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Medical license

A medical license is an occupational license that permits a person to legally practice medicine. In most countries, a person must have a medical license bestowed either by a specified government-approved professional association or a government agency before they can practice medicine. Licenses are not granted automatically to all people with medical degrees. A medical school graduate must receive a license to practice medicine to legally be called a physician. The process typically requires testing by a medical board. The medical license is the documentation of authority to practice medicine within a certain locality. An active license is also required to practice medicine as an assistant physician, a physician assistant or a clinical officer in jurisdictions with authorizing legislation.

A professional may have their license removed due to if they are not deemed fit to practise, such as due to a lack of competence, health reasons, or ethical violations. The license will limit a professional's scope of practice.

Canada
Canada requires that applicants have graduated from a school registered in the World Directory of Medical Schools, and apply to sit the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination. Licenses are issued by Provincial bodies. A brief history of medical licensing in Ontario and Quebec, with a list of physicians licensed prior to 1867, is available at David Crawford's website.

Criticism
An article from 2013 says of the road to licensing in Canada, "The path through immigration, residency training, licensure and employment promises to remain a difficult road to navigate," and emphasizes that the current and future demand for healthcare. This emphasizes that there are a number of barriers that doctors face when it comes to practicing, yet there is a very high demand for doctors.

China
Medical practitioners in China started to be licensed for the first time when Law of the People's Republic of China on Medical Practitioners passed on June 26, 1998. The law, which came into effect May 1, 1999, requires all newly graduated medical students to sit the National Medical Licensing Examination, regulated by the National Medical Examination Center, and then register with the local regulatory body. The two-part exam includes a Clinical Skill (CS) test and a General Written (GW) test. The candidates must pass the CS test to take the GW test. Each year, the CS is held in July, followed by the GW in September. The medical practitioners on the job who had obtained a primary medical qualification (i.e., Bachelor of Medicine) prior to law are not required to sit the exam and can directly be licensed.

Colombia
The Instituto Colombiano para el Fomento de la Educación Superior (ICFES) and the Ministry of Education regulate the medical schools that are licensed to offer medical degrees. After completing all the schools' requirements to obtain a medical degree, physicians must serve the "obligatory social service" (in rural areas, research, public health or special populations e.g., orphan children), which usually lasts one year. After completing the social service, a doctor obtains a "medical registration" at the governor's office (Gobernación) of the Department (province/state) where they served the obligatory term. This registration is the same as a license in other countries, and authorizes the physician to practice medicine anywhere in the national territory. However, to practice in other departments requires an inscription from that department. Unlike the US, there is no official licensing exam for medical graduates in Colombia, since this responsibility is delegated to medical schools that have permission to confer medical degrees.

Germany
In Germany, licensing of doctors ("Approbation") is the responsibility of the state governments. Licensed doctors are compulsory members of "Ärztekammern" (literally: "Physician chambers"), which are medical associations organized on state level. Criteria for licensing of doctors are regulated in the Approbationsordnung für Ärzte, which is a piece of federal law. According to the licensing regulations, the physician must have successfully completed his medical studies and passed the (final) examination. He or she must not have engaged in negative behavior that would raise clear concerns about his or her suitability (e.g., practicing a criminal offense). Furthermore, the physician must meet the health requirements and have sufficient German language skills to be able to perform the profession.

Physicians who have not studied medicine in Germany, among others, must prove their language skills by means of a German B2 certificate and a successfully completed Fachsprachprüfung. In addition, doctors who have not studied in the EU, EEA or Switzerland must prove that their studies are equivalent. For this purpose, they usually have to pass a Kenntnisprüfung (test of competence).

India
In India, certification requires that a medical school graduate pass the final MBBS examination and undergo a one-year internship in a hospital recognised by the National Medical Commission erstwhile Medical Council of India. Foreign medical graduates must take the Foreign Medical Graduates Examination (FMGE), conducted by the National Board of Examinations (NBE). They can practice medicine throughout the country after certifying themselves as per Indian Medical Council Act, 1956. Doctors registered with any one state medical council are automatically included in the Indian Medical Register and thereby entitled to practice medicine anywhere in India. The MCI Ethics Committee observed in a meeting held on September 2, 2004, that, "There is no necessity of registration in more than one state medical council because any doctor, who has registered with any state medical council is automatically registered in the Indian Medical Register and also by virtue of Section 27 of the IMC Act, 1956, a person, whose name is included in the IMR, can practice anywhere in India." The Registered Doctors with various State Medical Councils across India up to the year 2019 can be checked in the Medical Council of India's Indian Medical Registry official website.

