A12 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, October 11, 1995 ROB BROWN El Nino attacks CIENTISTS feel Tike. ‘Roman priests: looking for the future: in“the viscera’ of _ goats as-they sift through the mounting mountain. of data. information pours in from all aver the. globe. ny The augurs: monitor. ‘the: massive interaction be- tween atmosphere and the vast expanse of ocean be- tween Darwin Australia‘and Easter Island — the’so calked ‘southern oscillation - - - and they don’t like what they see: the Index is. negative. They’ve seen. this negativity before: in 1957-58, in 1972, 1976 and again in. 1982 and 1983... : A. collective sweat breaks out on the Climatological Forehead as a wall of warm water surges toward the coast of South America smashes against that con- tinent then caroms toward the poles and the colder seas of the North and South lying below them. Peru receives the brunt of assault: men sce it in the slack sails of thousands of fishing vessels that fill up the harbours; they mark it-in the rain. that falls heavily and steadily on the desert, in the bath water tempera- tures of the normally cool waters of the Pacific; they watch balefully : as sea birds ‘exit. en masse, leaving their young to die in the nests; they know the assault is underway when hordes of swimming crabs sweep down from the north like barbarians attacking Rome and feed upon the-dead:and dying benthos;-and they Nino — is back for Christmas. Dios Mio. The weather system that crouches over. the Gulf of Alaska like a sprawling wildcat is agitated, restless, it tosses and turns. : _ The Scientists don't like that either. They know the big cat as. the Aleutian Low, the AL, big Ai. They know when it behaves like’ this it is in phase with evenls in the south —- reaching down to extend a paw and claw the warm waters of the Kid northward. Now northem waters take a beating. of many blows. Though you might think it- odd, the waters of the north, like its‘wet cool forests, are far ticher in life forms than its southern counterparts. The water down south is clear because of this deficit, its fishes are smooth and fast, built for speed because food is less abundant and must be chased. The water up north is murky, a nutrient soup, con- stantly replenished by .a-process of upwelling which brings nutrient rich sub-surface water to the top and food chain viled and running smoothly, . The Kid shows ip, pecs inthe tub, and everything runs amok, The. warm ‘current that ‘smashed: the Ecuadorian’ and Peruvian anchavy fishery to bits, welling waters — the rest of the 1% of fecund ocean that produces 50% of the world’s fish harvest, _ Adult mortality in: Chinook and coho. skyrockets. Fish stripped in hatcheries drop in size and-fectindity. Scomber Japonicus 4. k.a.. the Chub Mackerel .and his buddy. Mola‘ Mola, the Pacific Sunfish, arrive to dine in the newly, warmed waters of the northwest. niles rearing along the sheltered inland waters. Steelhead make for the cold comfort of deeper, bluer waters where they run afoul of the nylon nets of the high seas squidders. It’s mayhem, E1 Nino is no youngster, He’s an ancient whiskered phenom who’s been observed and recorded as long ago as 1891, and has swum the seas for millennia, What. has some scientists worried is the fact that recently the current has not only appeared with some frequency, | but stayed for extended periods of time. There is considerable speculation, and growing evi- dence, that our big blue marble is not only warming up, but that this warming trend bas aggravated the El Nino phenomenon while simultaneously cooling the Allantic thanks to the melting of the polar ice cap. In both cases, effects on salmon are disastrous. Add the effects of habitat-destruction and commer- cial over-exploitation and you start-to get a feel- for the massive forces leaning on salmonids. - What is to be done? Man can affect the weather, ‘but he can’t predict. it with ‘any degree: of satisfying ac- curacy, let alone: change it to his liking, Hatcheries can’t fix this problem (they never worked at the best of times). Long scale programs of habitat restoration and changing: our cavalier, . wasteful environment politicians who fill