The Wonderful Sea Holds
Of the total surface area of the globe, the sea constitutes about 71 per cent, or about 140,000,000 ‘square miles. Some ‘uterest-ing observations can be made about this tremendous pdy of water
If the globe were a smooth nniform sphere, this ocean body could cover it to a depth of about 8,000 feet.,As it is the sea has a mean depth of something like two miles.
The enormity of the sea is
any H
dificult to grasp. Just to men- tion that it covers this vast pro-'; portion of the globe is not en- ough. ltfs enormity is realized only-when its total volume is considered. This has variously been calculated at between 300 and 330 million cubic miles.
The sea is nothing more than a.
vast nutrient mixture capab‘e of supporting myriad forms of plant and animal life. both as to sustinence and physical body support.
OCEAN DEPTH ’
It ranges in depth from 35,600 feet in the Pacific and 28,200 feet in the Atlantic up to the coastal continental shelves of the world which constitute about Eiglit per cent of -the aceaii
The temperature range of this
sea 0'.‘ life is even more narrow ii-um
than the earth itself. When the land_ range extends from 130 degrees F to 90 degrees below zero, the sea ranges only from 9;: F to 28 F. a maximum tem- perature difference of 67 de- grees. .— - - - - -
Three quarters of the ocean however has a seasonal differ- ence of less than five -degrees. The ocean levels below 800 feet have litle or no variation. HUGE FLY-WHEEL
The sea is a huge temper- nture fly-wheel capableof stor- ing Vast amounts of solar heat
fllefgy to be later released. It takes 3,000 times as much
1
heat to raise a given volume of water one degree of temperature as it does to raise an equal volume of air the same amount. It is difficult to conceive how
dden Myster
«
is, the sea currents, the ocean
rivers that course through the
surface and the deep.
THE ROLE OF CURRENTS Currents are the product of
much energy ‘is involved. different factors and of the com-
scientists say that the sun buiation of these factors. There shining on Bikini Atoll in the are currents motivated by rota- South. Pacific, provides more U011: Wind’ and the density Of
energy in two days than was released by two atomic bombs.
Every year about 80,000 cubic miles of water are evaporated- from the ocean surface. About 56,000 cubic miles of this is re- turned in rainfall at sea while the rest falls on the land. At least 9,000 cubic miles yearly rush to the sea carrying with it three billion tons‘ of salts and nutrients.
Some idea of the seas immen- sity can be gained when it is noted that one cubic mile of sea would contain about 41/2 bil- lion tons of water.
It would take a lake 26 miles long, ten miles wide and twenty feet deep to contain it. Or in other words a body of water as’ long as from here to Morel] and as wide as from here to Stan- hope Beach. 1
MAIN ELEMENTS c
‘ In millions .of-tons; this body .of.sea.water .would_ contain sod- chloride (123.2), magnes- ium chloride (l7.9l, magnesium sulphate (7.8), calcium sulphate (5.9) potassium sulphate (4.0).. calcium carbonate (.5)-..
These are the main elements found in sea water but in addi- tion to these it contains com- pounds of bromine, carbon,-sili- con, boron, phosphorus, barium, iodine, arsenic, iron, mangan- ese. copper, zinc, lead, even some gold and radium. Of the 96 elements, 49 are present. in sea water. A , -,
How is this richness made available to life in various parts of the sea? How is it kept in
I.
waters.
Perhaps the most familiarly known are the surface currents ,moved by therotation of the wind. The closest to this Pro- vince is the Gulf Stream.
It originates in the Gulf of Mexico Where the waters of the Westward Equatorial current build up and become warm in its ‘shallow basin. '
South of the, West Indian Is- lands, the Caribbean current passes northward into the Mexi- can basin at a point between Yucatan and Cuba. It is here that the warm Florida current veers seaward and goes around the tip of Florida, thence north- ward between Miami and the Bahamas.
