HARBOUR PORPOISES: Weir Release News

The Weir Release Program has been in operation since 1991 and works co-operatively with local weir operators.  Herring weirs are ingenious fish traps usually fixed to the bottom and constructed of stakes and netting, positioned to corral herring as they move along shorelines.

Summary of harbour porpoises in weirs.
Seventy-six porpoises found their way into Grand Manan weirs in 1999, the busiest year for us since 1993.  Of these, many were able to swim out on their own and disappeared from weirs within a few days.  Of the 51 porpoises we tried to help seine out, we released 48 successfully, making our success rate for this year over 94%.  All of these porpoises were released from only six weirs. This high release total includes the sweep of a group of 12 porpoises from a  weir called the Iron Lady (now running only second to another weir, Mystery, (14 in 1993) for the largest number of porpoises we have observed in a weir at once).

In addition to being a busy year, it was also an early year for us.  We released 8 porpoises (plus a white-sided dolphin;  see below) in July, and tagged three of these porpoises with satellite transmitters (see below for data from the tags).  We have never put an electronic tag on a porpoise in July prior to this year.  We then released another 38 porpoises in August and released two in September.

A New Species to Release.
We added a new species to the weir release program:  an Atlantic White-Sided dolphin released from one of the weirs on July 27th.  As far as we could tell this was the first time anyone had seen a dolphin in a Grand Manan weir.  These animals are larger than harbour porpoises , and presented us with quite a challenge, but with the help of both the seine and pumper crews we "persuaded" the animal to leave.  Dave, our diver, complained of sore ribs for a long while and claimed that while he won the battle, the dolphin definitely won the war!

Repeat Visitors.
We had two reappearances by previously released porpoises:  one young male was released on August 2, and swam into a floating weir on August 20th (it swam out again that night).  Another female was released on August 28th, only to reappear in another and was released again on August 30th.  We were able to re-identify these porpoises because small coloured, numbered plastic tags (used on domestic farm animals) had been clipped to their dorsal fins.  If anyone should see a porpoise with one of these tags, please let us know!

Data collected from porpoises this year.
Of the 48 porpoises we released, we collected sex and body size data for 31.  We know that we released at least 12 females and 19 males.  There seemed to be more adult porpoises in weirs in 1999 than in previous years as opposed to many more juvenile porpoises (1-3 years old)  in other years.  Three of the females had calves with them, and 8 of the males were likely adults (based on their body sizes).  The smallest porpoise we released was a female calf that was 99 cm long.  The largest animal was a 164 cm long female.

Health of the local porpoise population.
As part of a long-term study monitoring the general health of this porpoise population, we collected blood samples from 14 individuals.  The different types of blood cells are counted and levels of oxygen-carrying hemoglobin are measured and blood chemistry analyses  reveal enzyme activities, levels of different salts, proteins, and hormones, etc.  From these data we are building a baseline picture of the blood values of the average wild porpoise.  Samples taken from over 100 porpoises since 1993 reveal that the porpoises around Grand Manan are generally in good health, with little evidence of infections or other diseases.  We also routinely measure the length and girth of each porpoise, and this gives us an indication of body condition, or the amount of reserves (i.e. fat) that each individual carries around.  All porpoises, as in most years, appeared extremely robust, indicating that they were in very good condition.

Improving our methods for release.
We try to closely observe the behaviour of porpoises during the release process so we can reduce the stress they experience at these times.  The porpoises we released are recorded on videotape prior to and during the seine and while in the boat. Later we go back and examine their behaviour and breathing rates.  We also record their heart rates (another indicator of stress) with a monitor that is used by training athletes.  This study is ongoing but already we have been able to reduce the porpoises' stress levels by modifying the way we interact with and handle the animals while they are in the boat.

Satellite tags.
We were able to put out a record 7 tags in 1999 (our previous record was 5 in 1995).   When the porpoises are at the surface (i.e. when the porpoise breathes) the tags transmit information to orbiting satellites.  These data are then transmitted to a ground station, and we are able to access the animal's calculated positions via computer downloads.  These tags allow us to remotely track the movements of porpoises for up to a year.  We are unable to track the animals for longer periods because of limited battery life:  larger batteries for longer tracks would make the tags too big for porpoises.  Five of the tags allowed us to collect only position data, but two of them also collected and transmitted information about how deep the porpoise dives between surfacings.  The porpoises we put electronic tags on are listed in the table above (we name each one).

