November 2020
Each year, November 3 marks the celebration of World Jellyfish Day. Although there is no traced history as to who started this observance, it is clear that jellyfish have lived in the world’s oceans for a very long time. In fact, scientists have discovered jellyfish fossils that are over 500 million years old.

Unlike species that prefer to stay near the surface or the seafloor, jellyfish travel up and down the entire water column to feed on plankton. Not technically fish, jellyfish are invertebrates and do not have a brain or a central nervous system.

In certain environmental conditions, jellyfish gather in large groups called blooms, which can have significant effects on other aquatic life and even humans. In 2013, a Swedish nuclear power plant had to shut down because jellyfish clogged the cooling system.

Safety at Sea
The United States Coast Guard is directing its inspectors to look more closely at how lithium-ion batteries are used, charged, and stored aboard small vessels. The instruction follows the investigation of the 2019 Labor Day fire on board the Conception dive boat where lithium-ion batteries may have been the cause of the fire. Thirty-four people died in the tragic incident.

The new direction suggests that:

  • Batteries should be stored in cool, dry locations away from combustibles

  • Batteries for electronic devices should be purchased from the device manufacturer or authorized reseller

  • Battery charging should occur in regularly occupied spaces with continuous monitoring like that provided by smoke detectors
BoatUS and over 70 other stakeholders are urging the FCC to rescind their approval of Ligado Networks’ construction of a new 5G wireless network due to concerns that it will interfere with GPS signals.

BoatUS Manager of Government Affairs, David Kennedy says, “The FCC’s decision threatens GPS reliability for countless consumers, farmers, ranchers, pilots, boat owners, surveyors, construction companies, and other private GPS users who will be forced to suffer the network’s interference with their GPS devices or require them to pay to replace them.”

Ligado’s slice of licensed “L-Band” spectrum—designated for space-based navigation and communications—is located near lower frequency bands used by hundreds of millions of GPS units in a variety of industries.