mrmoshe

Sydney boaties' licence scramble May 16, 2009 12:00am SYDNEY'S wannabe boaties are scrambling to get their licences before tougher laws are introduced next month, with almost double the amount of new skippers hitting the water compared to last year. The NSW Maritime boat licence regulations coming into effect on June 1 require people to prove they've had around 10 hours experience on the water by keeping a log book signed by a licensed skipper. Currently the process involves a simple course which can be done in a class or online, and a short multiple-choice test. In the first three months of this year, 13,621 people across NSW successfully applied for their licence compared to 7860 last year. The RTA and boating companies running boat licence courses across Sydney have been overwhelmed by people keen to pass the test before the deadline. "It has been too easy for too long to get a boat licence," Sydney Sea School trainer Mark Edmunds said.

Elderly fishermen drown in boat mishap May 12, 2009 - 3:14PM Two elderly men have drowned on a fishing trip in the Port Stephens area of NSW. Emergency crews went to Caswell Crescent near Tanilba Bay about 11am (AEST) today after being told there were people in the water. "The local men, aged 72 and 74, were in a small runabout inspecting crab pots off Bato Bato Point, near Tanilba Bay, just after 10am," police said in a statement. "A short time later, members of the public noticed the pair in trouble in the water not far from the shoreline and raised the alarm." Onlookers brought one of the men to shore but could not revive him. "The other man was plucked from the water by Port Stephens Water Police, however he also was unable to be revived," police said. Investigators remain at the scene and will prepare a report for the coroner.

Fisherman's lucky escape after tangling with 4.5m white pointer shark May 09, 2009 12:00pm A FISHERMAN came face-to-face with a massive Great White shark after falling from his dinghy in Cockburn Sound early Saturday morning. The Rockingham man, aged in his 30s, fell into the sea as he tried to defend himself against a 4.5m shark that rammed his small aluminium fishing boat from behind at 7am. In a terrifying chain of events described by sea rescue volunteers, the man tried to deter the shark from chewing on his outboard motor by hitting it on the nose with an oar. But the man-eating monster grabbed the oar and as the fisherman attempted to retrieve it, he toppled into the water. The boat, which the man was preparing to anchor, was still in gear and motored away from him towards shore, preventing him from climbing aboard. The shark circled the man four or five times before he was able to flee. He began a frantic two nautical mile swim to shore and was picked up by a fisherman after half an hour. Yesterday, Rockingham Sea Rescue volunteers recounted the man's terror at his narrow escape. ``He told us the dorsal fin was about the height of a table and the shark was about 4-5m long,'' said volunteer rescuer Colin Lowson. ``He said when he fell out of the boat, he was face-to-face with the shark. It was that close. All he saw was a mass of white.'' A Police spokesman said: "The man was in the process of anchoring the boat when he heard a noise coming from the boat's motor. "When he turned around he noticed a shark, described as a 4.5m white pointer, nibbling at the motor." The incident occurred just a few kilometres from where Port Kennedy man Brian Guest was taken by a 4m-5m white pointer in December 2008. Mr Guest, 56, was diving for crabs in just a few metres of water when he was taken by a giant shark. At City Beach early today a PerthNow reader reported seeing a giant dorsal fin, just 25m from the shore. Matty said: "Went for my morning run at south City Beach, 300m down from the groyne and to my astonishment a dorsal fin the size of a bike wheel was about 25m off of the beach. "I'm pretty sure it was a great white.''

