Nicaragua waterway to dwarf Panama canal

Inter-Oceanic Nicaragua Canal is a proposed waterway through Nicaragua
to connect the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean.

From The Guardian

Nicaragua's parliament is due to vote on Thursday 13 on one of the biggest infrastructure projects in Latin America's history – a trans-oceanic canal that is to be built and run by a Chinese company.

If it goes ahead, the $40bn (£26bn) scheme, which is twice as expensive as Brazil's Belo Monte dam and likely to be three times longer than the Panama canal, looks set to transform global shipping and jump start the economy of this Central American nation.

New York : Julius Bien & Co., [187-]  (LOC)

As well as the waterway, the draft agreement between Nicaragua and a Hong Kong registered firm — Nicaraguan Canal Development Investment Co Limited – includes provisions for two free trade zones, an airport and a "dry canal" freight railway.

"This will be the largest project in Latin America in 100 years," Ronald Maclean, the executive fronting the operation in Managua told the Guardian.
"If Nicaragua gets to do this, it is going to be a transformational project not only for Nicaragua but for the region."

Panama canal (03/06/2013) USCG Landsat 8
Meanwhile, the Panama Canal is undergoing its own expansion project that will be complete by 2015, so that vast so-called "post-Panamax" ships can fit through it again instead of having to go around South America.  

Panama canal (NGA chart)
>>> geolocalization with the Marine GeoGarage <<<

Given the government's large majority, parliamentary approval is expected to be a formality, but critics warn the plan is being rushed through without adequate scrutiny of the environmental impact, business viability and public well-being.

A one-year viability study is now under way and the operators soon plan to tap international financial markets in New York, London and Tokyo for investment in a scheme that they say will be entirely privately funded.
President Daniel Ortega is also said to be promoting the scheme in meetings with ambassadors from Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Canada.

Lake Nicaragua makes a canal here extremely practical

>>> geolocalization with the Marine GeoGarage <<<

Although hydro-engineering techniques have advanced considerably since the 48-mile (77 km) Panama canal was completed in 1914, the logistical challenge will be enormous.
The new canal, which will pass through a much wider stretch of land, is likely to be more than 250km long.
It will also be much wider to allow passage by the biggest container ships.
The project will be operated by HKDN — a Hong-Kong based firm set up last year that has established a holding company in the Caiman Islands.
It will pay $10m a year for 10 years to the Nicaraguan government.

 Nicaragua canal route preview
(routes alternatives -source-)

Bigger benefits are expected in the wider economy.
Paul Oquist, secretary of public policies of the presidency of the republic, said the Great Interoceanic canal will allow Nicaragua's GDP to double and employment to triple by 2018.

Legislators have complained that congressional committees had only two days to review a bill that could shape the country for a century.

"Given its complexity, the length of the concession and its importance for all Nicaraguans, this project deserves to be fully discussed and explained, seeking the broadest national consensus," noted the Nicaraguan Foundation for Economic and Social Development, an independent think-tank.
"How can we as Nicaraguans be sure that the conditions stipulated in the bill are the best that could have been achieved?"

 Historic map of the unfinished Panama canal and a planned Nicaragua canal

Details of the possible route have yet to be disclosed, though it is thought likely that it will run through Lake Nicaragua, the most important source of freshwater in the country and a home to sharks and numerous other species.

Jaime Incer, a renowned environmentalist and presidential adviser, urged caution.
"There are alternatives for linking one ocean to the other, but there are no alternatives for cleaning a lake after a disaster has happened. We don't have another Lake Nicaragua," he told the Confidencial newspaper.

Indigenous groups also say they have not been adequately consulted.

 Panoramic view of an old project for the Canal de Nicaragua (1890)

The operator says it has hired one of the world's leading consultancies, Environmental Resources Management to conduct impact assessments: "HKND Group has committed to develop the project in a manner that conforms with international best practices, delivers significant benefits to Nicaragua and its people, generates local job growth and economic development, honours the local population and heritage of the country, and serves the best interests of Central America and, indeed, the world."

 General plan showing location of ship canal from Atlantic to Pacific (1890)

A.G. Menacol, Chief Engineer. (LOC)

But little is known of the group behind the project, which is headed by Wang Jing, the head of one of China's biggest telecom firms Xinwei.
It is unclear whether he has any experience in the field of hydroengineering, shipping or infrastructure, but earlier this year his company signed an agreement with the state-owned China Railway Construction Company, and Jing has met senior leaders in Beijing, including president Xi JInping.

The Nicaragua lake holds Ometepe and Zapatera

which are both volcanic islands on Ometepe island

Margaret Myers, director of the China and Latin America programme at the Inter-American Dialogue, said Wang's involvement did not necessarily mean the involvement of the Chinese government.
"The extent to which this project will increase 'China's' influence in the region and on global trade routes is unclear. This would depend on a wide variety of factors, including HKC's connections to the Chinese government and who else, if anyone, decides to invest in the project," she wrote.