SPEED OF CURRENT
At this point the. current is
travelling four to five miles per
a ‘minute comparedfxfo the Mis- sissi_ppi_’_s_n1,20,0 tons'___pa_st any given point. - ‘
Further along this path, off the Virginia Capes it is joined by the North Equatorial current adding half as much volum-e again; 'I‘his streams -northward and eastw'ard until it meets the cold ’Ai-ctic current on‘ Canada’s east coast. , -
Here is seen Nature's way of mixing and making available the seas vast treasure of mine- rals. Just as there is turbulence when hot and cold masses of air come together, so there "is the same phenomena when hot and cold masses of water. meet. LIFE BLOSSOMS.
balance? The answer of course
On the one side are the green
hour, moving 1,500 tons of water ,
\
cold waters of the north laden
other the deep blue warm waters of the south. Where they meet, life will blossom; there will be updwelling from the deep and food for the myriads of plant and animal life. Perhaps a more fascinating type of current is the density current about which much- less is known. One good exampe of
this type of current is the Mediterranean current. The Mediterranean basin is
shallow in comparison to the ocean depths and naturally a terrific evaporation occurs with- in this basin. Something like 70,000 tons of water a second, over six billion tons daily are evaporated in the Mediterran- ean area. This leaves the more dense water to sink to the bot- tom and it also means that more water is drawn in to replace it. INTERESTING PHENOMENA
These factors combine to produce the most interesting phenomena at the Mediterran-
ean. sill between Tangier and Gibraltra. Here two rivers meet. each carrying eight times the volume of the Mississippi;
Through this narrow channel 900 feet deep, two million ‘tons ‘of water per second enter the inland sea at surface level and about 193 million tons per sec- ond flows out at the bottom over the sill. 'I‘.his- is dense saline water which continues to flow outwards and downwards to a depth of about~3,000 feet in the Atlantic basin.
These density currents are perhaps the most fascinating study of water movements in the ocean. A particle of water may at one time be on the sur- face, at another time consider- ably below -the surface and at still another time in the abysmal depths.
MIXING PROCESS Still another powerful factor
List Four Main
Of Fish Preservation
Fisheries products are classi- fied into fnurmajor form: fresh frozen, cured and canned. These
with microscope life and on the
les
in this vast mixing process of the sea are the tides. One of the best known examples to Mari- timers is in the Bay of Fundy and its well known tidal bore. ' The sweeping in and out of the waters twice daily moves about 3,680 billion cu. ft. of water. This 6,000 sq. mile basin has its complete water supply replaced every 75 days. Under favorable “conditions it is re- placed every fifty days. ,
Excluding insects there are more forms of life in the sea than in the rest of the world. About 475,000 species have been nam- ed. Eighty per cent of described animal forms exist in the sea. For instance there are 40,000 species of mollusk which in- cludes clams, oysters, etc. There are 23,000 species of crustaceans such as lobster, shrimp and myriad similar forms of life. There are 500 species of flat fish and 60 spec- ies of herring and as yet the depths have been relatively un- explored.
PLANT LIFE
Plant life does not ‘go beyond a depth of 250 feet. Plant life however isthe main link of the food chain supporting life. In tlie-realm of plant life the sea can boast some huge species.
length of 200 feet. Sea plants ,d‘i-ffer from land plants in that ‘land plants draw_ sustenance from the earth through roots. The sea‘ plant has no such counterpart. Its root is merely an anchor to hold it in position.
Its sustenance is fixed by photosynthesis in the parts of the plant which extends upwards to the surface of the sea. The largest section of plant life however is not comprised of this form. It is made up of micro- scopic planktonic life ‘which is the main source of the seas source of food.
Methods
freezing and the establishment of ‘distribution and holding facilities for frozen fish were necessary to
fed on the North Shore of Prince Edward Island, depend Rustico well equipped to handle the fish landings, and approximately one
by these firms during the fishing
Co-op.
Some giant ke‘p grows to a ,
serpent," one crew member gas- _ ped.
represent the various methodsltlie growth of a mass market. that have been used to arrest or: For a long time frozen fish pro- decay the deterioration and spoil-lducts were often poor in quality age of fish and-shell fish from the; because of technical ignorance of time they are taken from the wat-lfresh raw material, low temper- er. aturcs, freezing time and the Drying was probably the ear‘-§'5XC1“S10" Of 311’-
liest method used to preserve‘ Later, quickfreezing and other meat and fish. -Through the ac-,_improvemeiits yielded frozen fish tion ot \varm dry air where theiincreasingly like fresh fish in climate issuitable this process is;taste, odour and appearance. carried out. A further develop-EWIDE RANGE
merit is the application of salt to! It is obvious that a wide range draw moisture from the fish of fisheries products is possible cells or a combination of saltingiwith more than 150 species and and drying where periods of damp? four methods of preparation with weather might prevent the pro-ltheirnunierous subforms or var-
cess of drying alone.