Follow the porpoises on the Web.
Those of you with internet access can track the movements of our tagged porpoises via Whalenet. 

We received a grant from Wheelock College (Massachusetts) (which also included donation of electronic tags) to create an educational web page about harbour porpoises as part of a larger web site called Whalenet. Whalenet is designed for science classrooms; young students will become more interested in science if they can see real data right in front of them.  As the data are collected about the tagged porpoises, it is posted on the web page.

Madeleine, who had the earliest tag we have ever put out, proved to be an extremely unusual porpoise:  instead of spending the summer in the Bay of Fundy and then moving south into the Gulf of Maine in the fall (like all the other porpoises we've tagged), she decided to go north.  As soon as she was released, she swam all the way around Nova Scotia and into the Gulf of St. Lawrence.  She moved to the north shore of the Gulf and travelled back and forth near Anticosti Island until the tag stopped transmitting.  From hormone analysis of a blood sample from Madeleine, we discovered that she was pregnant as well as having a calf with her. Two of the males (Mitchell and Stanley) also proved interesting when both left the Gulf of Maine and swam toward the coast of New Jersey during the winter before their tags stopped transmitting.

Porpoises and Gillnets.
One of our PhD. Students, Tara Cox, spent the summer working  with a local gillnetter.  He kindly allowed her to attach to his nets porpoise echolcation detectors (devices that record porpoise sounds). From these data, she hopes to determine how porpoises detect gillnets that are set on the bottom.  By learning more about porpoise acoustic behaviour, managers may be able to develop better gillnets to reduce  porpoise entanglement in them.

Plans for 2000.

• We are continuing the Harbour Porpoise Release Program which is funded entirely through donations and grants from several conservation organizations.  We receive no federal or provincial government support.
• This spring (2000) we were able to purchase a new 20' boat built by the LeBlanc Brothers in Nova Scotia, through generous funding from the International Fund for Animal Welfare and funds generated through our gift shop.
• We have also received funding this year from the Fundy Community Foundation in St. Andrews to develop teaching materials for weir operators and community groups in the Fundy area  describing our techniques for the safe release of harbour porpoises.  This will be helpful if we are unable to assist in the release of porpoises in other areas of the Bay of Fundy.
• Our other porpoise projects, including working with gill netters are continuing as well.

Data and photographs are collected annually by Laurie while acting as a whale watch naturalist with Grand Manan SeaLand  Adventures. The trips also allow Laurie to maintain an opportunistic data base of the numbers and locations of other  marine mammal, seabird, basking shark and other oddities.

Right Whale Notes:

• Right whales in 1999 again began arriving in early June (perhaps late May) and by mid June the numbers were 30-50 in the Bay each day. Close to 200 have been identified so far in the Bay of Fundy.  The last right whales were seen in early November.
• In 1999 only four calves were identified.  By early March 2000 only one calf had been seen in Florida/Georgia waters.  Continuing the trend, the mother is not one that uses the Bay of Fundy in the summer as a nursery but takes her calves elsewhere.  It will be the third summer without calves in the Bay. The calving interval from 1980-1992 was 3.67 years between calves.  From 1997-1999 that interval increased to 5.3 years. No one seems to have a good answer why the Bay of Fundy mothers are not having calves - one suggestion is a poor food supply. The non-Bay of Fundy mothers seem to be reproducing successfully.
• Porter (#1133), a male often seen in the Bay of Fundy, was sighted in the fall in a fjord in Norway!!  He made the return journey to the western Atlantic sometime this winter and was spotted in Cape Cod in late February, 2000.
• The U.S. government has reduced the potential biological removal level for right whales to zero from 0.4.  This means no right whales can be killed by human activities without negatively affecting the population.
• A three year old right whale (#2701) was found dead on January 19, 2000 but due to weather conditions the carcass was not recovered. It appeared to be entangled in lines and was identified by the belly pigmentation.
• In 1999 two right whales were killed, one by collision with a large ship (# 1014 Staccato) and the other due to injuries caused by entanglement in gill net gear (#2030).
• An updated right whale catalogue is now available from the New England Aquarium, Boston.  Numbers are limited and researchers are given preference.