The Nicaraguan government was due to be a 51% shareholder in the projects, according to preliminary legislation passed last year.
There is no mention of this in the latest bill, but Maclean said there has not been a change.
"I think it involves a gradual transfer from the company to the government over the life of the concession and that eventually the government will own the canal," he said.

1901 project

Opposition lawmakers said immunity, tax breaks and other preferential treatment for foreign investors in a still-to-be determined project was a violation of nation sovereignty.

The Sandinista Renovation Movement said it would oppose the bill and "any document that gifts a concession, privileges, exonerations and tax exemptions to an unknown company, for an unknown route, for a period of 100 years."

 Union des deux océans Atlantique et Pacifique

Dupuy, Aug. Myionnet 1855 (LOC)

"We are going to hand over the country's sovereignty without knowing where the canal is going to go, how much it is going to cost, its ecological impact or how long its construction is going to last," Independent Liberal party legislator Eliseo Núñez, told La Prensa.

Links :

• Reuters : Insight: Who wants to bet on a 'Nicaragua Canal'? 
• Wired : Green light given for vast new oceanic canal across Nicaragua

Ocean's little fish are a big deal

Tiny fish play a major role in the ocean's food web. Commonly known as forage fish, small schooling fish like herring and anchovies are a crucial food source for larger, more familiar species like tuna, whales, and seabirds.

The Pew Environment Group produced this animation to show how reasonable limits on catching for forage fish can help maintain a vibrant and productive Pacific coast ecosystem for generations to come.

 From CSMonitor (Paul Shively works to conserve West coast forage fish as manager of the Pacific Fish Conservation Program at The Pew Charitable Trusts. He is a lifelong angler.)

Small 'forage fish' are a crucial source for larger animals in the ocean ecosystem.

Without little fish, there can be no big fish. Pacific coast fishing leaders should thus adopt safeguards to prohibit fishing of saury until it can be shown that this would not adversely impact the ecosystem.

When people think of a healthy ocean, the first thing that comes to mind is usually a large iconic animal, perhaps a humpback whale leaping majestically out of the water or a pelican swooping low across the ocean surface.

In my case, I’m hooked by the thrill of a big salmon as it pulls the line off my reel.

All of these animals dine on vast schools of tightly packed prey fish, commonly referred to as forage fish.
Scientists and fishermen are becoming increasingly aware of their singular importance as the fuel that drives productive coastal ecosystems.

 An infographic from The Pew Charitable Trusts shows an oceanic ecosystem chain.

Op-ed contributor Paul Shively writes: 'To its credit, the [Pacific Fishery Management Council] unanimously adopted a fishery ecosystem plan' whose 'top priority is to make sure that no new fishing begins on forage species without first evaluating the effect on the larger ecosystem.'

At the same time, global demand is growing to catch forage fish for secondary purposes such as chicken feed, fertilizer, and bait for industrial longline fishing overseas.

But catching too many of these forage fish can severely disrupt the ocean life that they sustain. A lack of forage fish can have serious repercussions – especially for the fishing industry.
Without little fish, there can be no big fish.

That’s why many fishing and conservation organizations – including The Pew Charitable Trusts – are rightly advocating for new measures to safeguard forage fish.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council, which is responsible for managing marine fish on the West Coast, will have the opportunity to adopt some of these safeguards as it meets in Garden Grove, Calif., this week.

At the meeting, these West coast fishery leaders should decide to prohibit new commercial fishing on saury – a key forage fish – until it can be shown that it won’t harm bigger fish, whales, and seabirds that depend on saury as a food source.
Doing so will enable the council to ask important questions before US forage fishing begins rather than waiting until industrial-scale fishing boats are catching these important fish.

Internationally, these forage fish – including sardines, anchovies, and saury – already account for more than a third of the total catch of wild marine fish, with 90 percent of it processed into fish meal or oil.

To its credit, the council unanimously adopted a fishery ecosystem plan that begins to consider how everything is connected in the ocean.
The plan’s top priority is to make sure that no new fishing begins on forage species without first evaluating the effect on the larger ecosystem and on other predator fish such as salmon, tuna, and lingcod.

Forage fish eat tiny plants and animals drifting on the ocean’s surface and, in turn, become a crucial food source for whales, seabirds, and bigger fish.
Diminishing forage fish populations can have serious consequences for the larger ecosystem.
Just this year, wildlife rehabilitation centers in California have treated more than 1,500 emaciated and dehydrated sea lion pups at a time when prey fish were scarce.

Pacific saury is exactly the type of currently un-fished forage species that the council’s new ecosystem plan intends to protect.
This dart-shaped fish makes up as much as 78 percent of the diet of the sooty shearwater, a type of seabird that is now arriving by the millions along the California shore from breeding grounds near Chile and New Zealand.

We know that saury is already extensively fished elsewhere around the world, and its relatively high abundance makes it a potential target for fishermen here on the West Coast.
As it stands, fishing could begin on saury at any time with no restrictions – and no consideration of how it would affect predators.
That would be a mistake.
It is one the Pacific Fishery Management Council can – and should – avoid by approving restrictions on forage fishing at its meeting this week.

