The White Falcon - 14.08.1964, Qupperneq 8

8
WHITE FALCON
Friday, August 14, 1964
A Little Bit About Iceland
by Lt.(i-g-) J. W. Anderson
(Editors’ Note: This is one in a series of exclusive stories written
for White Falcon readers. Its primary purpose is to provide added
glimses of Iceland for military personnel stationed on the island-
country. The editors also think it to be excellent material to pro-
mote better understanding of this country to families and friends
back “home.”)
Attempting to use a new, radical method of catching
herring, Skipper Gislason of the ViSir II had just missed
a large, deep-swimming shoal of the elusive fish with his
purse seine. The year was 1955, a bad year among bad
years for the Icelandic herring industry.
Skipper Gislason’s empty net that day however is con-
sidered by many to be the turning point in the revolution
which has amazed fishermen the'
world over and made Icelandic
fishermen the world’s best.
Realizing his mistake but still
tracking the fish on his sonar,
Captain Gislason guided a nearby
boat to successfully set his net
around the shoal. The radio direc-
tions given by Gislason were
heard by the other boats in the
area and the success of the opera-
tion is credited with encourag-
ing several fishermen to start
experimenting with this radical
method.
Today the Icelandic herring in-
dustry, threatened by almost
complete collapse a few years ago,
is enjoying unprecedented pros-
perity.
The 15 years following World
War II were mighty lean for the
herring industry in Iceland. The
annual catch was ranging between
10 and 40 thousand tons and
getting worse. Before the war,
catches of up to 200 thousan tons
were not unusual.
The herring had changed their
habits somewhat and couldn’t be
found by a fleet used to dipping
them off the surface of waters
a few miles from home. It took
a series of scientific and techno-
logical breakthroughs encompass-
ing nearly all phases of herring
fishing technique to rescue the
industry and bring it to the point
where an annual catch of 500
thousand tons looks quite possible
in the future.
In fact, the Icelandic Director
of Fisheries, David Olafsson, in-
formed the White Falcon in a re-
cent interview, that with the 1964
season just half over, the fleet
has already bought in 215 thou-
sand tons or twice as much as
this time last year.
What were some of the factors
that brought about the resurrec-
tion of the herring industry in
Iceland?
Fisheries Director Olafsson and
Icthyologist Jakob Jakobsson have
pretty well pinned down the an-
swer in recent issues of Ice-
landic Review. It seems that the
Icelanders have not only been
pioneers in developing techniques
and equipment, but have been very
quick to accept the advances of
others, such as the power block
and the ring net which were first
used in the United States. Other
assistance has been provided
fishermen in the form of air
spotting of shoals and of course,
continuous analysis of the sea to
find feeding areas and to detect
the changing migration habits of
the herring.
All of these developments have
made the art of herring fishing
more complex rather than simple,
for in order to capture one of
these deep swimming shoals, the
skipper must not only track the
fish on sonar and predict its posi-
tion at a given time, he must take
into consideration the complex in-
teraction of the currents and
winds on his net and boat in order
to complete the operation success-
fully.
IDF Employees Commended
Thursday, July 23, certificates in recognition of ten years faithful
service with the Iceland Defense Force were presented by Captain
Stanley E. Ellison, Commanding Officer of Naval Station Keflavik,
Iceland. Those receiving certificates were: Naval Station: Mr. Val-
geir Sveinbjornsson, Mr. Theodor Borvaldsson; Naval Communica-
tion Station: Mr. Borgrimur Halldorsson; Navy Exchange: Mr.
Jon Arngrimsson, Mi-. Sigur^or Arnason, Mr. Sigurjon Bjamason,
Mr. Trausti Bjornsson, Mr. Carl Brand, Mrs. Helga DaviSsdottir,
Mrs. Ragna Ingvarsdottir, Mrs. Helga Johannsdottir, Mr. Kristjan
Juliusson, Miss Gudjonina Sigtryggsdottir, Mr. Helgi Simonarson,
Mr. Rorvaldur Stefansson, Mr. Baldur Steinbach and Mr. Jon LorSar-
son. Employees earning 10-year certificates but unable to attend
the ceremony were: Naval Station: Mr. SigurSur Fossdal, Mr. Sig-
urSur Gislason, Mr. Outtormur Jonsson, Miss Helga GuSjonsdottir,
Miss Sigridur SigurSardottir; Navy Exchange: Mr. Petur Sveinsson.
Rockville To Compete
For Hennessey Trophy
These days the men of the
932nd Aircraft Control and Warn-
ing Squadron at Rockville are
eating better than ever.
For quite some time now, it
has been no secret that the men
at Rockville enjoy the best mili-
tary food on the island. However,
official recognition of this fact
came recently when the unit was
notified that its dining hall had
been chosen to compete for the
Hennessey Trophy, an Air Force-
wide award for excellence in food
preparation. The H-l facility will
represent the Goose Air Defense
sector in the trophy competition.
The Rockville dining hall was
visited in early June by repre-
sentatives from Goose Sector who
were impressed by the cleanliness
and efficiency of the facility as
well as the quality of the food
served there. However, official
word of the selection did not come
to the squadron until late June.