When the raw product was fat- ty or oily, salting and drying could not prevent the appearance of un- desirable odour and colour but smoking was found to be effective and the exclusion of the oily fish from the air was also found to re- tard rancidity. -
The combination- of salting and smoking and tight‘ coppering to provide barrles that would retain brine and exclude air formed the basis of the extensive use of her- ring as food during the middle ages. ‘ When salt pickling was extend-
ed to include sugar, vinegar and-
spices_ the range of cured prod- ucts was multiplied many times.
CANNING
Canning. the sterilization of food by heat with hermetically scaling to prevent bacterial rein- fection from the air was improv-
ed and brought into extensive use.
by the end of the 19th century and canned and cured products were widely distributed in world trade.
Steam power for sea and rail transportation made it possible to provide inland consumers with nearly fresh fish, when ice was used to slow down the process of deterioration.
Where distances were great. however. as in l\'orth America. the development of commerical
particularly _
iants.
Fisheries statistics of Canada 1953 issued by the Dominion Bur- eau of Statistics lists 400 products with many small items included in “all other” groupings.
These products are turned out for the most part close to the place where fish are landed and there is in the industry a high degree of integration of catching, pro- cessing and marketing activities.
i Trawler Catches A-Sub In Net
The dramatic story of what happened when the world's lar- ,gest submarine ran into the net }of a lisliing trawler came to light recently.
; The United States l\'a\'y offic- ially confirmed that for l0 ac- tioii-packcd minutes the 67-foot trawler Jeniii/3 had/the Navy’s lpride and joy, the atom-power- ged submarine Nautilus, in its 80- ; foot-wide net. I About noon April 22 the Jen- lnie was moving at a leisurely ‘three knots off shore.
The fluke were running and
«he five man crew, including ,i,‘aptain Tonnes Anderson, was ihanpy- .
5 Wliat they didn't know then was .that mixed in with the little fish
I
Rusiico Remembers Much
GUARDIAN-PATRIOT, FRI., Jan. 31st. 195S Fage
Leaner Days In The Past
The people of .North Rustico, a village with a population of ap- proximately nine hundred, situa-
for the most part. either directly or in- directly on the fishing industry for their livelihood.
Two organizations, The North Fishermen’s Co-opera- tive Assn. Ltd. and the North Rustico Canning Co. Ltd. are
hundred persons are employed
season. Besides the facilities_ pre- sently available, the Fishermen’s has practically finished building a fifty-thousand dollar cold storage plant which will serve the needs of the fishermen in this area. __
The General Merchants of this community are the people’s Co- operative Assn. Ltd. and Alyre M. Gallant. This setup leaves the people at liberty to market their product and buy their commod- itles co-operatively or sell and blly through private business firms as they so desire. The Ste). la Maris Credit Union serves a good part of the financial needs of the public.
ALL WORK TOGETHER Even though this group of or.
ganizations operates on a com-
petitive basis, and the people have their own reasons for sup- porting the one of their own choosing, everyone works toge- ther in things pertaining to chur- ches, Schools and any other vil- lage activities.
One of the most noteworthy ac- complishments which has been achieved through this community spirit is the Stella Maris High School. This school has ten class- rooms, a lab. a domestic science room and all the necessary e- quipment to make it second to none in the rural districts of Prince Edward Island and pos- sibly the Maritime Provinces.
LIVING STANDARDS
Although the standards of liv- ing in the Village of North Rus- tico compare favourably with other parts of Prince Edward Island. this wasn't alv-'ays.the case. As recently as twenty some years ago, living conditions in this community were at a very 1 w level.
Not many owned their homes and the gear they fished with
was practically all the property ‘
of the buyers. The people had no control whatsoever over the price they paid for goods or re- ceived for their fish. The gen- eral practice at that time was living on credit through the win-
ter on the strength of what they
might make the followiiig sea- son.
Although there is no reason to believe that they did not receive a fair deal, the fact still remain- ed that there was nothing to
give the fishermen any initia-,
tive to ‘better themselves.
Their main concern was to make sure that they would have someone to buy their catch and supply them with goods. As a result they did not dare to even express an opinion, lest they might cause the conditions to de- teriorate further and find them- selves unable to obtain advances the following winter.
ADULT EDUCATION
The changing point came in 1936 with the arrival of ‘the late Rev. J.D. McNeill, on his ap- pointment as Pastor of Stella Maris Parish. The late Father McNei1l, a man with tremend- ous initiative, a. great believer
in adult education and the soc- _
ial welfare of the people, started his work to better conditions shortly after his arrival.
