Congratulations to Jeffery Gallant and his team!! The 2010 Diving Almanac & Book of Records is now online!!! Five years of hard work, 3000 articles, 484 diving records, 596 diving personalities, and much more updated on a daily basis. Best of all, it's absolutely FREE! Be among the first to sign up at....
2004 – Again about four million fish return but only 1.7 million live to spawn, 77 per cent below what biologists feel is needed to rebuild the stocks. Water temperatures set a record, and an abundance of sea lice is noted on young salmon migrating through the Broughton Archipelago.
2007 – Broad fishing closures are imposed when only 1.4 million sockeye return to the Fraser.
("The Salish Sea Map, Stefan Freelan, WWU, 2009")
In late 2009, naming boards in both Canada and the U.S.A. granted approval to use the name, “Salish Sea” for a body of water that extends from the north end of the Strait of Georgia and Desolation Sound to the west end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and south to the southern extent of the Puget Sound including the inland marine waters of southern British Columbia, Canada and northern Washington, USA. These separately named bodies of water form a single estuarine ecosystem. The new name for these waters has been embraced by citizens on both sides of the border, including the Coast Salish Gathering (the alliance of Coast Salish Tribal and First Nations leaders).
Salish Sea is not a historical term for the inland waters of British Columbia and Washington State. Marine biologist Bert Webber proposed it in 1988. Dr. Webber recognized the need for a single geographic term that encompassed the entire ecosystem, spanning across the international border. Having a name to identify the entire area calls attention to the trans-border commonality of water, air, wildlife and history. Rather than being a replacement for any of the existing names, the designation Salish Sea is an overlay that includes and unites the established and familiar names of the various water and land bodies (the Strait of Georgia, Strait of Juan de Fuca, Puget Sound, Gulf Islands, San Juan Islands, etc.). The name also pays tribute to the Coast Salish peoples who have inhabited the area since long before Euro-American explorers first arrived.
What a wonderful way to start the year 2010!
I have been invited to speak once again at the UASBC Underwater Exploration Series on January 27, 2010. The Underwater Archaeological Society of British Columbia (UASBC) presents an Underwater Exploration Speaker Series each year. Regular meetings are held on the last Wednesday of each month (except July and August) at 7:30pm at the Vancouver Maritime Museum, 1905 Ogden Avenue in Vancouver. Everyone is welcome and there is no cost.
BC Premier Gordon Campbell today announced that Canada's Queen Charlotte Islands will now become known as Haida Gwaii. The premier stated the new indigenous name for the archipelago off the British Columbia’s coast will in time be reflected on provincial maps and all other official provincial documents and presentations. Haida Gwaii translates into Islands of the People. Congratulations to the Haida First Nations!
Wherever you may be on November 11th at 11am, take a moment to pause and reflect upon the men and women, past and present ,that have helped to preserve our way of life as well as freedoms of allies throughout the world.
My wife and I enjoyed Dim Sum last week with some dear friends who later introduced us to our first cup of Civet Coffee, “one of the world’s most expensive and coveted coffees”.
It is not widely known that the Philippines produces one of the world's most expensive and coveted brands of coffee. Natives go into mountain forests to hunt for undigested coffee beans that are excreted as sausage-like clumps onto the forest floor by the Philippine Civet cat, a nocturnal jungle animal. Yes, that’s right… the droppings are coffee beans that have passed through the civet cat whole after fermenting in their stomachs. Apparently, that's what gives this coffee its unique taste and aroma.
The Philippine Civet cat belongs to the mongoose family and uses its nose to choose the ripest and sweetest coffee cherries to feast upon during coffee season. Gathered very early in the morning usually before the sun rises, local forest dwellers climb the mountains to pick the civet droppings off the jungle floors. On a good day, a coffee gatherer can collect one kilo of civet droppings. the coffee beans are washed and dried out in the sun and roasted, until the strong aroma comes out.
Literally worth its weight in gold, Civet coffee, which some coffee aficionados consider among the world's best, sells in the United States for as much as $660 a kilogram or $300 a pound. Only 250 kg are produced worldwide each year, says Antonio Reyes, Executive Director of the International Coffee Organization Certifying Agency. Reyes says the civet's digestive process, particularly enzymes in its stomach, probably gives the brew its distinctive flavor and aroma.
Scuba Diver Australasia gave a full page spread to one of my photos in their November 2009 issue. Scuba Diver Australasia is a scuba magazine dedicated to the underwater world in the Asia Pacific. The official publication of the PADI Diving Society in the Asia Pacific, Scuba Diver Australasia was first published in 1979 under the name Scuba Diver. In 2000, it was renamed Scuba Diver Australasia. As of April 2009, the magazine has a readership of 90,000 across 48 countries.
"A guaranteed shark sighting is worth its weight in gold to the tourism industry."
He said recent research by James Cook University found potential shark sightings were a major drawcard to the diving sector, with tourists willing to pay thousands of dollars to see a shark in the wild.
The researchers estimated up to 25 per cent or $1,375 of each visitor's expenditure in Cairns and Port Douglas in far north Queensland went towards the opportunity to see a shark.
Divers mostly want to see hammerhead sharks followed by whale sharks and tiger sharks, the study found. The group says more than 70,000 sharks are taken by fishermen each year in waters off north Queensland, many inside the Great Barrier Reef area.
Sharks thus come under particular threat because of slow growth rates, late sexual maturity, long gestation periods and birthing only a few young at a time.
Complete Story
“The strength and beauty of sharks are a natural
barometer for the health of our oceans.
Therefore, I declare today that Palau will become
the world’s first national shark sanctuary, ending
all commercial shark fishing in our waters and giving
a sanctuary for sharks to live and reproduce
unmolested in our 237,000 square miles of ocean.
We call upon all nations to join us.”
Johnson Toribiong, President of Palau,
in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly
on friday, September 25, 2009
For the latest information on Palau Shark Sanctuary click here http://sharksanctuary.blogspot.com
