kickingfrog

The link to the article has a photo of the life vests. http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3525451 Missing life vests costly: fire rep PFDs valued at $350 By SARA ROSS - QMI Agency Posted 1:00am Apr 5, 2012 Replacing six specialized life-jackets, lost during the Lake Simcoe ice-floe rescue in March, cost the Barrie fire department more than $2,100. “You expect to replace equipment through standard replacement, or just wear and tear, but to lose six all of a sudden was unexpected,” said Samantha Hoffmann, public fire and life safety officer with the city’s fire department. “It means juggling our numbers, because it wasn’t something we were planning on purchasing out of this year’s budget.” The fluorescent orange, Salus life vests went missing March 9 when 26 anglers were rescued from the lake’s melting ice. “We don’t know who has them, or where they went,” Hoffmann said. “We just know that we lost six and they were given to people who were on the ice.” Firefighters responded to the rescue call for mutual aid from Oro-Medonte Township. While awaiting the OPP helicopter, three Barrie firefighters stayed on the ice floe with anglers, securing them with the life vests and ensuring everyone was safe and calm. In other rescue cases, Barrie firefighters would retrieve the vests at a triage site they would man near the scene. In this case, Oro-Medonte was in charge of the triage site as anglers came in off the helicopters. None of the township’s vests are missing. With Barrie Fire and Emergency Services clearly written on the back of each vest, they likely aren’t at another fire department, Hoffmann said. “We don’t believe so, because they would have known they were ours,” she said. The vests are not your typical PFD. “They’re made specifically for rescue purposes,” Hoffmann said. “They’ve got lots of pockets on them for different pieces of equipment, carabiners on them so we can hook things to it.” Each vest is valued at $350. Along with having BFES written on the vests, they list the year the vest was purchased and an identifying number. The Barrie fire department, which has a total of 60 specialized life vests, has already replaced the missing ones. “We always have to be (prepared for an emergency) and this type of equipment is what helps us to serve the public,” Hoffmann said. “Once the equipment is deemed to be a necessity for a rescue, as soon as it’s lost, it has to be replaced immediately.” The city’s fire department has not made an attempt to ask the anglers to return the vests due to the amount of time it would take to identify and contact each one, Hoffmann said, adding the majority of them live in the Greater Toronto Area. Vests should be returned to Barrie fire headquarters at 155 Dunlop St. W. [email protected]

Good to hear from you Kelvin.

Day one's article: http://ontariofishingcommunity.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=61768

and this... http://www.nugget.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3524761 MNR can do more, Nipissing FN says Lake Nipissing Summit continues today By DAVE DALE The Nugget Updated 2pm, Apr 2012. The North Bay Ministry of Natural Resources declined to speak about Lake Nipissing fisheries management at a summit involving all municipal stakeholders Tuesday and today. Provincial officials did address water level and water quality topics, however. Nipissing First Nation, which organized the two-day Lake Nipissing Summit being held at Nipissing University's Chancelor's House, outlined what it has been doing over the past decade. Meriza George, manager of natural resources at Nipissing FN, said Tuesday afternoon they've put an average of $300,000 a year into fisheries management. George said they have reviewed and revised quotas and its regulations based on annual harvest data, reducing it's commercial targets twice since a sharp decline in spawning age fish was noticed in 2009. A moratorium on gill netting during the spawn has been implemented every year since 2004, George said, with a biologist and other staff hired in 2006. Nipissing also established a certified catch program to reflect the value of the commercial management, although George said some restaurants and markets still purchase walleye harvested outside the approved commercial regime. She said the province needs to put more of its resources into the effort to continue monitoring angling pressure, and suggested that the MNR creel surveys need to be reconsidered. George cited a 1999 “complete trip” study the province conducted on two creel sections that showed the system of asking anglers how long they spent on the lake and their resulting catch underestimated pressure by more than half. She said the province should also work “more collaboratively with Nipissing First Nation.” More coverage of the summit to follow today's sessions.