Warnings for rock fishermen * Daniel Lewis * May 3, 2009 FOOLHARDY rock fishermen face being chased away from the water's edge by a helicopter with its loudspeaker and siren blaring warnings. More than 200 rock fishermen in NSW have been killed in 40 years, including at least 50 over the past four years, so rescue authorities and fishing groups have joined academics in a bid to curb the rising toll. The State Government's Safe-Waters website lists rock fishing as the most dangerous sport in Australia. The Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter crew chief Tony Wood agrees, saying the statistics are "startling". Two fishermen, aged 29 and 58, were swept to their deaths off rocks at North Bondi's Ben Buckler last weekend. Working with the University of NSW, fishing and lifesaving groups plan to establish a public alert that can be broadcast when conditions make rock fishing treacherous. Multi-lingual warning signs will go up at popular sites, as research showed 40 per cent of fatalities were people from China, South Korea and Vietnam. Mr Wood said the helicopter could buzz the cliffs between the Royal National Park and Pittwater urging fishermen to leave in high seas. Putting the helicopter in the air costs $3850 an hour, with search and rescue missions plus medical care involving rock fishermen running into millions of dollars each year. More than anything else, Mr Wood wants fishermen to wear life jackets. Although many popular rock fishing spots along the NSW coast boast "angel rings" - flotation devices that can be thrown to anglers - there are none at North Bondi or anywhere in the Waverley Council area. A council spokeswoman said: "Council does not encourage rock fishing on Waverley's coastline as it is extremely dangerous and slippery. We have previously used measures similar to angel rings and we will certainly investigate the possibility of using them again." Australian National sportfishing Association safety officer Stan Konstantaras, who co-ordinates the volunteer-run angel ring project, said the devices had rescued anglers at Avoca and Port Kembla this year. Putting rings at North Bondi had been looked at, he said, but access was dangerous and Waverley was not as supportive as other councils. Rings or not, Mr Konstantaras said the men who died at North Bondi should not have been fishing in such conditions: "If it's too rough, go home." That message will be emphasised in an advertising campaign that will run this year in Asian-language newspapers and on SBS radio. Fishing groups and governments have spent about $500,000 since 1994 installing angel rings and running safety education campaigns.

All cephalopods venomous: study April 13, 2009 - 1:53PM Not the only venomous cephalopod ... the blue-ringed octopus. A breakthrough study has discovered all octopuses, cuttlefish and some squid are venomous. It was previously thought that only the blue-ringed octopus was the one to watch out for. The study by scientists from the University of Melbourne, University of Brussels and Museum Victoria found that, while the blue-ringed octopus remain the only species dangerous to humans, other groups have been quietly using their venom for predation. Bryan Fry from the University of Melbourne said venoms were toxic proteins that performed functions such as paralysing the nervous system. "We hope that by understanding the structure and mode of action of venom proteins we can benefit drug design for a range of conditions such as pain management, allergies and cancer," Dr Fry said. Octopuses, cuttlefish and squid - known as cephalopods - remain an untapped resource for drug development. The team analysed tissue samples from cephalopods from Hong Kong, the Coral Sea, the Great Barrier Reef and Antarctica. The different species' genes were then studied for venom protection and it was found that a venomous ancestor produced one set of venom proteins, but over time additional proteins had added to the chemical arsenal. Scientists will now work on understanding why different types of venomous animals seem to settle on similar venom protein composition. The physical and chemical properties which make them predisposed to be useful as toxin will also be studied.

Crisis bites and anglers take to the water in fishing frenzy BELLINDA KONTOMINAS 11/04/2009 12:00:33 AM AS THE economic crisis continues to bite, increasing numbers of recreational anglers are casting off in Sydney Harbour, hoping the fish will bite too. More people are considering dropping a line in as an inexpensive and easy way to feed their family during uncertain financial times, according to Stan Konstantaras, the NSW president of the Australian National sportfishing Association. In the past two years Mr Konstantaras has seen a 50 per cent increase in the number of people fishing in the harbour, partly due to the cleaner water and ban on commercial fishing. But he says increased fishing rod and tackle sales reveal that some people are more satisfied with hunting and gathering their food than standing in a supermarket line. "People are seeing it as a very cheap way to put food on the table," Mr Konstantaras said. "You can either join the hustle and bustle or sit on the wharf and catch your own in the quiet, and catch a lot of fish." While 5000 people had flocked to the Sydney Fish Markets by 6.30am yesterday to buy their Good Friday meals, the wharves around Pyrmont and the Rocks were packed with fishermen. Guiseppe Roda, 21, of Roselands, Guido Merlino, 21, of Strathfield, Jessica Pose, 20, of Kingsgrove and Roberta Capozzi, 21, of Concord tried their luck at Darling Island Wharf in Pyrmont, hoping to catch a free Good Friday meal. But the young Catholics had failed to catch anything, and estimated they may have spent more money in petrol driving to several fishing spots across Sydney. "We saw a kingfish at Clifton Gardens but it just teased us," Mr Roda said. "We fish because it's tonnes nicer knowing that you caught it yourself." "And it is a cheap way to have fun instead of going out in the city," Ms Pose added. Ray Lautier, 52, and his son Marcus, 7, of Darlington, were fishing for fun and luckily not for dinner as the pair failed to catch anything of size. Mr Lautier, who has been fishing since his teens, said more people appeared to be fishing due to the cleaner harbour and more TV fishing shows. One million people in NSW fish at least once a year and at least 450,000 across the state hold a fishing licence. A lack of public wharves and boat ramps meant increasing numbers of anglers were having to mark their territory early to capture the best spots, Mr Konstantaras said.