In June, 1999, an information meeting was held at the North Head Community Hall on Grand Manan.  Over 30 people from Nova Scotia, Deer Island, Grand Manan, Maine and Massachusetts gathered to talk about disentanglement teams, the disentanglement equipment cache funded by DFO and stored at Westport, NS, and the new Whale Emergency Network (see below). A number of people came by boat from a similar meeting in Nova Scotia and on the way fortuitously discovered an entangled right whale #2753.  They were able to successfully free the whale.  The rest of the summer became one of the busiest (See Table).  Disentanglement efforts were vigorous but the results sometimes less than successful.  Our personnel were on-call to assist with the efforts providing logistic and on-site support for many of the disentanglement efforts.  One whale (#2030) died in October as the result of injuries caused by its entanglement.  The rope tightly wrapped around the whale's back and attached to its flippers slowly sawed through its back and into its body cavity. They whale died of these injuries.

The Whale Emergency Network is an initiative of East Coast Ecosystems (based in Freeport, NS) to co-ordinate reporting of entangled whales.  To report a whale emergency in the Bay of Fundy call CHANNEL 16 VHF or  call 1-888-854 4440.
 

Recovery Plan:

A Recovery Plan for North Atlantic right whales is finished and awaits approval.  An Implementation Team will then be announced to take action from recommendations in the Recovery Plan.  Our managing director, Laurie, was one of twelve on the team, co-chaired by Fisheries and Oceans and World Wildlife Fund.
V Code of Ethics Meeting: A meeting was held in Saint John in May for Bay of Fundy tour operators to be updated on whale watch issues and resign the Code of Ethics for the Bay of Fundy developed three years ago.  It supplements the DFO whale watch regulations which are currently under review.  For a copy of the Code, contact Laurie.

SEAL RESEARCH:

Another of our field assistants, Sarah Wong, began a project to identify the diet of seals by collecting and analyzing stomach and intestinal content of dead seals found washed ashore. Scat (faecal material) samples were also collected at low tide from seal haul out sites for future analysis.

UNUSUAL SIGHTINGS:

Many were confused by the presence in the Bay last summer of horned salps, a primitive cordate (animals with backbones). Many thought they were strange chains of eggs or some sort of sea jelly.  At times so many salps accumulated in tide streaks that the surface appeared gelatinous.  It was at these times that right whales were sometimes seen skim feeding though these streaks. The horned salps are about the size of grapes, colonial in long paired chains and usually found from Cape Cod southward.

The Bay of Fundy was abuzz in late August with the discovery of at least two pods of orca whales (totalling at least 20 whales).  The whales were seen for only a few days on both sides of the Bay before heading elsewhere.  The last confirmed sightings of orcas in the Bay was in the late 1980's.  The pod closest to Grand Manan consisted of a mother/calf pair, a mature male with a tall, wavy dorsal fin and six females or immature males.

SEABIRDS:

One of our field assistants, Rob Ronconi, began a two part study of a black guillemot nesting colony on the northern end of Grand Manan.  He was studying 1. foraging strategy and 2. reaction of the birds to boat traffic, by watching, through a surveying theodolite positioned on a cliff above the colony.  From this vantage he could record foraging behaviour and reactions of the birds.

BIRD REHABILITATION:

We were happy to assist in drying out and releasing a mature bald eagle  that was rescued from the Bay of Fundy by a research vessel and transferred to us (the second we have handled under similar circumstances).  A black guillemot was housed briefly in a large rabbit cage donated to us by M.L. Campbell (MLC also graciously donated another rabbit cage, three dog kennels, and a cat carrier).  Unfortunately, despite our efforts the oiled bird succumbed to hypothermia, an ever present danger to marine birds.