their pants every time someone conjures up a vision of the deficit bogey man arc not likely to vate money to programs whose payoff will probably not be secn for halfa century. This summer a group of local guides, upset by a decline in sport fish numbers, advaziced on City Hall, and demanded: that’ Terrace’ Council. do something about it, To‘thest: men Tsay, you're: howlin’- like hounds at.the baltom of a coonless treet-this.is a blz problem, gentléitieti: Not even’ as dynamic a a political body as the Terrace Cou cati solve i a feel it.most when their incomes: start-to ;wilher like J. :: kelp forests” ‘along: the: coast-lines ‘The Child: — EL fo the reach-of the sun — cold-water which keeps the - now kicks the ‘stuffing oul of the remainder of the up- . Sleek and fast, they make mince out of salmon juve- | wrecking habits havea ‘chance, but myopic . ATHLETES ‘FROM throughout the northwest gathered in Terrace October 1 for the 15th annual All Seasons Half Marathon and Fall -Run, It was a-truly regional race, ‘with many winners coming from out of town. ‘The 125 -athletes competed in _ three different: divisions — 5km, 10km and a half marathon dis- “tance of 21km. In the 5 km race Mike Grant of 7 Kitimat placed: first overall, and a first i in his division of men aged 13-19. years. His time of 18 Minutes was the best of the 85 people entered in. the five km - TAce, Brandi Young of Kitimat ‘took first place in the same women? § age group, and 22nd ‘overall. Bruce Pettet of Kitimat, men | aged 20-39, took second place “overall and first in his age group- _ing. He and Dale Young, also of Kitimat, came in. 3rd overall, completing the Kitimat sweep of "the Skm race. ‘Kim © Barriere’ of Terrace, women aged 20-39, won her divi- . Sion, placing 19th overall. And in the men’s and women's “groups, ; aged 40-99, Ray Warner of Terrace took the top honours and forth spot overall. Barbara Guillon of Smithers placed first, and 41st overall. Some of the children’s times were excellent, with Dylan Evans of Terrace coming. in first for boys aged 1-12 with a time of 21 minutes and 53 seconds. That netted him an overall ranking of . 22nd. Jn the girls’ category of the — same age, Kimberly Smith of Terrace. was first, and received a ranking of 50 in the race, In the 10 km“ ‘ace, Bernd Guderjahniof Prince Rupert took © first place in his age group of 20- 39 and top honours in the race of _ . 30 competitors, ‘His time was a swift'34 minutes and 19 seconds. Heidi Siebring -of . Terrace, - women aged 20-39, won her divi- sion, and placed 6th in the race. Mike Reid of Terrace, men aged 40-99, won his division and * placed fifth overall. And Rose Schibli of Terrace took her division of women aged 40-99, placing 22nd overall, Only 10 runners took the chal- lenge of the 21km half-marathon. DeJong KITIMAT SHARPSHOOTER Paul DeJong picked off the competition at the Terrace Dart Open to repeat as men’s singles champ. Second to DeJong was Ter- race’s Bob Bennett, followed by Kitimat’s Jurgen Schiemann and Robert Cormier of Smithers in the men's singles. ' On the ladies’ singles side, newcomer Patricia Farrell, of Skating By LISA TYLER ALMOST two years in the making, a skating development camp has been established to bencfit young people throughout the Northwest. , ‘It’s getting to the point where now J can see the ice... before it was all paperwork,” said Rob Madiation, a Smithers hockey scout and coach heading the new operation. Nor-El Academy in the village of. Granisle on the shores of Babine Lake is the newest train- ing facility to hit the region, and one of the few to run year round. *“We evaluate 18,000 kids a year at six different camps in the. province... what we keep hearing parents say is there's just not enough ice time for my son to de- velop (in this region),”’ -Madia- ~- thon explained, 7 “We're there For the kids — we want to address their needs and ‘give them the same exposure the - ~ boys have in places like Kam- . loops and Surtey,” The arena itself will operate the same as any other communily ~*~ atena, With recreation hockey teams and figure skatlig ‘schedul-. , ed throughout the week, TERRACE STANDARD as the winners’ times proved. - UNLIKE THE rest