28 - Sunday, June 21, 1992 - North Shore News BUSINESS N.V. company stays atop water technology PHIL NUYTTEN, founder of North Vancouver-based Can-Dive Services Ltd. and International Hard Suits Inc., has made a name for himself making break-throughs in submarine technology and pioneering developments such as the pressure-proof Newtsuit diving suit. Michael Becker HIGH TECH Nuytten and associates are defining the leading edge of undersea technology. During a recently-completed research trip to examine the habitat of a B.C. shellfish called dentalium pretiosum, Nuytten recreated a traditional technolgy used by the Kwakiutl and Nootka people to harvest the rare shellfish off the western coast of Van- couver Island. For more than a thousand years the dentalium was the accepted currency of North American natives. Nuytten and master carver John Livingstone, a partner of Kwakuitl carver Tony Huni, recreated a type of dentalimn broom-spear used by natives to harvest the valuable shells. The tool they came up with is based on descriptions given at the time of first European contact with Vancouver Island natives. “What they did is invent a very clever remote manipulator as much as 100 feet long. It had a set of splints on one end, much like a set of fingers. They had a mecha- nism to close those fingers by way of rope and a weighted board. “They would stab the thing in the bottom in a good location. They would close the fingers, br- ing the whole thing up and lay it inside the canoe, and if they were lucky they would have one or two dentaliums,’’ Nuytten said. The spear is made of yew, cedar and maple. A rock-weighted piece of wood is used to close prongs located at the end of a long spear and counteract the buoyancy of the spear. Native fishermen in canoes would prod the shellfish beds with the spear. Said Nuytten, ‘‘We use manipulators on our submarines ail the time — this is no different in concept. If I were to build a manipulator now for this purpose I would use the same design, but I would use modern materials like plastic and metal.’’ Nuytten, who has Metis ancestors including a great-grand- father who fought on the side of Metis leader Louis Riel during the North-West rebellion, has made a study of native technology and art. “When you sit down and analyze something like this you see that it is the simplicity that follows complexity. It’s absolutely amazing,’’ he said. “Pve had 25 real good inven- tions. You can track them from the complex stage to where over a period of years you take away the pulleys and such. My idea of the ultimate in technology is a brick. It takes a_ skilled engineering technologist to come down to the simple essence,”’ he added. The indigenous technology was augmented with modern subsea wizardy. The 20-person research team worked with a Newtsuit, a support vessel, a one-man submersible and scuba gear. Said Nuytten, ‘‘It was quite a formidable technological array of stuff there. We’re using a new form of underwater communica- tions system built in British Col- umbia_ called the Scubaphone, The GVRD has been given a mandate COMBINING TECHNOLOGY and traditional methods, these spears have been recreated to harvest valuable, rare shellfish. buile by Orcatron Manufactur- ing. “it’s a wireless underwater communications set. We were able to communicate between the suit, the submersible, the divers and the from all the participating municipalities in the Lower Mainland. We're monitoring the growing air pollution problem, identifying the sources, surface ali at once. It really work- ed great. We've used these phones before, but we never had them hooked up round-robin before so that everybody could talk to everyone else at the same time.”’ managing emissions from industry, motor vehicles, and other sources. We've also set a goal—to reduce all such emissions by 50% by the year 2000. Of course, improving air quality is not something we can do by ourselves. How can you work to clear the air? the chemicals being used by the cleaning staff. And cut the gas and electric bills for heating and air-conditioning. What- ever you do, remember, you're doing it for all of us. And that means you're doing it for yourself. Start with the way you get to work. Switch to transit, organize a carpool, or work with your employer to provide bicycle parking. Think about the emissions that may come from work related equipment. Check into Vancouver Regional Phato subeitted District THE PRESSURE-proof Newtsuit is ideal for these diving expidi- tions.