Close call for NSW fisherman Joe McArdle saved by bucket A PLASTIC bucket and a bucketload of stamina were all that saved Joe McArdle from an almost certain tragedy yesterday. The 43-year-old was fishing with four mates off a 7m rock shelf near Forster on the Mid-North Coast of New South Wales early yesterday morning when a wave hit the group and swept Mr McArdle out to sea. "I saw it coming in and we all ran as high as we could but there was nothing to hold on to," he said. "It hit me and I went right in. I thought I was gone." It was the first time he had been rock fishing since moving to Australia from Scotland two years ago and he was ill-equipped for the task. Weighed down by heavy clothing and even heavier steel-capped boots, Mr McArdle struggled to stay afloat as wave after waves pummelled him. Quick-thinking mates Troy Twyford and Ricky Martens tossed a large white bucket out to their stricken friend to use for flotation but the swell was so rough he was unable to hold on. "They're shouting at me: 'Joe, try to swim in' but I couldn't - the swell was too big." Mr Martens tied a length of rope to the group's last bucket and hurled it towards Mr McArdle in a final, desperate attempt to save his friend. "I was trying to get to this bucket but I kept thinking, 'I'm not going to make it'," Mr McArdle said. "I said: 'Rick, I can't grab it, I've had enough' and I started going down. "But he started shouting at me, 'You've got to get it' and so I took two last strokes and that's when I made it." As Mr McArdle clung to the bucket, his friends called triple-0. Emergency services contacted the Pacific Palms Surf Life Saving Club, which scrambled a rescue jetski. After more than 40 minutes in the water, Mr McArdle was rescued and taken to hospital with hypothermia and cuts to his hand and arms. Surf Life Saving NSW branch director Julie Wilcox said the incident highlighted the dangers of rock fishing. Five rock fishermen have drowned in NSW since September.

Try the clear perspex ones from any tacklo. Also..do a search (above) for Poddy Mullet on Fishraider and you'll see it pops up regularly. This thread discusses it recently. Cheers, Pete.

All the best Byron and see you back on the water in no time. Get well quick. Cheers, Pete.

There's a video on of a CBS report on theinvasion of the Humboldt squid off California. Some thumper inkers hitting the deck. Cheers, Pete.

I second Byron's suggestion about GoFish Pete. I was in there last week and he had some extremely nice beach rods at very resonable prices. Definitely worth the trip to Dural. Cheers, Pete.

For sale: nagging wife, very high maintenance * March 13, 2009 - 6:02AM A British man fed up with his wife's complaints advertised her for sale - and got a number of offers. "Nagging Wife. No Tax, No MOT. Very high maintenance - some rust," wrote Gary Bates, 38, in a small ad in Trade-It, more usually used to buy and sell cars or household goods. Bates, a self-employed builder from Gloucestershire, southwest England, snapped after his wife Donna got on his nerves while she was watching television and he decided to place the ad as a joke. "She was nagging me for doing something small, while she was watching some rubbish on TV. So I just thought I'd put an ad in to get rid of her. "I didn't think anyone would ring up but I've had at least nine or 10 people calling about her. It's gone mad. There was no one I knew - just people asking, 'Is she still available?"' The couple married only last year, and Bates said his 40-year-old wife - whom he advertised in the magazine's Free to Collect section, along with some of his fishing tackle - initially gave him "a bit of an ear-bashing". But he said: "She's seen the funny side of it now, though!" AFP

Fishy CBD package just a fishing package * March 12, 2009 - 2:11PM A forgetful fisherman is responsible for a major police operation and the evacuation of law courts and the NSW Rugby League headquarters in central Sydney. Police have confirmed that a "suspicious package'' left in Phillip Street, outside the NSW Leagues Club, today is nothing more than a tackle box full of fishing items. The bomb squad, police rescue and sniffer dogs rushed to the scene early afternoon after receiving an emergency call from a member of the public who noticed the box resting among a row of parked motorcycles. Some buildings were evacuated in the area, including the Queens Square tower housing courtrooms for the NSW Supreme Court and the Federal Court. Phillip Street was closed to vehicles and pedestrians while the tackle box was inspected. About 1.20pm (AEDT), a bomb squad officer returned in a relaxed state, carrying the box in his hand. Police are yet to establish who the tackle box belongs to and will continue their investigations. "It was examined and found to be items consistent with fishing,'' Inspector Pat Morris said. The street was reopened and police left the scene a short time later.