UK
The term "Medical License" is US-centric terminology. In the UK and in other Commonwealth countries the analogous instrument is called registration; i.e., being on the register or being/getting struck off (the register). The General Medical Council is the regulatory body for doctor's licensing in the UK. Currently, there are two types of basic registration: "Provisional Registration" and "Full Registration", and two types of specialty registration: "Specialist Registration" and "GP registration". In November 2009, the GMC introduced the "licence to practise", and it is required by law that to practice medicine in the UK, all doctors must be registered and hold a license to practice. The registration information for all doctors holding a license in the UK is available online at the GMC website.

United States
In the United States, medical licenses are usually granted by individual states. Only those with medical degrees from schools listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools are permitted to apply for medical licensure. Board certification is a separate process.

The federal government does not grant licenses. A physician practicing in a federal facility, federal prison, US Military, and/or an Indigenous Reservation may have a license from any state, not just the one they are residing in. The practice of "tele-medicine" has made it common for physicians to consult or interpret images and information from a distant location. Some states have special licensure for this. The licensure process for most physicians takes between three and six months, due to the extensive background checks, educational, training, and historical primary source verifications.

History
The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution became the underpinning for the entire medical licensing system. Following several years of discussion and debate, the states' ratification of this amendment as part of the Bill of Rights concluded on December 15, 1791. It explicitly avowed that powers not granted to the federal government, nor prohibited to the states by the Constitution. The Tenth Amendment remains a living codification of states rights and is routinely cited by state medical boards today to justify the authority delegated to them by their state legislatures. In 1811, Ohio passed legislation licensing physicians but repealed these laws in 1833. In 1817, Illinois legislated the medical practice, but had repealed these laws by 1826.

The American Medical Association when formed in 1847, proposed that the state legislate medicine (rather than each of the different medical schools). Horowitz argues that this suggestion was made in order to gain greater control over medical education.

In the 1870s, almost all U.S. physicians were still unlicensed. The majority of physicians had M.D. degrees earned in American medical schools. The rest were mostly either homeopaths or eclectics. Homeopaths were trained in a pseudoscientific system known as homeopathy that had been developed by Samuel Hahnemann. Eclectics physicians also attended medical schools, but their practice mixed mainstream medicine with Thomsonsianism, a system of herbalism. Each of these groups was organized into both national and state medical societies across the United States.

In 1877, the Illinois legislature passed the Illinois medical licensing law, which led to the aggressive prosecution of physicians that were perceived as illegal or unethical. Medical boards of other states (often composed of both regular and irregular physicians) followed suit. Some authors claim that these efforts allowed organized regular and irregular physicians to exclude not only fraudulent practitioners, but other groups, including midwives, clairvoyants, osteopaths, Christian Scientists, and magnetic healers.

In 1889, Dent v. West Virginia, the U.S. Supreme Court for the first time upheld a state physician licensing law. A practitioner with insufficient credentials to obtain a medical license sued West Virginia, claiming a violation of his rights under the due process clause of the 14th Amendment. The Supreme Court upheld the statute noting that, while each citizen had a right to follow any lawful calling, they were subject to reasonable state restrictions. Because of the nature of medical training, the large amount of knowledge required, and the life-and-death circumstances with which physicians dealt, patients needed to rely on the assurance of a license requiring physicians to meet a minimum set of standards.

In 1956, the Federation of State Medical Boards released "A Guide to the Essentials of a Modern Medical Practice Act." The report distilled a series of recommendations that addressed five core areas: the definition of the practice of medicine; eligibility standards for licensure; licensing examinations; licensure endorsement; and the bases for probation, suspension, or revocation of a license. Since its initial publication in 1956, the Essentials of a Modern Medical Practice Act has passed through thirteen updated editions, with the most recent in 2012.

By the beginning of the 20th century most states had implemented licensing laws. During the 20th century, medical boards sought to eliminate diploma mills by expanding their requirements for medical schools. They started to dictate the length and type of education required for licensing. As early as 1910, all but 12 states excluded physicians from medical practice if their schools were not found to be in "good standing". Between 1910 and 1935, more than half of all American medical schools merged or closed, in some part due to all state medical boards gradually adopting and enforcing the Flexner Report's recommendations on having all schools connected to universities.

Today, physicians are amongst the most highly regulated professionals with detailed criteria for licensing established by medical boards in each state, however, lack of discretionary action against physician misconduct by state medical boards has been criticized in recent years for their failure to discipline physicians, despite several consumer concerns and complaints.