Many changes took place dur- ing his eleven year stay in-this community; a shabby two room school’bad been replaced by’ a modernisix room school—this school was destroyed in 1954 and has been replaced by the pres- ent high school—-a small chapel
had been replaced by a new.
church costing in the vicinity of $60,000, a parish hall. with _a seating capacity of 400 had been built as well as house and a convent. .
The Stella Maris Credit ‘Un- ion, thc People's Co-op. A_ssl.1.-I Ltd. and the North Rustico Fish- ermeii‘s Co-op Assn. Ltd. had
been organized and were on their .
way to. success. The fisliermen owned their own gears and boats and had educated themselves‘. to the point where they couldrun their own businesses. ' ' BETTER WAYS .
During the last ten years c.on- _. to im? ‘
ditions have continued prove. Better ways of processing and marketing have been adop
ted, and this along with theitou-.,_
rist trade, which is derived by this village being situated St near the National Park, has beer instrumental in getting better’re; turns to the fishermen.
sired in a fishing village. How- -ever, the fishermen of North Rus- tico, as well as those of other communities, have proven ‘that given the leadership and the. tools of their trade, they can make the fishing industry very profitable to themselves in par- ticular and the Province as‘ I whole. '
AERIAL VIEW or NORTH RUSTICO HARSOUR:
was a huge “fish”—the Natui- lus, on her way to home base at Groton, Conn., about 150 feet below water.
Suddenly the b. .t jarred to a spine-snapping ‘halt and started cutting the water in the oppos- ite direction about 20 miles an hour. "
“We must have booked a sea
“Sea serpent, hell!” Anderson shouted. “There ain‘t no fish that big. We must have tangled with a submarine".
The stern where the net was attached, kept sinking lower as the ship back-pedalled. The radio was out so there was no hope of aid there.
As crew member tried to think of something to do, the net cable finally snapped and the submar- ine headed into Grotoii. its cap- tain unaware of the sea drama which had taken place above him.
When the giant .$55,000,000 sub came up for air, the flabbergas- ted crew found the torn fishing net draped around the si\‘er- structure. It lost only a broken running light.
Anderson submitted his bill to the Fourth Naval District at Phil- adelphia. He wanted $1,300 for
loss of net, cable and fishing gear. Propeller
(Continued from page 7)
vessels. This propeller has about 10 per cent of the power of the main engine.
It has been shown from full-‘ scale trials that, when both pro- pellers are working in a tandem. there is no loss of efficiency, as when the total power is delivered by the main propeller.
eration at low speeds are con- cerned.
SPEED VALUES
When the true values of the speeds at which fishing boats will operate are know, there should be no great difficulty in selecting propellers with a high efficiency.
One must also know the wake in order to estimate the correct speed of advance of the propel- lei‘. There are today a number of textbooks available which give useful information about the pro- per calculation of propellers, bas- ‘ed on extensive model experi- ments.
Unfortunately, there is still too much rule‘ of thumb used in the propeller selection by some en- gine builders, and some naval ar- chitects do not take the time to‘ check propellers suggested by en- gine manufacturers.
BIG INDUSTRY
Primary and secondary forest industries in British Columbia
STAR or THE SEA BRAND:
Tignish
employ rn'ore than 60,000 workers.
Canned Fish — Lobster — Lobster Paste — Mackerel - .' . Lobster Cocktail — Chicken I-[addict Fish Cakes
SALT FISH OF ALL -KINDS:
SPECIALIZING IN BONELESS SALT FISH PRODUCTS! i L‘ __
Compliments of
( TIGNISH FISHERIES Lio.i-
Prince Edward Island, I
ll
BURKE EIECTRI Your Authorized Dealer
EASY HANDLING
Such an installation has two ad? vantages. The manoeuverability,§ especially in harbors, is excellent,; and even large commercial ves- sels can be berthed without the
assistance of tugs. 1
For fishing vessels the rudder. propeller is very useful, especial-g ly when hauling drift nets. Fur-3 thermorc, in fisheries researchl vessels such an installation might make it possible to do away with- expensive and complicated engine! arrangements such as diesel elec- tric drive. controllable pitch" pro- pellers. etc. so far as the ques-i tions of manoeuverability and tip!
Wensulufe the Fishing Industry - - - and wish Every Success to the Fishermen! "If we can help - - - Let us know"
112 Kent Si.
0 Electrical wiring, repairing. sup,p|ie_s! 0 Household Appliances I o 0 ‘Oil Heating
DIAL 4021
h Television
Charlottetown A
a parochial .
The standards of living areffal _ from being all tha.t can bejde n