Pink dolphin appears in US lake The world's only pink Bottlenose dolphin which was discovered in an inland lake in Louisiana, USA, has become such an attraction that conservationists have warned tourists to leave it alone. Charter boat captain Erik Rue, 42, photographed the animal, which is actually an albino, when he began studying it after the mammal first surfaced in Lake Calcasieu, an inland saltwater estuary, north of the Gulf of Mexico in southwestern USA. Capt Rue originally saw the dolphin, which also has reddish eyes, swimming with a pod of four other dolphins, with one appearing to be its mother which never left its side. He said: "I just happened to see a little pod of dolphins, and I noticed one that was a little lighter. "It was absolutely stunningly pink. "I had never seen anything like it. It's the same color throughout the whole body and it looks like it just came out of a paint booth. "The dolphin appears to be healthy and normal other than its coloration, which is quite beautiful and stunningly pink. "The mammal is entirely pink from tip to tail and has reddish eyes indicating its albinism. The skin appears smooth, glossy pink and without flaws. "I have personally spotted the pink dolphin 40 to 50 times in the time since the original sighting as it has apparently taken up residence with its family in the Calcasieu ship channel. "As time has passed the young mammal has grown and sometimes ventures away from its mother to feed and play but always remains in the vicinity of the pod. "Surprisingly, it does not appear to be drastically affected by the environment or sunlight as might be expected considering its condition, although it tends to remain below the surface a little more than the others in the pod." Regina Asmutis-Silvia, senior biologist with the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, said: "I have never seen a dolphin coloured in this way in all my career. "It is a truly beautiful dolphin but people should be careful, as with any dolphins, to respect it - observe from a distance, limit their time watching, don't chase or harass it "While this animal looks pink, it is an albino which you can notice in the pink eyes. "Albinism is a genetic trait and it unclear as to the type of albinism this animal inherited." A close relation of dolphins, the a shop River Botos, called pink dolphins, live in South America in the a shop. Pinky the rare albino dolphin has been spotted in Lake Calcasieu in Louisiana, USA Photo: CATERS NEWS

A bit more info in this latest tragedy from the Illawarra Mercury: The night was pitch black and there was a large swell building along the ledges of Honeycomb Rocks at Port Kembla when a father and son from Sydney's west were taken by a large wave and swept into the ocean. The two were among a handful of late-night rock hoppers taking advantage of the popular fishing spot on Monday when the wave struck about 10.50pm. Water police, the ambulance rescue helicopter, police dog squad and a pilot vessel from Port Kembla arrived at the scene soon after and began the rescue mission. Sergeant Roger Mayer entered the water with a life ring, and with the guidance of a rescue helicopter crewman was able to locate the 46-year-old son from Lakemba, who was winched to safety. But it was too late for the 71-year-old father from Strathfield, who was found drowned a short time later. The father's name has not been released. The son remains in Wollongong Hospital in a stable condition. There were six rock-fishing deaths in the Illawarra between 2000 and 2006 and this latest fatality again highlights the dangers of the activity. A 2003 NSW Government Water Safety Taskforce report found 74 people lost their lives while rock-fishing along the state's coastline between 1992 and 2000. The report named Port Kembla as one of eight rock-fishing black spots in the state. Honeycomb Rocks is located near Hill 60 in an area known as Red Point. The area is favoured among anglers for bonito, striped tuna, tailor and salmon, but it's also renowned as one of the most dangerous rock-fishing venues in the Illawarra. Stan Weber has lived in a house overlooking Honeycomb Rocks for more than 40 years. He reckons there have been more than 30 drownings at the spot in that time. John Aldridge and Bruce Mitchell from the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard at Port Kembla, said there was little authorities could do to prevent people from undertaking dangerous fishing practices. "They are there at all hours of the night ... even if you put a fence around it you couldn't stop them," Mr Aldridge said. Two flotation rings funded by the Australian National Sports Fishing Association's "angel rings" project are installed at Honeycomb Rocks.