FUNDY BIRD OBSERVATORY:

A successful fund raising campaign by Brian Dalzell resulted in sufficient funding for both spring and fall songbird migration monitoring (through capture and banding and migrants) and the production of a newsletter. If you wish a copy of the "Razorbill" Vol. 6, No. 1 which summarizes the activities of the FBO, please contact Brian Dalzell, 62 Bancroft Point Road, Grand Manan, NB E5G 3C9 and he will send you a copy.  Please include $3.00 to cover the cost of the newsletter and postage. If you wish to give a donation directed to the FBO activities please check the appropriate box on the remittance form (Fundy Bird Observatory).

THE MUSEUM AND GIFT SHOP:

VISITORS: We broke the 10,000 mark in 1999, slightly more than the 9857 visitors in 1998 (4%). We were open most days from June to Thanksgiving in October.  We were able to increase sales by 15% over 1998.  These figures could not have been realized without the assistance of our two full time museum attendants, Jennifer and Pat, who kept our doors open.

DISPLAYS:  Our museum remains free to the public, although many guests give a small donation.  Door donations were 9% higher in 1999 than in 1998 (consistent with increased visitors). Some  small invertebrates were also added to the sealife display, including the horned salps.  The most significant addition was a memorial to Dr. Gaskin (our late Executive Director) including items such as a Discovery Tag (an implantable tag used to mark whales and designed to be found by whalers processing dead whales), a giant squid beak and sperm whale teeth from Dr. Gaskin's early work as an observer on Antarctic whaling ships.  We also have a copy of the Gaskin Medal in Marine and Freshwater Biology on display. The medal and a $500 cash award is offered annually to an outstanding undergraduate student in the Zoology Department, University of Guelph; Cheryl Tinson was the first recipient.  Those interested in contributing to this award should send contributions, made payable to the University of Guelph, to Dr. Paul Hebert c/o Department of Zoology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1.

RESTRUCTURING THE RESEARCH STATION After the death of our Executive Director, Dr. David Gaskin, we decided to attempt to restructure the organization and management of the Research Station. We now have a management team and a board.  The board consists of: GMWSRS General Manager (Laurie Murison) Local community member (Ivan Green) GMWSRS Management Team member (Heather Koopman) Fundraiser (with connections to Canadian funding bases) Outreach and Education All Board members will serve for three years except for the Management Team member which is one year.  We are looking for two people to fill the last two positions who are able to attend at least one board meeting a year on Grand Manan.  If interested please contact us.

Proposed Goals of the Research Station: A. Promote conservation of the Bay of Fundy ecosystem. Conduct scientific research. Facilitate scientific research conducted by others. Increase public awareness of natural history, conservation issues, and scientific research. Act as a scientific resource for residents of Grand Manan and other coastal communities of the Bay of Fundy. Identify threats and provide guidance on issues associated with the welfare of individual animals and their populations. Undertake fundraising activities to support and achieve research station goals. B. Support initiatives elsewhere that are consistent with the Research Station’s goals.

GASKIN FELLOW To mark the millennium, to increase our contribution to the young people of Bay of Fundy and to pay tribute to the late Dr. Gaskin we now offer a paid summer internship. Preference is given to (in the following order) residents of Grand Manan, Charlotte County, Bay of Fundy, and maritime provinces.  Based on his work at the Research Station in 1999, Pat Miller,  is our first Gaskin Fellow. Donations to the Dr. David Gaskin Memorial Fund will be used to fund this position.  Please mark the appropriate box on the enclosed donation form and send to The David Gaskin Memorial Fund.