of Terrace, the athletes entered In the 15th annual All Seasons Half Marathon, weren't complaining about the weather on October 1. The @, cool damp day was perfect far running, Paul Clark of Terrace placed first overall wilh a time of one hour, 11 minutes and 27 seconds. He was also first in the men’s aged Smithers, shot her way past Kitimat's Linda Lewis and Ter- race’s Carla Boreham and Ruby Whittington to claim the ‘ title, Farrell teamed up with Prince Rupert’s Sue Simpson to cap- ture the ladies doubles’ championship. The duo defeated Terrace entry Linda Wagner and Pearl Barnes. Third and fourth 20-39 division, Sherrie Hamer of Terrace took top spot in the women's aged 20- 39 group, and eighth overall, respectively were Kay Robinson/Dayene Bater and Heather | Masch/Betty Schiemann. In men’s doubles action, the unbeatable machine of Paul DeJong and Jurgen Schiemann crushed all opposition. Second was Cormier and Ter- race's Phil Smith. Third spot - went to Terrace’s Wayne Glover and Arnié Soes. Fourth Academy gives northwest an ice time alternative Specialized training programs will be offered all year long start- ing Oct. 15 for both hockey and figure skating development. ’ Programs are developed with enough: flexibility to accom- modate youth who are currenily playing on a hockey team,’ run- ning from noon‘Saturday to Sun- ° day evening cach weekend. A young hockey player living ‘in Smithers, for example, booked two weekends. of every month ‘with his team play, can attend the centre for training on his off weekends. “That way whatever special- ized training he docs get he can implement immediately to his minor hockey program,” Madia- ‘tlonsaid, | “Nor-El Academy is a non-profit organization. with. close to 20 volunteers on a board: of direc- tors. With limited funds Since the clostire of the Noranda copper malt, the: village: had kept: its ~"varena "closed for ‘two years, Numerous minor repair jobs and some upgrading has been done. Once the facility is up and mn- ning it will be self-supporting and the village will not have to pro- vide financing, Madiaiton ex- plained. Training for the novice and atom levels are run together, This group receives four and one-half hours of instruction each session. One hour .|s. slated for classroom instruction. .The re- mainder of the time is ice time, . divided between power skating and individual technical and tacti- cal skills. The pee wee and bantam levels also share their training, This group is offered five hours.’ of ice tine sinilarly divided, with an additional two hours of class instruction. Overnight accommodation ts _available in Granisle.. However, Madiation sald the Academy is hoping to renovate.” . the. upstairs of the. arena bo. use as ‘4 domnllory. - aes And Nipper Kettle of Houston took first place in the men’s aged _ group, placing third over- repeats at Dart Open. was Terrace’s Frank Rowsher : and Todd Bailey. In mixed doubles action, Kitimat’s Lynn. and Neil Maclsaac shot to victory, Second were Robert Cormier and Patricia Farrell, of Suilthers. Bob and Hilda Bennett, of Terrace, were third. And Smithers duo Stan Granda and Ann Oud captured fourth. camp to run all year ‘This is still very much in the early stages... we have to pass it with the health officials,’ Madia- tion said. “In talking to them it didn’t seem to be much of a prob- lem, but we want to get their stamp of approval,?’ Fist Nations hockey teams were also a major player in the development of the academy. Pians ate in the works to in- clude ‘players from. the com- munity of Tachet, eight kilo- metres south of Granisle, and Fort Babine, 48 kilometres to the ‘north: “*There’s very little recreation for the kids up in the area because. of the remotencss,”? Madiation said, adding that a schoot bus was donated and these children will be picked up and driven home. Emphasizing the three-Ds of hockey — drive, dedication and ~ desire! is the Philosophy of Nor-El. Léeal hockey greats, such as- Allan.:Kerr and Gary Watson, have been approached to work as: instructors, ‘We're trying. to utilize people: : - with the same kind of philoso- phy,’’ Madiation snid, | For more information on Nor-El why Academy, contact 847-3787.