Here's one for the "only in America" dept: Where you put the downrigger is up to you!! From The Wall Street Journal: By BARRY NEWMAN PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Anybody want some top-secret seagoing vessels? The Navy has a pair it doesn't need anymore. It has been trying to give them away since 2006, and they're headed for the scrap yard if somebody doesn't speak up soon. One is called Sea Shadow. It's big, black and looks like a cross between a Stealth fighter and a Batmobile. It was made to escape detection on the open sea. The other is known as the Hughes (as in Howard Hughes) Mining Barge. It looks like a floating field house, with an arching roof and a door that is 76 feet wide and 72 feet high. Sea Shadow berths inside the barge, which keeps it safely hidden from spy satellites. The barge, by the way, is the only fully submersible dry dock ever built, making it very handy -- as it was 35 years ago -- for trying to raise a sunken nuclear-armed Soviet submarine. "I'm fascinated by the possibilities," Frank Lennon said one morning recently. Mr. Lennon runs -- or ran -- a maritime museum here in Providence. He was standing in a sleet storm on a wharf below a power plant, surveying the 297-foot muck-encrusted hulk of a Soviet submarine that he owns. His only exhibit, it was open to the public until April 2007, when a northeaster hit Providence and the sub sank. Army and Navy divers refloated it this past summer with the aid of chains and air tanks. Mr. Lennon can't help but imagine how his sub might look alongside the two covert Cold War castoffs from the Navy. "They would be terrific for our exhibit," he said, watching the sleet come down. But a gift ship from the Navy comes with lots of strings attached to the rigging. A naval museum, the Historic Naval Ships Association warns, is "a bloodthirsty, paperwork ridden, permit-infested, money-sucking hole..." Because the Navy won't pay for anything -- neither rust scraping nor curating -- to keep museums afloat, survival depends on big crowds. That's why many of the 48 ships it has given away over 60 years were vessels known for performing heroically in famous battles. Museum entrepreneurs like Mr. Lennon who don't have much money can only fantasize about Sea Shadow and its barge. After all, a pair of mysterious vessels that performed their heroics out of the public eye can't have much claim to fame. Glen Clark, the Navy's civilian ship-disposal chief, has received just one serious call about the two vessels, and it didn't lead to a written application. The Navy's insistence on donating Sea Shadow and the barge as a twofer may also explain the lack of interest. Here is the Navy's vision for a museum display as Mr. Clark describes it: "When you're driving down the road, you can't see the Sea Shadow. You have to pay for your ticket to go on board the Hughes Mining Barge, and then you see the Sea Shadow. That has the capability of preserving the aura of secrecy of the program." Possibly. It might also cause drivers to drive right by the hulking rust-bucket without devoting a thought to stopping. The Hughes Mining Barge actually has nothing to do with mining or with the late, reclusive Mr. Hughes. He merely let the Central Intelligence Agency use his name in 1974 to cover up its mission to raise a Soviet submarine from the floor of the Pacific Ocean. The adventure was publicized as the expedition of another new vessel, the Hughes Glomar Explorer, to mine for minerals on the seabed. To grab a sub, the ship needed a giant claw. But because it was big and unwieldy, the claw couldn't be installed in the ship at dockside. That's where the "mining" barge came in. The claw was assembled inside it. According to Curtis Crooke, retired president of Global Marine Development Inc., the company that did the work, the barge with the claw inside was then towed off the California coast and submersed. The Glomar Explorer was positioned over it, and the claw hoisted into its belly. Then the Explorer went sub hunting (exactly how much of the sub it retrieved, if anything, has never been declassified) and the barge went into mothballs. "That's all it was used for," says Mr. Crooke, "to put the claw inside the Explorer." Would the barge work as a museum? "It's just a big old dumb barge," he says. "Now, the Sea Shadow, that's a way-out spacey kind of thing. You could tell a story about that." The Glomar Explorer was refitted as a drill ship. The barge -- thanks to its satellite-proof roof -- got a second secret job for the Navy and its contractor, Lockheed Missiles & Space Co. In the early 1980s, Sea Shadow was assembled inside it. At a cost later put at $195 million, it aimed to attain the same invisibility at sea that it had in the federal budget. Sea Shadow, 160 feet long and 70 feet wide, was the Navy's first experimental stealth ship. Its special coatings, sharp angles and other confidential doohickeys allowed it to baffle radar and sonar. Viewed bow-on, it looks like a squat letter "A" standing on two submerged pontoons for exceptional stability on rough seas. From the start, Sea Shadow moved at night, towed from its California dock inside its barge and launched onto the open sea to sail on its own in darkness. S.K. Gupta, now a vice president at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, was in the crew. He recalls watching a glass of Coke on the bridge barely ripple in 12-foot waves. In war games with the Navy off San Diego, he says, "We operated during the night with impunity. We could disappear and sneak up on whomever we wanted. Nobody thought we could do it. A ship is usually hard to hide." The Navy brought Sea Shadow out of the shadows for daylight tests in 1993, setting off a flash of publicity. It hit the cover of Popular Mechanics. Revell made a plastic model. A mad media mogul used a Sea Shadow look-alike to foment war between Britain and China in a 1997 James Bond movie "Tomorrow Never Dies." In 2006, its experimental life at an end, Sea Shadow and the barge it was boxed in were struck from the Navy's register and tied up in Suisun Bay, near San Francisco. The technologies it developed have sired a generation of land-attack destroyers and ocean-surveillance ships. "Sea Shadow is the mother of all stealth ships in the world," says Mr. Gupta. It ought to be displayed out in the open on dry land, he thinks, its invisibility visible to all. The Navy's Mr. Clark says, "We're looking at that option." In December, Sea Shadow got a one-year reprieve from the junk yard. And in Providence, Mr. Lennon got one more year to dream. Retreating from the sleet, he was in the Sealand Diner eating breakfast with Ed Sciaba. Mr. Lennon is 66 years old and an ex-Green Beret. Mr. Sciaba, 54, is a scrap dealer ready to tow Mr. Lennon's sunken Soviet sub to his yard. Mr. Sciaba knew nothing of Sea Shadow or the CIA's sub-raising venture. As Mr. Lennon recounted the details, he got excited. "Hell of an idea," he said. "That's a museum I'd go to." "You could tell the story of the Cold War," said Mr. Lennon. Mr. Sciaba banged his coffee mug on the table. "Let's go get 'em and tow 'em back here!" he said. Mr. Lennon turned his gaze to the storm outside, and Mr. Sciaba picked up the check. ___________________________________________________ Don't all call the UG Govt. at once guys. Cheers, Pete.