PERSONNEL- 1999

DIRECTORS: Ivan Green, Heather Koopman, Laurie Murison
GENERAL MANAGER, EDUCATION CO-ORDINATOR: Laurie Murison, M.Sc.
SENIOR SCIENTIST: Dr. Andy Read, Ph.D. Duke University Marine Laboratory in Beaufort, NC.
SENIOR RESEARCH BIOLOGISTS:
Tara Cox, M.Sc., Ph.D. student Duke University, Beaufort, NC; Dave Johnston, M.Sc., Ph.D. student Duke University, Beaufort, NC, and on staff at the International Marine Mammal Association, Guelph, ON; Heather Koopman, M.Sc., PhD. student Duke University, Beaufort, NC; Aleksija Neimanis, M.Sc., Veterinary student, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Andrew Westgate, M.Sc. PhD. student Duke University, Beaufort, NC
BANDER-IN-CHARGE: Brian Dalzell, Grand Manan
FIELD ASSISTANTS:
Ken Ingersoll, Grand Manan; Rob Ronconi, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB; Sarah Wong, McGill University, Montreal, QC
MUSEUM ASSISTANTS (Grand Manan):
Patrick Miller, Jennifer Sewell
VOLUNTEERS (Grand Manan):
Gordon & Wiley Kempton, Sarah McDonald, Marion Murison, Rose Roach
VISITING SCIENTISTS:
Baltimore National Aquarium, Baltimore, MD: Dave Scofield
Disentanglement Workshop, June 6, 1999: Canadian Whale Institute (Allan Calderwood), Center for Coastal Studies (Ed Lyman, Stormy Mayo, Bob Bowman), East Coast Ecosytems (Moira Brown, Carolyn Hogg, Todd Sollows, Deborah Tobin), Memorial University (Jon Lien), New England Aquarium (Phil Hamilton)
International Fund for Animal Welfare "Song of the Whale": Richard McLanaghan, Anna Moscrop, Steve Brown and others, coordinated an acoustic study of right whales and ship noise. Their research may help explain the right whale/ship collision problem.
University of North Carolina, Wilmington, NC: Bill McLellan, Dr. Ann Pabst, Vicki Stegall
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Woods Hole, MA: Doug Nowacek, Mark Johnson, Nicolletta Biasoni, Dee Allen, Nicole, Alex, Jim and others, worked on right whale issues and phytoplankton blooms.
FRIENDS & VISITORS:
Dr. Rodney & Joyce Faye Cox, Troy AL, Derek Haley, Guelph, ON, The Neimanis Family (Ieva, John, Astrida & friend Kim), Hamilton, ON, Katie Touhey, Beaufort, NC, Donna Wong, Guelph, ON
FILM CREWS
Canadian Geographic, Duke Marine Laboratory Photographers (Scott Taylor and Lenore), Duke University Alumni Magazine (Monty and Del Bascal), National Geographic (Bill Curtsinger and Heather), Rag Top Productions, Toronto (Alan Gough, et al.)

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PUBLICATIONS

Scientific Papers, Book Chapters:

• Murray, K.T., A.J. Read & A. Solow. In Review. The use of time/area closures to reduce by-catches of marine mammals: lessons from the Gulf of Maine sink gillnet fishery. Journal of Cetacean Research & Management.
• Allen, M.C., A.J. Read, J. Gaudet & L.S. Sayigh. In Review. Fine-scale habitat selection of foraging bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) near Clearwater, Florida. Marine Ecology Progress Series.
• Allen, M.C. & A.J. Read. In Review. Vessel impact on habitat selection of foraging bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) near Clearwater, Florida. Marine Mammal Science.
• Heppell, S.S., S.A. Heppell, A.J. Read & L.B. Crowder. In Review. Effects of fishing on long-lived marine organisms. In: E. Norse & L. Crowder (editors), Marine Conservation Biology: The Science of Maintaining the Sea's Biodiversity.
• Bowen, W.D., A.J. Read & J.A. Estes. In Review. Feeding ecology. In: A.R. Hoelzel (editor), Marine Mammal Biology: an Evolutionary Approach. Blackwell Press.
• Evans, P.G.H., C. Lockyer & A.J. Read. In Review. Harbour porpoise. In: S. Harris (editor), The New Handbook of British Mammals. The Mammal Society, London, U.K.
• Neimanis, A.S.; Read, A.J.; Foster, R.A.; Gaskin, D.E. 2000 Seasonal regression in testicular size and histology in harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena, L.) from the Bay of Fundy and Gulf of Maine. Journal Of Zoology 250(2):221-229.
• Read, A.J. & P.R. Wade. 2000. Status of marine mammals in the United States. Conservation Biology.
• Connor, R., A. Read & R. Wrangham. 2000. Male social bonds and reproductive strategies. In: J. Mann, R. Connor, P. Tyack & H. Whitehead (editors), Cetacean Societies: Field Studies of Dolphins and Whales. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. In Press.
• Connor, R., R. Wells, J. Mann & A. Read. 2000. The bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops spp.: social relationships in a fission-fusion society. In: J. Mann, R. Connor, P. Tyack & H. Whitehead (editors), Cetacean Societies: Field Studies of Dolphins and Whales. University of Chicago Press,  Chicago. In Press.
• Koopman, H. N., Westgate, A. J., and Read, A. J.  1999. Hematology values of wild harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) from the Bay of Fundy, Canada. Marine Mammal Science 15: 52-64.
• McAlpine, D.F., P.T. Stevick, and L.D. Murison. 1999.  Increase in extralimital occurrences of ice-breeding seals in the gulf of Maine regions: more seals or fewer fish? Mar. Mamm.Sci. 15(3):906.
• McAlpine, D.F., P.T. Stevick, L.D. Murison, S.D. Turnbull.  1999. Extralimital records of hooded seals (Cystophora cristata) from the Gulf of Maine-Bay of Fundy. Northeastern Naturalist 6(3):225-230.
• Read, A.J. 1999. Porpoises. Worldlife Library. Colin Baxter Photography, Grantown-on-Spey, Scotland.
• Read, A.J. Harbour porpoise - Phocoena phocoena (Linnaeus, 1758). 1999. Pp 323-355 in: S.H. Ridgway and R.J. Harrison (editors), Handbook of Marine Mammals, Volume 6. Academic Press, New York.
• Wilson, B., H. Arnold, G. Bearzi, C.M. Fortuna, R. Gaspar, S. Ingram, C. Liret, S. Pribanic, A.J. Read, V. Ridoux, K. Schneider, K.W. Urian, R.S. Wells, C. Wood, P.M. Thompson & P.S. Hammond. 1999. Epidermal diseases in bottlenose dolphins: impacts of oceanographic and anthropogenic factors. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London: Biological Sciences 266: 1077-1083.