Criticism
According to a 1979 article in the Journal of Libertarian Studies, the enactment of U.S. state medical licensing laws in the late 1800s was for the primary purpose of reducing competition and allowing physicians to make more money. The added benefit of public safety made restrictive licensure laws more appealing to both physicians and legislators. Infrequently mentioned in the literature, is that the "public safety" that is created by reducing the number of practitioners only extends to the patients who receive medical care. Thus, the overall effect is more expensive and higher-quality medical care for fewer patients.

Beyond the more general criticisms of occupational licensing that licensing increases costs and fails to improve quality, licensing in the medical profession specifically has been criticized as failing to enforce the standard practices they are charged with enforcing. In 1986, Inspector General at the United States Department of Health and Human Services said that medical boards took "strikingly few disciplinary actions" for physician misconduct. There have been a number of cases involving patient deaths where physicians only had their licenses removed years after multiple wrongful patient deaths had happened. State medical boards have increased the number of disciplinary actions against physicians since the 1980s.

Also, it has been said that because hospitals have had more legal burden placed on them in recent decades, they have more of an incentive to require that their physicians be competent. Thus, the process whereby physicians are reviewed and licensed by the state medical board results in some duplicate evaluations. The physician is evaluated both in the licensure process and then again by the hospital for the purpose of credentialing and granting hospital privileges.

Laws in some states prohibit interstate telemedicine without a license to practice in the state where the patient is located. This reduces access to care.

Patient protection
State medical boards cannot assure a high standard of care, they do not review physicians on a regular basis, nor do they evaluate clinicians at the point of care. It is provider liability that results in oversight that protects consumers, and even that is imperfect. Before they employ or associate with individual physicians, via credentialing and privileging, providers confirm the training, knowledge and skills needed to take on relevant tasks. They review any sanctions and malpractice claims. There are cases where physician liability has been stripped by federal regulations, with adverse impacts, as on an Indian Reservation. Medical professional liability insurance companies deny problem physicians malpractice insurance or limit their practice.

title: Medical license


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HMS Warrior (R31)

HMS Warrior was a Colossus-class aircraft carrier light aircraft carrier which was ordered in 1942 by the British Royal Navy during World War II. Construction was finished in 1945 and upon completion, the aircraft carrier was loaned to the Royal Canadian Navy from 1946 to 1948 as HMCS Warrior. Warrior was returned to the Royal Navy in 1948 and entered service with the British. While in service with the Royal Navy, Warrior was modernised twice, including the installation of an angled flight deck in 1956. In 1948–1949, the ship was used in aircraft landing experiments and fitted with a rubber flight deck and in 1957, was used as the headquarters ship during nuclear testing at Christmas Island. In 1958, the vessel was sold to the Argentine Navy and entered Argentine service in 1959 as ARA Independencia. The aircraft carrier remained in service until 1970 when Independencia was placed in reserve. The following year, the ship was sold for scrap.

Description
Warrior was a Colossus-class light aircraft carrier that was 630 ft long between perpendiculars and 695 ft overall with a beam at the waterline of 80 ft and an overall width of 112 ft. The ship had a mean draught of 23 ft. Warrior had a standard displacement of 13350 LT when built and a full load displacement of 18300 LT. The aircraft carrier had a flight deck 690 ft long that was 80 ft wide and was 39 ft above the water. The flight deck tapered to 45 ft at the bow. For takeoffs, the flight deck was equipped with one BH 3 aircraft catapult capable of launching 16000 lb aircraft at 66 kn. For landings, the ship was fitted with 10 arrestor wires capable of stopping a 15000 lb aircraft, with two safety barriers rated at stopping a 15,000-pound aircraft at 40 kn Warrior had two aircraft lifts located along the centreline of the ship that were 45 by and could handle aircraft up to 15,000 pounds on a 36-second cycle. The aircraft hangar was 275 by with a further 57 by section beyond the aft elevator, all with a clearance of 17 ft. The hangar was divided into four sections by asbestos fire curtains. The hangar was fully enclosed and could only be entered by air locks and the lifts, due to the hazardous nature of aviation fuel and oil vapours. The vessel had stowage for 98600 impgal of aviation fuel.

The ship was powered by steam created by four Admiralty 3-drum type boilers driving two Parsons geared turbines, each turning one shaft. The machinery was split into two spaces, each containing two boilers and one turbine, separated by 24 ft spaces containing aviation fuel. The spaces were situated en echelon within the ship to prevent a single disabling torpedo strike. The engines were rated at 42000 shp and the vessel had a capacity for 3196 LT of fuel oil, with an range of 8300 nmi at 20 kn. The ship's maximum speed was 25 kn. There was no armour aboard the vessel save for mantlets around the torpedo storage area. There were no longitudinal bulkheads, but the transverse bulkheads were designed to allow the ship to survive two complete sections of the ship being flooded.

