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Banking with a community heart

High Profiles: 28

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Classifieds 986-6222 Distribution 986-1337

Local rescurce threatened by [eege ie

sports fishermen aN

LOCAL crab fishery in Burrard Inlet and Indian

Arm is feeling the pinch of unlicensed soorts fishermen who catch and keep undersized crabs.

Alan Campbell, president of the

i North Shore Fish and Game Club

nd a member of the Fraser River

Crab) Fishery Advisory Board

h(FRCFAB}, said the use and de- ¥mands on the crab resource are high and are expected to increase.

“Without the proper manage- ment and enforcement, the de-

gmands on crab stocks will no jlonger be able to support a recre-

ational or commercial opportunity in future years,’’ be said.

A 1994 requirement that. recre-

Biational crab fishermen obtain a tidal sports fishing licence will

stake some of the pressure off a

local crab population facing tress, according to Campbell.

Fishing for crabs is a fast grow-

fing pastime in the Lower Mainland. :

Federal Department of Fisheries

By Michae! Becker News Reporter

and Oceans (DFO) regulations allow an individual to catch four crabs daily, using a maximum of (wo crab traps.

To keep what is caught, the fegal shell width for a Dungeness crab is 6.5 inches (165 mm). A Red Rock crab must have a shell width of at least 4.5 inches (115 mm).

But as matters stand, reere- ational crab fishermen do not need a licence,

A survey based on the experi-

-ence of the North Shore federal

officer charged with enforcing focal tidal fishing regulations showed that:

See Enforcement page 2

NV firefighters solve sailor death mystery

NORTH VANCOUVER City Fire Department in- vestigators were instrumental this week in solving the death of a crew member aboard a.grain ship bound

for the North Shore.

According to a fire depart- ment spokesman, the A/fios was travelling empty from Japan to take on cargo at the Pioneer Grain Terminal on the North Vancouver City water- front.

While in international waters 250 miles (400 kilometres) off the west coast of Vancouver {slund, the ship's first officer entered a small, sealed hatch leading into an area located be- tween two cargo holds.

Said Deputy Chief Frank LeGros, ‘tHe went inside to check some previous maintenance work. He had an oxygen deficiency, and he col- lapsed.”’

A crew member noticed the man was missing and attentp- ted to search the area where the first officer had gone, but he quickly became light-head- ed,

He called for help. Others came to his aid and recovered the unconscious first officer.

An American coast guard helicopter and rescue helicopter based at CFB Comox transpor- ted the two stricken men from the ship to Vancouver, but the first officer died.

By Michael Becker News Reporter

A North Vancouver City Fire Department crew was called to the ship at 3 a.m. Wednesday to investigate the ship when it docked at the local grain ter- minal.

LeGros said firefighters checked the cargo hatch with a device that measures the per- centage of oxygen in the air,

The team took several ox- ygen readings inside the com- partment.

The highest reading, near the hatch opening, showed a 12.9% oxygen content. Further inside, to the side of the vessel, the reading showed a 10.7% oxygen content,

LeGros said that normal! ox- ygen content is 21%.

“If you ge: down to 18% you begin to lose conscious- ness: if you get down to 14%, you're toast."’

LeGros said the oxygen depletion was fikely caused by paint oxidizing and absorbing oxygen within the sealed com- partment,

a Rote Aerivaa

Feeling the pinch

ALAN CAMPBELL, president of the North Shore Fish and Game Club, pulls up a trap containing two undersized crabs. Fishing for crabs is a fast-growing pastime and unlicensed sports fishermen who catch and keep undersized crabs are af- fecting local resource stocks.