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Drifting man rescued after falling out of canoe
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A BABY OCTOPUS TO DELIGHT US
INSIDE THIS WEEK:
ANDREW BAILEY
Westerly News
The Tofino RCMP recently rescued a man who had fallen out of his canoe. The man was drifting in the ocean, without a lifejacket, and grasping onto the canoe when he called police on July 4 around 2:25 a.m., according to Cpl. Therese Cochlin. “Constable Bullock and Constable Truong were on duty in Tofino and immediately responded to the call in the RCMP vessel,” Cochlin told the Westerly News. The two officers located the man and pulled him to safety onboard their police vessel. “He was not wearing a life jacket at the time and was cold, but otherwise not injured,” Cochlin said. “A six pack of beer was observed floating away from his canoe when police arrived.” She said Coast Guard personnel helped transport the man and his canoe back to Tofino. Police are urging all boaters to be prepared, and cautious, on the water. “Boaters are reminded that they are required to carry the mandatory safety equipment for their vessel, including a lifejacket or personal floatation device for each person onboard,” Cochlin said. “The other obvious message is not to mix alcohol and boating as the likelihood of being involved in a boating accident doubles when alcohol is involved.”
STINKY SITUATION: A fish truck tipped over and covered Highway 4 with fish guts. PAGE 2
Ucluelet Aquarium curator Laura Griffith-Cochrane snapped this shot of a baby octopus that will soon be wowing the West Coast’s locals and visitors. The photo below was taken by the aquarium’s founder Philip Bruecker and shows summer student Emily Fulton who was thrilled to meet the tiny creature.
Aquarium fans have a new octopus to ogle ANDREW BAILEY
Westerly News
A brand new baby octopus is moving into the Ucluelet Aquarium. The tiny animal was recently discovered by a group of researchers who were exploring the West Coast’s waters with Ucluelet Aquarium founder Philip Bruecker. Aquarium curator Laura Griffith-Cochrane is stoked on welcoming the small specimen and told the Westerly News she believes it is a baby Giant Pacific Octopus. Andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca “At that size, the only
way you can tell whether it’s a Red Octopus or a Giant Pacific Octopus is three tiny little folds below their eyelid and it doesn’t seem to have those so we believe it’s a Giant Pacific,” she said. The baby would have hatched from one of roughly 68,000 eggs laid by its mother. A female Giant Pacific Octopus lives for roughly 3 years and dies shortly after laying her eggs, according to Griffith-Cochrane. “Most of the time, she’s alive for the beginning where she’s con-
stantly cleaning these clutches of eggs, moving her arms around them to make sure there’s no bacterial or algal growth on them,” she said. “She would also be pushing water across them to make sure that they’re really well oxygenated...She has to make sure that all of her eggs are getting enough oxygen in their little den, or cave, so that they don’t use up all of the oxygen and die.”
See OCTOPUS pg. 5
UKEE DAYS: Check out this week’s Westerly Life to know where to go, and when, during this year’s Ukee Days festivities. PAGES 7-10
TIME TO FISH: Tofino Legion hosts its annual fishing derby this weekend. PAGE 15
Raising standards In salmon farming
Sustainable Aquaculture We hold seven third-party certifications, more than any other salmon farmer in the world
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