http://www.nugget.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3525350 Co-management of lake a priority, summit hears By DAVE DALE The Nugget Posted 7pm, Apr 4, 2012 More research is needed as Lake Nipissing deals with environmental changes. And the lake should be co-managed by native and provincial governments. Those are among the key points of consensus at the Lake Nipissing Summit this week. The event, organized by Nipissing First Nation and held at Nipissing University, drew representatives from municipalities surrounding the lake, tourism operators, groups involved in watershed protection, native fishermen and non-native stakeholders. Treaty rights, native commercial management efforts and a 100-year history of fishery pressure were reviewed, along with water quality and the impact of invasive species. “We're not going anywhere,” said Nipissing Chief Marianna Couchie during her concluding remarks. “We've been here since time immemorial and we plan to be here just as long.” Couchie said the summit was born out of a meeting between area municipalities and they'll be called together soon to suggest an action plan. Most discussions at the summit focused on a recent steep decline in spawning-size walleye, which was first noticed in 2009 and backed up by subsequent fall index netting studies. Meriza George, manager of Nipissing FN's natural resources, said it has reduced its quota twice since 2009 and fishermen couldn't net half of what was considered a sustainable yield last year. George noted Supreme Court decisions regarding treaty rights have set fishery priorities to begin with species conservation, followed by sustenance harvesting for First Nations people and then First Nations commercial activities. Sport fishing (non-native angling or ice fishing) is legally considered the last priority, she said. It was noted the North Bay Ministry of Natural Resources declined an invitation to speak about fisheries management issues, although a specialist spoke about how water level management decisions are made. Corrine Nelson, acting district manager for North Bay working out of Kirkland Lake, told The Nugget late Wednesday a review of fisheries data from 1998 to 2011 is underway and will be made public when completed. No reason was given when asked why the MNR didn't participate more fully. Jean-Marc Filion, who presented on spiny water flea invasion, said the MNR is working on a fisheries management plan in isolation. Several ideas were floated during wrap-up discussions Wednesday to protect the relatively larger numbers of small walleye in the lake so they can replenish spawning stocks. Reducing angler limits, banning live bait and limiting ice huts for day use only might help keep the younger walleye safe, some participants said. And the pros and cons of declaring the lake or walleye fishery to be in a “crisis” stage were also debated, with several participants saying such strong words would cause havoc on the tourism industry.

Bet you can see my finger now. Tough to beat that for a day of work.

That crossed my mind but I figured they rescures were too busy going back out to get more floaters.

Never heard of someone eating 'em before.

Well it would be nine years this summer. Funny my mom still has the one she got as a wedding present... before I was born.

Well the front load washer sounds like it has a load of bricks in it. Anybody have a name in Barrie? Thanks for the help.

Last night's news mentioned that the special life jackets cost about $300 per. While I can see both sides of the "pay or not to pay" argument the people who were rescued should either return the lifejackets or pay for the item they kept.

If you go, you won't be able to see what finger I have for you to see.

You don't understand because Trumpeter swans are native.