In April, the Pacific fishery council’s chairman cited the strong public testimony of the seafood industry, birding community, scientists, and fishermen in adopting a meaningful ecosystem plan.
Protecting saury would help to maintain a productive ocean along the Pacific coast while demonstrating that regional fishery managers are serious about moving ecosystem-based management from theory into practice.

Some may wonder why we should act now.
After all, no one on the West Coast is currently fishing for forage fish like Pacific saury, sandlance, or various kinds of smelts.
To answer this concern, it’s worth looking north to Alaska.
North Pacific fishery managers proactively protected dozens of unfished forage species more than a decade ago with the strong support of commercial fishermen.
As one industry organization noted at the time, fishing for predators and their prey is akin to burning a candle at both ends.

I've been fishing almost as long as I can remember.
Yet the thrill of being out on the water with friends, and the rush when a salmon or tuna bends my fishing rod, will never grow old.

OPINION: A better way to prevent overfishing

It’s time for regional managers on the Pacific coast and elsewhere in the country to acknowledge what those of us on the water already know: Little fish are a big deal.
It’s time to protect them.

Links :

• The Guardian : Small and wild: how to feed fish to the world

 

NZ Linz nautical chart tutorial

Tutorial which provides a high level overview of the types of nautical Charts published by Land Information New Zealand (LINZ).

Includes a demonstration of how to access Chart images on the LINZ website.

Links :

• Nautical charts video with Jennifer Ryan, Manager Chart Production for the New Zealand Hydrographic Authority (NZHA) 

 

NZ Linz update in the Marine GeoGarage

5412 Port of Tauranga

12 charts have been updated in the Marine GeoGarage

(Linz May update published June 5 2013) 

• NZ5124 Plans in the Bay of Islands
• NZ5221 Cradock Channel and Mokohinau
• NZ5222 Great Barrier Island (Aotea Island)
• NZ5223 Great Barrier Island (Northwestern Part)
• NZ5314 Mercury Islands
• NZ5412 Port of Tauranga
• NZ6153 Queen Charlotte Sound
• NZ6154 Tory Channel Entrance and Picton Harbour
• NZ8275 Approaches to Nuku'alofa Harbour
• NZ8277 Nuku'alofa Harbour
• NZ14908 Cape Adare to Cape Daniell
• NZ14909 Cape Hooker to Coulman Island

Today NZ Linz charts (178 charts / 340 including sub-charts) are displayed in the Marine GeoGarage.

Note :  LINZ produces official nautical charts to aid safe navigation in New Zealand waters and certain areas of Antarctica and the South-West Pacific.

Using charts safely involves keeping them up-to-date using Notices to Mariners
Reporting a Hazard to Navigation - H Note :
Mariners are requested to advise the New Zealand Hydrographic Authority at LINZ of the discovery of new or suspected dangers to navigation, or shortcomings in charts or publications.

Brazil DHN update in the Marine GeoGarage

1801 Porto de Itajai

 

32 charts have been updated since the last update  :

(DHN update June 14, 2013)

• 231      DA ILHA DO MACHADINHO AO CABO MAGUARI (PROXIMIDADES DA BARRA SUL DO AMAZONAS)
• 300      DA ILHA DO MACHADINHO AO CABO GURUPI
• 410      PROXIMIDADES DA BAÍA DE SÃO MARCOS
• 411      BAÍA DE SÃO MARCOS
• 413      TERMINAL DA PONTA DA MADEIRA E PORTO DE ITAQUI
• 1102      PORTO DE SALVADOR
• 1110      BAÍA DE TODOS OS SANTOS
• 1501      BAÍA DE GUANABARA
• 1531      ILHA DO BOQUEIRÃO E ADJACÊNCIA
• 1632      BAÍA DA ILHA GRANDE - PARTE CENTRO NORTE
• 1633      BAÍA DA ILHA GRANDE - PARTE OESTE
• 1801      PORTO DE ITAJAÍ
• 1908      PORTO DE IMBITUBA
• 21050      DO RIO ITARIRI AO ARQUIPÉLAGO DOS ABROLHOS
• 21800      DA PONTA DE ITAPAGÉ A FORTALEZA
• 23500      DE PINHAL AO RIO GRANDE
• 201      BARRA NORTE DO RIO AMAZONAS
• 202      DA ILHA DO BAILIQUE À PONTA DO CAPINAL
• 204      DAS ILHAS PEDREIRA À ILHA DE SANTANA
• 220      DA BARRA NORTE AO PORTO DE SANTANA
• 4105A      DE PARINTINS À COSTA DO GIBA
• 4105B      DA COSTA DO GIBA À ITACOATIARA
• 303      DO CABO MAGUARI À MOSQUEIRO
• 315      DA BOCA DA VIGIA À MOSQUEIRO
• 316      DE MOSQUEIRO A BELÉM
• 320      PORTO DE BELÉM

Today 424 charts (465 including sub-charts) from DHN are displayed in the Marine GeoGarage
Don't forget to visit the NtM Notices to Mariners (Avisos aos Navegantes)