Upon hearing of the selection,
dining hall supervisor Master
Sergeant D. L. Sobles remarked,
“An honor of this kind is a credit
to all my people who have worked
very hard to make our chow hall
the best in the sector.
Red Giant . . .
(Continued from Page 2.)
Communists in the modem day
frequently refer to themselves as
socialists as, indeed, they are. But
there is a great deal of difference
between the political ideologies
of those we describe as socialists
or as communists.
In the first decade of post-
czarist Russia, all except those of
the extreme right wing were so-
cialists. But these socialists were
readily divisible (so says the
House Un-American Activities
Committee report, “Facts on Com-
munism”) into two groups: the
(constitutional) reformers and the
revolutionaries.
It is the latter group (and at
this point we admit to oversimpli-
fication) that we commonly refer
to as communists.
The purpose of this series,
which concludes with this para-
graph, has been twofold: to offer
a basic working knowledge of
the subject to those unwilling to
get it on their own; and to stir
the fires of interest in others who
will recognize that additional re-
search is imperative if we are to
remain free.
God grant that most Americans
are in the latter group. (AFPS)
New Jazzman . . .
(Continued from Page 6.)
its contrapuntal excursions, in its
voicings and in its tones. Yet it
swings as handsomely and as free-
ly as some of the most propulsive
groups in the history of jazz.
There are several reasons for
this. For one thing, the musicians
in the group began playing jazz
when the “swinging beat” was
considered its most important as-
set. But, unlike many of their
contemporaries, they kept up with
the times, assimilating the ad-
vances made in jazz and adding
them to the basics which they
had already adopted. These in-
cluded, in addition to the beat,
a thorough mastery of, rather
than just a cursory acquaintance
with, their instruments.
The vast world of music from
the often-ignored field of semi-
pops is yours each weekday after-
noon over AFRS.
Deems Peterson is your host on
“Semi-Pops” Concert at 2:05 p.m.
Monday-Friday.
Burnes Achieves Officer Status
DONNING THE GOLD — Lt.(j.g.) James Evert Burnes is congratu-
lated by Capt. Stanley E. Ellison, Commanding Officer, U. S. Naval
Station, upon his advancement from ADCS through the LDO pro-
gram. Burnes’s promotion became effective Aug. 1, in ceremonies
held in Captain Ellison’s office. Lt. Burnes arrived in Keflavik on
Jan. 18 from VR-1 Patuxent River, Maryland.
Gullfoss—Geysir Tour Views
Glaciers, Mountains, Craters
(Editors’ Note: IDF personnel will find a host of guided tours
of Iceland offered them through the accommodations made by Special
Services during the summer months. The tours are planned for the
recreational and educational enjoyment of all hands. Schedules are
subject to change and costs vary for each tour. Interested persons
should make further inquiry by phoning the Viking Service Club
at Ext. 6190.)
A one-day tour of the world-famous Geysir and pictur-
esque Gullfoss waterfall is scheduled to depart the Viking'
Service Club on Saturday, Aug. 22, at 9 a.m. and return
at 10 p.m. the same day.
The trip will run through Reykjavik, across the Hellis-
heidi mountain or Cave Heath and'f
to the town of Hveragerdi where
a brief stop will be made at a
hotel.
Moving inland across the Sog
river and the strange Ker crater,
which contains a deep lake, the
trip will proceed toward the
Geysir. One will see fertile farm-
lands, and on the horizon glaciers
and mountains and the Hekla vol-
cano.
At 1 p.m. the tour should be
at the Geysir. Lunch will be served
at this time. Whether or not the
world-renown spouting spring will
spout is impossible to foretell.
However, another spring will be
coaxed into action if the Geysir
does not activate.
From the Geysir the group will
go to Gullfoss waterfall. There
plenty of time will be given to
sightseeing and picture-taking and
in the restaurant, refreshments
will be available fore those who
wish. Above the waterfall there
is an unusally fine view of gla-
ciers and mountains in the in-
terior highlands.
Leaving Gullfoss and passing
the most fertile and prosperous
farmlands in the country, the
group will head for the town of
Selfoss where dinner will be
awaiting them.
After some sightseeing, the
group will journey back to the
base, arriving at the Viking Ser-
vice Club at 10 p.m.
MATS Unit Surpasses
500,000 Accidentless Hrs.
Scott AFB, III. (AFPS) — The
Military Air Transport Service
(MATS) reached a new milestone
in July when one of its units sur-
passed 500,000 accident-free fly-
ing hours. The equivalent of more
than 57 years flight time was ac-
complished by the 1502d Air
Transport Wing in slightly more
than eight years.
Rear-End Collisions
The National Safety Council
asks you drivers to help eliminate
rear-end collisions these two ways:
Avoid tailgating the car ahead.
Always signal your traffic ma-
neuvers well before you make
them. In extending such courtesies
to fellow travelers, you protect
yourself from the woeful harm
and wasteful cost of accidents.
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