Skin Divers Watch Crab’s Intimate Life;
Valuable Data Obtained By This Method
(Continued from last week)
For breathing under water
Powell carries a 75-pound tank of
compressed air strapped to his
bock. Air is breathed through a
mouthpiece attached to a hose
from the tank. This will pro
vide underwater breathing for
nbout an hour. The tank appears
heavy, (but it is of course hollow
and will rise buoyantly to the
surface if released from the diver.
Powell descends to tend and
study his crabs at least once week
ly. As the crabs cannot move out
of the pens for food he must feed
them. He gathers some of the food
himself on the harbor floor; the
rest he buys from fishermen.
Sometimes a thousand pounds is
contracted for and frozen for fu
ture use. The menu for his wards
consists of star fish, sand dollars,
sea urchins and several kinds of
bottom fish. Fortunately crabs
»* not gourmets. Powell has
■over found anything they wont
nr. Will ram A. Smoker, Chief of
the Biological Research Division
1m the Department who directs
the king crab project along with
ether studies maintains. that data
on the entire life cycle of the king
ora)b can be obtained by skin div
ing. He believes that skin diving
should be encouraged and devel
oped as a tool in fishery inves
tigations.
The only time unpenned crabs
can’t be studded is when they go
into deeper water off shore where
they cannot be followed. But it
is quite common, Powell says, to
observe king crabs reproducing in
depths of 50 feet or less. At that
time an estimate of sex ratios,
vital to population counts can be
made.
Schools of herring and salmon
have been observed on the sea
dives. Iladibut are quite wary.
Squids swim away quickly, some
times emitting an inky smoke
scrreet; in their wake. Powell can
swim right up to such bottom fish
as sculpins and bull heads who
don’t scare easily.
As for king crabs, it is possible
to observe any stage of their
growth or activities. They don’t
seem to mind being watched. They
can run quite fast, however. Pow
ell has never seen one swimming
free of the bottom. They walk
“tip toe” on the ocean floor as
fast or faster than a skin diver
can swim.
The extent of a skin diver’s
observations depends upon his un
derwater visibility. Powell says
this is determined by when and
where he is diving. Sometimes
visibility is good for a distance of
100 feet or poor at 20 feet. The
uses of an underwater compass is
the only way the diver can keep
Freshed Cooked
KING CRAB
To place orders
PHONE 613t
his horizontal directions straight
under water.
Powell seldom goes down with
out a companion-diver as he says
almost anything can happen in
diving. Bleeding from the ears
and nose can occur from ascending
too rapidly. If the sinuses are
clogged or the diver has a cold,
- -■ _
a too rapid ascent may rupture
blood vessels and cause a hemor
rhage.
Nothing serious has ever happen
ed to Powell. He has great respect
for King Neptune's twilight king
dom and has even taken special
courses in skin diving to better
(Continued on page 6)
SUNDAY
SPECIAL
Sweet Potatoe Pie 600
Brownies doz. 800
# . m
MUGHTOrS BAKEIV
- « “ 49
Open Day & NKte
Phone 2062
**■'*.■ • . • **«»••
.
.
THE ANNOALMEETING of
The Kodiak Electric Ass’n
Will be held Mon. March 7,8:00 PM at the
Elks Hall, for
It * •
—Report Last Year’s Business
—Election of Nine Directors
—Entertainment, Movies
—Lunch & Refreshments
—Attendance Prizes
■ ■ - ______
fC ' , ■ >' v ' vV •’* ■ ' • 4*
PROXY VOTE — ANNUAL MEETING — MEMBERS OF THE
KODIAK ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION
Monday, March 7, 1960
• • .v"^ *.* » > f
To: A. M. Given, Acting Secretary:
The undersigned hereby authorizes .
(name of some member)
> ^ - * , . s . • ; ^ • <•
to vote by proxy ot the Annual Meeting of the Kodiak Electriee Assoc
on March 7, 1960, Kodiak Elks Hall, Kodiak, Alaska.
(Signature)
Instructions — The above is for the convenience of those members wishing
to vote by proxy. The proxy must be handed (not mailed) to the Secretary
on or before the dale of the Annual Meeting. Only members are entitled
to vote.
-r
vt r •- - • . > ,
Sample Ballot
(NOT TO BE USED FOR VOTING)
ELECTION OF NINE DIRECTORS 1960
*
« ________
□ Bettis, John
□ Clemens, Samuel
□ Dawson, Robert
□ Felton, Harry
□ Frost, Tom Jr.
□ Garroute, James
□ Geriene, Verlyn
□ Hussey, C. E.
□ Jarvela, Gil
□ Jesser, Elmer
□ Kraft, Walter
□ Lawhead, Donald
□ Lester, Eldon
□ Lyle, Lewis
- •. • ■ ■ • * • ■ *.1 ■ ■■ :
o Neseth, Henry
□ Parker, Robert R
□ Powell, Cfias. A.
□ Ramaglia, Pete
□ Reed, A. J.
□ Robertson, Wm. Jr.
□ Smith, Wells H.
□ Souter, Milton #L
a Veer man, Lou
o Waage, Bob
• . ' •' ' r • • • ••*
■/* •• ; .■ C • ...
Kodiak Electric Ass’n Inc.
BE PRESENT — YG9R ATTENDANCE IS NEEBED
i . ' • ' . i, ' \ s' ‘ 1 I - • !
*. «i* . v ! i • > '■■» i " VK.•- 4 f .» wi ■: t i , i . > * \\
-i _