Latest news with #PeterSchultz
ABC News
08-08-2025
- ABC News
Fish and chip shops call for calm amid algal bloom anxiety
Local seafood is a point of pride for takeaway shop owner and former fisherman Anthony Salkicevic. But recently, some customers have been getting nervous about his fish. "The beach is only two minutes away, you go for a walk down there, they do come across the dead product and they're very concerned," he said. "They still will purchase it, but it has dropped 10 to 15 per cent." Many South Australians have still been keen to back local fish shops since the harmful algal bloom started hitting parts of the coast. Among them is Harry Kaplatzis, who, along with his wife, was recently tucking into fish and chips on a park bench on the main street of Semaphore. "We don't have any problems eating the fish … I'm still alive!" said Peter Schultz, who was walking on a jetty where dead fish could be seen below. Other locals have not kept the same appetite. "We certainly haven't been eating any or buying any local seafood since the algal bloom," Kerryn Suthern said. The bloom has killed thousands of sea creatures and destroyed local marine habitats since it was first reported on the state's Fleurieu Peninsula in March. It has spread along the Coorong North Lagoon, Yorke Peninsula and Kangaroo Island, and into Spencer Gulf and Gulf St Vincent. Fishing businesses and scientists have told the ABC that catches went down 50 per cent in some parts of South Australia. But much of the state's waters have been spared so far. "We are still sitting at around 73 per cent of the state's coastline unaffected by the algal bloom," Premier Peter Malinauskas on Thursday said. Fishers said many people had the wrong idea about commercial seafood and assumed it was caught in the affected waters. Craig McCathie, who runs a fresh seafood shop in Port Lincoln at the southern end of Eyre Peninsula, believes media coverage of the algal bloom hasn't helped the industry. "There wasn't the positive side of the messaging to say that seafood was safe to eat all that time," he said. Government health authorities have insisted commercial seafood is safe to eat, but public concern left many shops eager to provide reassurance. Mr Salkicevic has kept a long hand-written note at the counter detailing each catch. Others have made their own signage. A US study published in 2023 found long-term messaging about the safety of eating seafood during a harmful algal bloom did more to put people at ease than last-minute comfort at the register. The study, published in the journal Harmful Algae, examined the impacts of algal blooms on the consumption of red grouper — a fish commonly caught in the South Atlantic. It found that consumers who were given health and safety information were "more likely to say that they would be willing to consume red grouper during a bloom, relative to consumers who were not provided this added information". The SA Health website provides advice on what is and what is not safe to eat. On July 25, updated advice said while some seafood, such as bivalve molluscs and abalone that "you catch and collect yourself" should not be eaten, "all commercially available seafood (purchased in a shop or restaurant) from South Australian waters is safe to eat". Last week the SA government said $750,000 from the existing $28 million algal bloom support package would go into statewide public information campaigns. "For the entirety of our coastline, seafood that comes out of it is perfectly safe to eat," Mr Malinauskas said. At the announcement event, he ate local prawns in front of the cameras, alongside chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier, and continued to spruik his taste for local seafood in home cooking videos posted to social media. But Mr Salkicevic said safety messaging had not completely cut through. "I don't think they're advertising it properly," he said. That sentiment was echoed at Grange — a coastal suburb of Adelaide that is brimming with fish and chip cafes and restaurants. "I haven't heard that message," said walker Hayley Andreazza. "I'd still be cautious." Fish and chip shop owner Craig McKay said he welcomed more community awareness. "The public need to continue to support their local fishmongers, their local fish and chip shops, and understand that everything's 100 per cent safe," he said. Mr McKay said he empathised with anyone who was worried, given what people could see on the beach.
Daily Mail
17-07-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
CEO's scientist best friend, 67, made unthinkable move as he came in to land small plane
A Georgian scientist has died after his plane inexplicably plunged into the Pacific Ocean moments after he was cleared to touch down in California. Tsotne Javakhishvili was operating a 2014 Cessna T240 Corvalis TTx owned by world-renowned American scientist Peter Schultz when it disappeared on Sunday. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) officials described the incident to the Daily Mail as a 'presumed crash' and confirmed that nobody else was on board. The single-engine plane departed Ramona Airport in San Diego County and headed for Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, which is less than 30 miles away. Officials said Javakhishvili checked in with the destination runway's control tower for touchdown and was cleared to land at 1.55pm - but he never replied to controllers. Instead, the four-seater plane veered west for several minutes and plunged into the Pacific Ocean about 470 miles off the coast of San Diego. Javakhishvili is still missing and the plane has not yet been found. NTSB and Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) officials told the Daily Mail they are investigating the cause of the crash. FlightAware tracking website shows the path of the plane as it continued way off course before disappearing from the radar. Officials shared the plane's registration number, which matches the four-seater aircraft owned by scientist Peter Schultz. Schultz is a world-leading scientist and the CEO of Scripps Research, a medical and scientific institution based in La Jolla, California. 'Widely considered one of the top chemists in the world, he has made many seminal contributions to the field, including the development and application of methods to expand the genetic code of living organisms, the discovery of catalytic antibodies, and the development and application of molecular diversity technologies to address problems in chemistry, biology and medicine,' Schultz's biography reads. Javakhishvili was the founder and director of the Institute of Synthetic Biology at the University of Georgia in the European country's capital city of Tbilisi. He was also the director of Molecular Biology at California biotechnology company Ambrx, according to his LinkedIn page, which says he specialized in genomics. The University of Georgia confirmed Javakhishvili's death in a Facebook post. 'With a heavy heart, we are following the search works of our colleague, founder and director of the Institute of Synthetic Biology at the University of Georgia, Tsotne Javakhishvili, three days ago, in America,' the university said on Wednesday. 'Our full support goes out to his family, friends, students and colleagues during this uncertain and difficult time. 'We are closely following the ongoing investigation into the plane disappearance off San Diego coast, piloted by our colleague, Tsotne Javakhishvili, Founder and Director of the Institute of Synthetic Biology of the University of Georgia.' David Gvalia, a friend and former colleague of the pilot, said he was still in shock after hearing the news. 'I would call him my best friend,' he told ABC News affiliate KGTV. 'I'm numb, completely numb... it's devastating. I still can't believe it.' 'Everybody loved him. Everybody respected him. He was larger than life, extremely smart and extremely kind,' Gvalia added. 'His exit from his life is poetic for numerous reasons because, as hard as it is for me to accept it, he died doing the thing he loved doing,' Schultz confirmed that Javakhishvili was his friend and an experienced aviator. The duo worked on several scientific projects together.