Warrior was designed to handle up to 42 aircraft. The aircraft carrier carried a wide range of ordnance for their aircraft from torpedoes, depth charges, bombs, 20 mm cannon ammunition and flares. For anti-aircraft defence, the aircraft carrier was initially armed with four twin-mounted and twenty single-mounted 40 mm Bofors guns. The original radar installation included the Type 79 and Type 281 long-range air search radars, the Type 293 and Type 277 fighter direction radar and the "YE" aircraft homing beacon. The ship had a maximum ship's company of 1,300, which was reduced in peacetime.

Construction and career
The contract to construct Warrior was placed on 7 August 1942. Warrior was built by Harland and Wolff at their yard in Belfast and given the yard number 1224, originally to be called Brave. Before construction began, once-innovative armoured frigate (at the time just a floating oil jetty) HMS Warrior (1860) was renamed to Oil Fuel Hulk C77 in August 1942 to free up her name, and the carrier was renamed to Warrior. Her keel was laid down on 12 December 1942, she was launched on 20 May 1944 and became the last of the Colossus class to finish construction. The Royal Navy had originally intended to rush Warrior into service for operations in the Indian Ocean during the Second World War, thus she was built without heaters for some onboard equipment since heat was unnecessary in tropical operations.

Royal Canadian Navy service

As the focus of future operations at sea during the Second World War shifted to the Pacific theatre, planning began in May 1944 that the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) would require a larger fleet both in numbers and in size of ships. In the effort to get bigger, the RCN returned the escort carriers then on loan, HMS Puncher (D79) and HMS Nabob (D77), in exchange for the loan of two light fleet carriers. A formal approach was first made in July, with negotiations being finalised in April 1945 when Warrior and HMCS Magnificent (CVL 21) were acquired on loan with the option to purchase them outright at a later date. Negotiations were completed in May for the naval air squadrons that would be needed to man the aircraft carrier, but the war ended before the ships were completed.

After the agreement with Canada went through, Canadian naval aviation was established with the formation of four squadrons transferred from the Fleet Air Arm intended to fly from Warrior; 803 Squadron and 883 Squadron equipped with Supermarine Seafires and 825 Squadron and 826 Squadron with Fairey Fireflys. Warrior was completed, transferred to the RCN and commissioned as HMCS Warrior on 24 January 1946 and placed under the command of Captain Frank Houghton. Sea trials were completed in March and flying trials were performed at Spithead following that. For the voyage to Canada, 803 and 825 Squadrons were embarked, while 883 and 826 Squadrons were paid off.

Warrior entered Halifax harbour on 31 March 1946, a week after leaving Portsmouth. She was escorted by the destroyer HMCS Micmac (R10) and the minesweeper HMCS Middlesex (J328), having officially joined the Canadian Atlantic Fleet on 23 March. April through May was spent alongside fixing builder's defects before the ship began major fleet operations. In August, the aircraft carrier had its first loss, when a Firefly from 825 Squadron ditched, though both the pilot and observer were recovered. That same month, on 23 August while transiting the St. Lawrence River, Warrior ran aground at Pointe Sainte Antoine, near Montreal while en route to the city after her rudder jammed. Tugboats got the aircraft carrier unstuck from the mud bank she had run into the same day and Warrior continued on to Montreal where she became the largest ship to visit that port to that date.