http://www.nugget.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3523951 Big picture focus at Lake Nipissing summit By DAVE DALE The Nugget Posted 7PM Apr 3, 2012 The table is being set for developing a plan to better protect Lake Nipissing and its fishery from natural and human threats. Presentations at the Lake Nipissing Summit Tuesday morning focused on fishing pressure over the past century, climate change science and water quality data. Options for strategic studies and improved fishery management will be discussed today as the two-day event wraps up at Nipissing University's Chancellor's House. Richard Rowe, a biologist with FRI Consulting, said negative trends in spawning-size walleye noticed first in 2009 only make sense if there was an unexpected harvest. Rowe used a digital slide show to demonstrate how data from fall walleye index netting correlated with fishing pressure over the past 10 years. He said spawning-size walleye increased in 2004 as slot regulations for anglers and Nipissing First Nation's commercial fishing management systems, including nets that allow larger walleye to escape, were introduced. But the line graphs showed drastic changes recently. “Extra harvest had to occur in 2009 and 2010,” he said, noting the data makes the most sense when non-compliant commercial activity (including commercial spearing during the spawn moratorium), more anglers taking slot fish and possible Dokis First Nation commercial activity. Rowe, formerly a biologist with Nipissing First Nation and the Ministry of Natural Resources, said there's an abundance of young walleye, but they seem to be skinny and maturing slowly. He said the challenge is ensuring a greater amount of young walleye survive the double gauntlet of commercial and angler pressure to reach spawning age. Bharat Pokharel, of Nipissing University's faculty of arts and science biology, explained how the green house effect is increasing temperatures around the globe. While the cause can be debated, Pokharel said thousands of natural thermometers prove overall warming trends are happening. He urged more studies based on predicted impacts in this region, referring to the potential for more heavy rain events in this watershed, which has a tributary collection system many times the actual size of Lake Nipissing. “Are we ready for these things?” Pokharel asked, suggesting that lake level fluctuations, decline in ice quality during winter and fish habitat changes could threaten economies. He said communities can assess the risks, coordinate long-term data management and integrate safeguards in planning. Ministry of Environment representative Andrew Patterson talked about chemical water quality studies on Lake Nipissing over the past four decades. While phosphorous readings in the 1970s and the last studies in 2003-04 are hard to compare due to different analysis and gathering techniques, Patterson said spikes in nitrate levels in Callander Bay in early spring and August raises questions. “It's definitely worth going back to study this,” he said, adding “chloride concentrations are certainly something that should be tracked.” The summit is organized by Nipissing First Nation and involves officials from each community on its shores. On the web: www.lakenipissingsummit.ca

... if you listen closely you can hear countless ofc'rs clicking onto Gander's site.

Interesting video of ocean surface currents.

No way. Bev and Bernie. It is a small world.

It depends on what type of knot you use. http://www.animatedknots.com/ The line brands site's will also have knot information. There are apps as well.

I had a chance to do these tests in school as well. It's one thing to be told something, much better to try it first hand. Wet re-entries into canoes and small aluminum boats were also very useful. As a kid I wasn't aloud to wear rubber boats in the boat "because the boots would sink me to the bottom."

Always nice to have more options near by.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/675-russian-fishermen-rescued-from-drifting-ice-floe/article2388515/ 675 Russian fishermen rescued from drifting ice floe MOSCOW— The Associated Press Published Sunday, Apr. 01, 2012 12:56PM EDT Russia's emergency services rescued 675 fishermen on Sunday from an ice floe that was drifting out to sea in the far east of the country. None of the rescued ice fishermen required medical treatment, the emergency services on Sakhalin Island said. About half of the 675 fishermen were picked up by helicopters and the others by boat. The emergency services said it received a report at midday Sunday that an ice floe was drifting into the Sea of Okhotsk with hundreds of fishermen on it. More than six hours later, all had been rescued. Ice fishermen routinely get stranded on ice floes in Russia, especially in the spring as the temperatures rise. Sunday's operation was unusual only in the high number that had to be rescued. One of the rescued fishermen, Vladimir Vasilenko, said they should have known better than to go out on such a day. “Of course the wind was blowing from the shore. We should have thought that something could happen, but people were going and we went as well,” he said in a televised interview. “We also heard on the radio that it was the last chance for fishermen, and so we went fishing

For those whom it matters to: Pfluger Supreme XTs are made in China.

...mattresses, apliances, bbqs, tv etc. Burns my berries as well.

I missed that "exclusive" bit but thought the QR code thing was interesting. Everything coming from a company has to be taken with a grain, or two, of salt.

Surface temps will vary quite a bit, but from a few inches down the water temperature changes much more slowly.