Flotsam & Jetsam-- Undercurrent, March, 2002

Midway Shuts Down: The unique deep diving operation and all tourist operations on Midway Island in the Pacific have closed. In a 1996 agreement, the Navy traded "guns for gooney birds," turning the Navy base known for its role in the 1942 Battle of Midway over to Fish and Wildlife's Pacific Region, based in Portland. But the agency had no money to run the airstrip and buildings, let alone host visitors. So it signed up Midway Phoenix Corp. of Cartersville, Ga., to do that, at no cost to the government. By attracting up to100 travelers a week who would pay to dive, birdwatch, visit historic sites, fish, snorkel and help biologists, Midway Phoenix figured it could pay for the upkeep. However, few people wanted to shell out $600 for the three- hour flight from Honolulu, plus $100 per day to stay in a barracks-turned-hotel. Occupancy ran less than half. REEF has a diving trip planned in August and has been told by the government that it hopes diving will be operable by then, but it seems like a long shot.

Another danger of dynamite fishing: Two German divers, a gynecologist and his 25-year-old son, were exploring a cave last year in Vrula Bay in the Adriatic Sea. A Croatian man, was fishing nearby, not with line, but with leftover land mines. One of his exploding mines killed both divers, The fisherman, Dragutin Jakovinovic pleaded guilty to causing the deaths. He told a court "Yes, I feel guilty. I was illegally fishing with explosives close to the bridge that connects the island of Pag with the coast, but I did not realize the divers were so close."Now, I feel horrible, like I would rather be dead instead of the German divers."

[Other stories in this issue's Flotsam & Jetsam included "Got a Winning Photo?" and "Swedish Meatball"]

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Flotsam & Jetsam [some excerpts]

Flotsam & Jetsam
[some excerpts]