A Sydney Ferries captain has captured more proof that Sydney Harbour's shark population is thriving as much as ever. The captain used to his mobile phone to film two fisherman pulling in a two-metre shark from the back of their runabout about 100m off Bradley's Head about midday. Witnesses believe it may be a bull shark. Cleaner waterways and a spike in the general fish population in Sydney Harbour — attributed to a ban on commercial fishing — are believed to have attracted more sharks to the area. Today's footage comes just two weeks after separate incidents in which a great white shark mauled a surfer and a bull shark attacked a diver. Navy clearance diver Able Seaman Paul de Gelder, 31, lost his hand and has had his leg amputated after an encounter with a bull shark near Garden Island about dawn on February 11. The following day 33-year-old Glenn Orgias was surfing at Sydney's Bondi Beach when a 2.5-metre white pointed mauled him. He spoke about the incident for the first time today. "I didn't see the shark. It let me go after three shakes," he said in a statement. "By some miracle I made it to the shore. "A young French surfer applied a tourniquet that, I believe, saved my life. Many others gathered to help me." Mr Orgias was rushed about six kilometres to St Vincent's Hospital in Darlinghurst, where he underwent 10 hours of microsurgery to reattach the hand. Plastic surgeon Kevin Ho said he had not expected to save the hand. But Mr Orgias soon regained some feeling in his fingers after a second eight-hour operation. "Coming by the next day and seeing it still alive, that's fortunate and against expectations," Dr Ho said. "But it's within the realms of possibility of what I thought would happen when we took him off the table." Dr Ho was hopeful Mr Orgias would eventually have more function in the reattached hand than he would with a prosthesis. "I don't want to overshoot the mark. We are over the worst of it, but we're not through the acute stage yet," he said. Mr Orgias said he was thankful for the medical treatment. "At the present time, it is not known what will happen to my hand. I have a long fight ahead but could not be working with better people than Dr Kevin Ho and his team," he said. Surgeons at St Vincent's also treated navy diver Mr de Gelder, who was attacked while on an exercise off Garden Island in Sydney Harbour the day before Mr Orgias was mauled. He was attacked by a 2.7-metre bull shark, losing a hand and leg as a result of the attack. St Vincent's trauma director Anthony Grabs said the 31-year-old was lucky to be alive. An artery in his leg came close to being severed, and if not for the speed with which the diver was transported to St Vincent's, he might not have lived. "We're talking minutes and seconds here," Dr Grabs said. He likened the damage that might be inflicted by a mechanical saw, saying Mr de Gelder may need more surgery. "The rehabilitation is starting, so we're looking forward to that and getting him to really get the use of a prosthetic lower limb and looking at a prosthetic hand," he said. Both surgeons paid tribute to the courage of the two men, who have met while in hospital. Dr Grabs said Mr de Gelder was already doing weights. "I think the two individuals we are dealing with here are highly motivated," he said. "They are up bouncing around trying to do things for themselves." Dr Ho said the ordeals of the two shark attack victims had had a profound effect on medical staff. "It does bring you back to thinking about aspects of your own life and how lucky we are," he said. "The other flipside, too, is just the power of the mind and things that I've learnt from these patients - how well they have dealt with it - that inspire you to go and make the most of your day, as well as to look on obstacles as really nothing." "Both these guys are of the highest mental fortitude. They are well armed for what's ahead of them." The two men remain in hospital, both in a stable condition. ___________________________________________ See the Video here. Cheers, Pete.

