Volume 15 Issue 1 U.H.A. Website www.geoduck.org

KUNG HEI FAT CHOY!

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

Chinese New Year is the longest and most important celebration in the Chinese Calendar. The Chinese year 4706 begins on Feb. 7, 2008. Chinese months are reckoned by the lunar calendar, with each month beginning on the darkest day. New Year festivities traditionally start on the first day of the month and continue until the fifteenth, when the moon is brightest. In China, people may take weeks of holiday from work to prepare for and celebrate the New Year.

Year of the Rat

Legend has it that in ancient times, Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve came, and Buddha named a year after each one. He announced that the people born in each animal\'s year would have some of that animal\'s personality. Those born in rat years tend to be leaders, pioneers, and conquerors. They are charming, passionate, charismatic, practical and hardworking.

GEODUCKS IN THE NEWS

The head line: “Geoduck: Weird Clam Worth a Fortune” and a picture of a geoduck appeared on the front page of the Vancouver Sun on Monday, January 7, 2008 along with a full article with pictures of geoduck and a diver on the front page of the business section.

To see a copy of this article go to:

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/business/story.html?id=d25ce742-9d4b-4ca9-afd3-6757c63e4fbc&k=9761

The article was followed up the next day with a letter to the editor from a woman with fond memories of digging geoducks for chowder when she was young.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/letters/story.html?id=c285d193-1aeb-4de4-8a79-5baeac9ba7bd

Geoduck was also mentioned in a restaurant review for the Master Hung BBQ Restaurant on Blundell Road.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/story.html?id=50df76c8-068b-40cb-87d6-00573769959d

DFO ANNOUNCES EXPANDED PROGRAM FOR ACQUIRING COMMERCIAL FISHING LICENCES

DFO has announced it is working to increase Aboriginal communities’ participation in integrated commercial fisheries. This will be accomplished by the voluntary retirement of commercial licences and quota and subsequent issuance of communal commercial licences and quota to Aboriginal communities and groups.

The expanded retirement and transfer program was announced on January 16 and applications for the first round of retirements under this expanded program must be faxed or mailed to DFO by February 4, 2008. Subsequent rounds will follow. All licence types and all groundfish quota are eligible, however at this time DFO is not seeking reduced fee licence eligibilities or spawn on kelp, eulachon, euphausiid and intertidal clam licences. For more information see:

http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/ops/fm/PICFI/AcquiringAccess_e.htm

DIVE SAFETY TRAINING UPDATE

Grant Dovey, UHA

This December WCB visited the north coast geoduck fleet and temporarily shut down the majority of the boats due to non-compliance with one or more of the requirements listed below. Refer to the WorkSafe BC Occupational Health and Safety Regulations on the web at www2.worksafebc.com/publications/OHSRegulation/Home.asp.

The majority of the requirements are in Section 24, Diving, Fishing and Other Marine Operations.

3 person crews Are required under WCB OHS Regulations: Section 24.40 Minimum crew

current dive medicals for all divers are required under WCB OHS Regulations: Section 24.10 Medical certification

(1) The employer must ensure that each diver has current medical certification, from a physician knowledgeable and competent in diving medicine, before commencing diving operations…

Specific dive training requirements:

1. current CPR Level A for all crew members
2. oxygen therapy certification for all crew members
3. Dive Accident Management (DAM) certification for all crew members

……… (3) All divers, diving supervisors and divers\' tenders must be trained in CPR, oxygen (O₂) therapy, and diving accident management.

I have arranged for two, 3 day courses that combine DAM/Level 1/CPR A/Oxygen Therapy training via DiveSafe International (Kelly Korol, www.divesafe.com ) in Campbell River. Contact DiveSafe or Grant Dovey (250-245-1037, gdoveyoffice@shaw.ca) if you’d like to register for either of these 3 day courses.

o Feb. 29^th , Mar. 1^st and 2^nd

o May 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th

BC College of Diving also offers DAM and O2 Therapy out of Sydney, BC (http://www.bccollegeofdiving.com/aboutus/).

Dive crew training requirements:

I spoke directly with WorkSafe BC regarding first aid certification on a commercial dive vessel and was instructed that at least one crew member must possess:

1. current Level 1 First Aid, also called Emergency First Aid – Industry, and
2. a current Transportation Endorsement

Both of these courses (1 day each) are offered at a number of St. John Ambulance locations throughout BC (www.sja.ca). Alternatively, your Level 1 can be combined with O₂ Therapy in one day via DiveSafe Int.

Transport Canada also requires that all crew members possess Marine Emergency Duties Training. I described the types of vessels in the dive fleet and the areas of operation to TC personnel and they recommended MED A1 (approx. 3 days instruction). Previous MED A2 trainind (4 days instruction) is also acceptable. TC has required fish harvesters to have MED training since 1997. TC Ship Safety Bulletin 11/2007 (www.tc.gc.ca/marinesafety) states that, TC is maintaining an enforcement deadline of April 1, 2008 for masters and crew members who have not taken the mandatory MED basic safety training related to their duties on board small vessels. Further, ……. those who have not received the training would be allowed to work on ships if they are registered for the mandatory training at an approved institution by April 1, 2008.

Fish Safe BC, http://www.bcseafoodalliance.com/BCSA/SAFETY.html lists a number of training providers and dates for upcoming MED courses as does the TC web site, http://www.tc.gc.ca/MarineSafety/tp/Tp10655/british-columbia.htm.

WCVI AND STRAIT OF GEORGIA WEB CAMS

The following web site contains links to a couple Strait of Georgia web cams/weather stations with way more real time data than Environment Canada.

http://www.bigwavedave.ca/

LANDINGS SUMMARY TO

JANUARY 27, 2008

Gulf: 5.0% of quota harvested

West Coast: 26.8% of quota harvested

North Coast: 6.4% of quota harvested

Coastwide: 328,752 lbs. or

9.6% of 2007 quota (3,437,500 lbs) harvested

Fishing Year: 7.7 % of the fishing year has passed.

One Year Ago: Coastwide landings to January 28, 2007 were 398,946 lbs. or 11.6% of the 2007 coastwide quota of 3,437,500 lbs.

This newsletter is a publication of the Underwater Harvesters Association

Michelle James

Executive Director

P.O. Box 39005 , 3695 W. 10^th Ave.

Vancouver , B.C. V6R 4P1

Telephone: (604) 734-5929

Fax: (604) 734-5919

e-mail: mdjames@telus.net