• Cox, T.M, A.J. Read, A. Solow, N. Tregenza.  Porpoises habituate to pingers: Implications for management. Thirteenth Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, 28 November - 3 December, 1999, Hawaii, USA.
• Johnston, D. The effect of acoustic harassment devices on harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) in the Bay of Fundy, Canada. Thirteenth Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, 28 November - 3 December, 1999, Hawaii, USA.
• Koopman, H.N., S. Iverson, A.J. Read.  The influence of phylogeny, habitat and body size on the structure of blubber in odontocetes.  Thirteenth Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, 28 November - 3 December, 1999, Hawaii, USA. ***Winner of the John G. Shedd Aquarium Award for best overall student presentation***.
• Murison, L.D. Ecotourism and marine wildlife.  Education for Sustainability in New Brunswick (Atlantic region workshop), University of Moncton, Moncton, NB. May 7-8, 1999.
• Murison, L.D. Marine Mammal issues in the Bay of Fundy. Panel discussion, Bay of Fundy environmental issues. Canadian Network of Environmental Education and Communication EECOM, St. Andrews, NB, Sept. 30-Oct. 2, 1999.
• Westgate, A.J., Pabst, D.A., McLellan, W.A., Williams, T. M., Wells, R., Scott, M. An instrument to record heat flux and surface temperature from free-swimming dolphins. Thirteenth Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, 28 November - 3 December, 1999, Hawaii, USA.

• Vincent, R. 1999. Species richness, extirpations and introductions among the noctuid moths (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) of New Brunswick's Fundy Coast. Department of Zoology, University of Guelph. 121pp.

GRANTS RECEIVED IN 1999

• Human Resources Development Canada (one summer student)
• International Fund for Animal Welfare
• New Brunswick Job Action (for Bander-in-Charge, FBO)
• U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service
• Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society
• Wheelock College (Whalenet)
• World Wildlife Fund Canada (Endangered Species Recovery Fund, co-sponsored by the Canadian Wildlife Service of Environment Canada).

 
(previous newsletters: 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 )

GMWSRS Grand Manan Whale & Seabird Research Station Inc. 24 Route 776, Grand Manan, NB, Canada, E5G 1A1 www.gmwsrs.org E-Mail info@gmwsrs.org © 2003 Grand Manan Whale & Seabird Research Station Inc. This page designed by revised October 17th 2006