I gave Warringah Council a call and left a message for whoever is in charge of this upgrade project for Fisherman's Beach, Long Reef. I just got a call back from the (name supplied) in the Council and put a few questions to him on what the extent of the works would be. His reply was the following: They have a few concept drawings which were submitted to Maritime for the grant, but there now needs to be a lot of detailed design work to be done. The $120k from Maritime is to be matched $ for $ from Council funds for a total of $240k. The works will consist of repair and reconstruct the top part of the ramp where it is cracked and also extending the ramp further into the water. He thinks some slight gradient change as well. It will remain as a single lane ramp. All works are being planned for the 2009/2010 year and will take place probably in the winter. I gave him Pel's suggestion of building a groyne to protect it from the no'r easter and he said the council only own above the waterline and that is Maritime's territory. I also asked if the location could be moved further around the beach towards the point where it is more protected and he argued it would be too expensive and they would need to make new access etc. The Warringah fishing club was consulted heavily with Council in the planning stage, so hopefully they will have given some good input on this ramp. He agreed that it is a terrible ramp at the best of times and he has seen some doozie launch/retrieve errors at that ramp. They are also thinking of putting better signage up to warn of the dangers in rough weather. They researched the ramp and it seems to have been first installed in the early 1900's and is fairly well constructed. So there you have it..not a radical rebuild, but rather a refurbishment. Cheers, Pete.

Seriously Fisho1990, try this thread as we've had this discussion before...some good ideas here. Cheers, Pete.

Ahhh...The old

In Japan, it's not the sharks that are the problem...try Cheers, Pete.

A collegue of mine spoke to that shark fisho today and he said the paper got the 100 sharks a day wrong...it's nothing like that he said.. Plus he's already at his quota and won't be chasing any soon. Isn't it great the way the sunday rags beat stuff up? Also today, the Deputy Premier waded into the debate by saying: No evidence of increased shark numbers in NSW: Tebbutt February 15, 2009 - 4:35PM There is no evidence of increased shark numbers in NSW despite cleaner waterways around Sydney, NSW Deputy Premier Carmel Tebbutt says. NSW shark fishermen are regularly hauling up to 100 sharks per night but they will be banned from hunting sharks until July due to new fishing quotas imposed by the state government, News Limited reports. The claim comes as a navy diver and a surfer recover in hospital from separate savage shark attacks in Sydney Harbour and Bondi Beach last week. Ms Tebbutt confirmed Sydney Harbour was less polluted now than it was two years ago, but declined to link the cleaner waters to greater shark numbers. "Our waterways in general are much cleaner. We know there are more fish in the harbour because commercial fishing hasn't been allowed since we had the dioxin issues. So, there is a view that the greater number of fish in the harbour may mean that more sharks are coming into the harbour," Ms Tebbutt told reporters in Sydney on Sunday. "There's no evidence that there's an increase in shark numbers in general in NSW but it's something that the minister for primary industries and fisheries (Ian Macdonald) is looking at very closely." She said the government needed to be "guided by the science" in relation to shark issues. Environmentalist and Clean Up Australia founder Ian Kiernan said fish numbers were increasing with the ban on fishing in Sydney Harbour. "Sharks have always been here, you've only got to go back to the Aboriginal history of the colony," Mr Kiernan said. "It is their territory." However, he said, beachgoers needed to take responsibility for their actions in the water. "The irresponsibility of surfing at dawn or dusk is that you're asking for trouble."

