 36,000 miles of rivers and 11,000 inland lakes, Michigan and fishing are a perfect match.

"Fishing is one of Michigan's most popular outdoor activities in the winter, and for good reason," said DNR Director Keith Creagh. "It's a fun, inexpensive activity anyone of just about any age can pursue - on your own or along with family and friends. We encourage people to get outdoors this February and experience the thrill of the catch, for free!"

 

Organized Free Fishing Weekend activities are being scheduled in communities across the state. These activities are coordinated by a variety of organizations including constituent groups, schools, local and state parks, businesses and others. A full list of events can be found online at www.michigan.gov/freefishing


Other Breaking News Items

(Click on title or URL to read full article)

 

Asian carp barrier: 'Disco,' electric or lock-out?

Some legislators criticized the DNR�s preferred barrier, a combination of light, sound and bubbles that one lawmaker called disco (because of the light and sound) and one called the Lawrence Welk method (because of the sound and bubbles). Many legislators support an electric barrier, which they thought the DNR was pursuing. A third suggestion emerged, making a Minneapolis lock and dam obsolete, allowing it to remain closed and, thus, stopping any fish from going upstream.

 

Michigan governor to revive water advisory board

Citing concerns about a changing climate, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is expected to outline a plan to re-establish an advisory board on water use

 

 

The opinions expressed here are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the GLSFC, its officers or staff. 

Reproduction of any material by paid-up members of the GLSFC is encouraged but appropriate credit must be given. 

Reproduction by others without written permission is prohibited.

arrowUSFWS Press Releases  arrowSea Grant News

State Fish Pages

Illinois - Indiana - Michigan - Minnesota - Ohio - Pennsylvania - New York - Wisconsin - Ontario

 

Home | Great Lakes States | Membership | Exotics Update | Great Links

Pending Issues | Regional News | Great Lakes Basin Report | Weekly News / Archives