Excellent work Baz Sadly, the lyrics fit an all too familiar pattern. Nice piece of editing BTW. Cheers, Pete.

Shark numbers at record levels IN the same week men were attacked by sharks in Woolloomooloo and Bondi Beach, the state Government banned NSW fishermen from catching them. Despite overwhelming evidence numbers are at record levels, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal the state's 25 shark hunters last week received a letter from the NSW Department of Primary Industries declaring the ban. The letter stated the restriction was being imposed because the State's annual shark quota had already been reached. Despite a frightening summer of shark attacks and sightings up and down the NSW coast, fishermen will now be prohibited from taking sharks until July 1. In the past week, navy diver Able Seaman Paul de Gelder, 31, was mauled by a shark at Woolloomooloo at 7am on Wednesday and lost a hand, while Glen Orgias, 33, was attacked at Bondi on Thursday at 8pm. Both men were continuing their recovery from surgery at St Vincent's Hospital yesterday. Mr Orgias's right hand has been reattached after 10 hours of surgery. Under new fishing restrictions imposed last year, NSW fisherman are limited to catching just 160 tonnes of shark a year. In Queensland, fishermen are allowed to take 3000 tonnes. North Coast fisherman Bill Litchfield described the ban as ludicrous given the increasing numbers of sharks being sighted. "We consistently get around 100 a night; that's an average catch. So how many of the buggers are out there?" he said. "The largest we've caught was a 15-foot (4.6m) tiger shark just 200 yards (183m) from Evans Head Surf Club. My skipper took his kids out of nippers the next day." Mr Litchfield said he had written numerous letters to State Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald requesting the quota be reviewed. Mr Macdonald said the shark quotas affected species that were not man-eaters - a claim disputed by fishermen who said it protected bull sharks, which are thought to be were responsible for last week's attacks. The ban also protects dangerous tiger sharks, bronze whalers, hammerheads and black tips. Mr Macdonald said: "The quotas are based on sound scientific advice. Everyone needs to remember there are no 100 per cent guarantees when swimming in the ocean - sharks are a natural part of the ocean environment." NSW fishermen also blame a 1995 restriction on salmon beach-hauling for booming shark numbers close to the coast. "The salmon swim close to shore and bring in the sharks," Mr Litchfield said. "I've seen white pointers chasing them at surfing beaches at Newcastle. It is only time before a surfer gets taken there - it is going to happen." Bondi fisherman Udo Edlinger also blamed a rise in salmon numbers for a spike in shark sightings. "I wouldn't be swimming around Sydney during dawn or dusk at the moment," he said. Fishing websites and live angling blogs are full of shark sightings, close encounters and stories of the day's catch. Doonside fisherman Peter Brennan said he didn't know whether to laugh or cry when he saw a 4m shark steal the kingfish right off his line on Monday at Clifton Gardens, near Mosman. Other sightings include Roseville Marina, Woolloomooloo Wharf and Saunders Wharf at Darling Harbour. Professional Sydney fisherman and guide no no no said he's never seen as much shark activity in the harbour in his 25 years of fishing. He said he had noticed a gradual increase in shark numbers over the past five years. "I certainly wouldn't be swimming anywhere in Sydney Harbour (now) ... and I wouldn't be going to Balmoral," he said. Mr McGill identified other hotspots as Chowder Bay, Clontarf and Rushcutters Bay. Opposition industry spokesman Duncan Gay called for the quota cap to be lifted immediately. "This is serious ... and needs a Minister who is engaged with his portfolio to make sure our waters are safe as possible." Shark-hunting can be a lucrative industry, with fisherman earning up to $600 per kill. The jaws go to WA where they are sold as souvenirs, heads to The Philippines, fins and tails to Asia, spinal cords to the cosmetic industry and the meat to fish and chip shops around Australia.

Not sure Anthony about the extent of the improvements, but I feel it won't be a huge makeover. Looking at the Warringah Council website, it appears that it may be perhaps widened and extended to minimise the trailer incidents which are common at this ramp. 2008-2009 projects: Extend and repair Fisherman’s Beach boat ramp to minimise boat trailer incidents $120,000 I can't find any other details as yet. Cheers, Pete.