The RCN experienced problems with the unheated equipment during operations in cold North Atlantic waters off eastern Canada during 1946. The ship was transferred west to Esquimalt, British Columbia in November 1946, visiting Bermuda, Acapulco, Mexico and San Diego, California before arriving in December. On 18 January 1947, Commodore Harry DeWolf took command of Warrior while the vessel was undergoing repairs to the damages to her hull that had been received during her August grounding. On 31 January, one 825 Squadron's Fireflys was lost along with its pilot off Portland Island during a training mission. It was during this period, that the RCN, facing reduced defence spending and manning constraints, came to the conclusion that they could not operate two aircraft carriers. Negotiations began to return Warrior when Magnificent became ready, with the RCN deeming Warrior unfit for service due to her lack of heating. In February 1947, the aircraft carrier began her voyage back to Halifax, accompanied by the cruiser HMCS Uganda and destroyer HMCS Crescent. The Canadian group stopped at San Pedro, California before the aircraft carrier transited the Panama Canal by herself, meeting the destroyers HMCS Nootka (R96) and Micmac on the other side. The three Canadian ships visited Havana, Cuba, marking the first time a Canadian warship had visited the Cuban capital since 1929. Warrior returned to Halifax on 27 March. The ship then sailed for Bermuda with Nootka to take part in a naval exercise with the Royal Navy. Most of mid-1947 was spent undergoing repairs at Halifax and performing short cruises along east coast. In August, Warrior sailed for the United Kingdom where her squadrons would be re-equipped with Firefly Mark IV and Hawker Sea Fury aircraft, returning to Halifax on 28 August. Meanwhile, preparations were being made for the return of Warrior and the acquisition of Magnificent. In November, Magnificent's air group consisting of 826 and 883 Squadrons trained aboard Warrior off the coast of Nova Scotia. Following this, Warrior, escorted by the destroyer HMCS Haida sailed to Bermuda where the ship was prepared to be paid off. The ship sailed for the UK on 12 February, arriving at Belfast on 20 February. On 1 March the ship moved to Spithead where the aviation fuel was removed. Warrior was returned to the Royal Navy on 23 March 1948 at Portsmouth.

Royal Navy service
HMCS Warrior returned to the United Kingdom and was recommissioned as HMS Warrior on 23 March 1948. Warrior was then refitted at Devonport and equipped with a flexible flight deck to test the feasibility of receiving undercarriage-less aircraft; modified de Havilland Sea Vampire aircraft were used to test the concept, which was successful but not introduced into service. The flexible deck was composed of a rubber sheet supported by air bags. The new deck extended from the bow to the barrier forward of the island and was superimposed on the existing flight deck. Aft of the flexible deck, a light steel ramp was placed over the flight deck rising to 2 ft in height with a single arrestor wire. The trials lasted from November 1948 to March 1949 and upon completion, Warrior was paid off into the reserve at Portsmouth.

Warrior was reactivated in June 1950 and modified to carry troops and aircraft to the Far East during the Korean War, departing in August on the first such mission. In June 1951, with 16 Parachute Brigade embarked, Warrior sailed to Cyprus in response to a crisis in the Middle East. The ship underwent refit during most of 1952 and 1953 at Devonport Dockyard. The ship was fitted with a new lattice mast and new radars with Type 281Q fitted to the mast and Type 277Q radars installed fore and aft of the island. Identification friend or foe aerials were also installed on the mast. The bridge was enlarged and enclosed. The Fleet Air Arm 811 Squadron in Sea Furys and 825 Squadron in Fireflys were embarked after sea trials. During 1954, Warrior was deployed to the Far East, patrolling off the coast of Korea, following the ceasefire. In September, during Operation Passage to Freedom, the ship was among those sent to evacuate non-Communist refugees from Haiphong, North Vietnam to Vung Tau, South Vietnam, transporting more than 3,221 people in two voyages and being awarded a South Vietnamese Presidential Citation.

After returning to England another refit was carried out in 1955 at Devonport. This time Warrior received an angled flight deck of 5 degrees for trials. To install the angled deck, portside sponsons were removed, the angled deck installed portside amidships and the deck itself was upgraded to take aircraft up to 20000 lb. Furthermore, the catapult was upgraded to launch 20,000-pound aircraft and the arrester wire system improved to take the same weight of aircraft at 60 kn. The aircraft carrier also received a mirror landing aid and Type 961 CCA radar. As the only ship in the class to receive the upgrade, it was intended to turn Warrior into a training and trials ship.

Following a short period as a training ship, Warrior was dispatched to the Pacific Ocean, where the aircraft carrier took part in Operation Grapple, the first British hydrogen bomb tests, as the headquarters ship embarking a flight of Westland Whirlwind helicopters and Grumman Avenger AS4 aircraft to collect air samples from the tests and ferry them back for examination. After the operation was completed the Avengers were catapulted into the sea as they were contaminated with radioactivity. Considered surplus to requirements by the late 1950s, the Royal Navy decommissioned Warrior in February 1958 and offered her for sale. The return voyage from the Grapple tests was via Argentina, with port visits and demonstrations to the Argentine Navy, to whom the Admiralty was trying to sell her.

Argentine Navy service

Warrior was sold to Argentina in 1958 and renamed ARA Independencia on 6 August 1958. The Argentine naval ensign was raised on 4 November at Portsmouth and sailed for Argentina on 10 December. The Argentine Naval Aviation began air operations from Independencia on 8 June 1959, even before the vessel was officially commissioned into the fleet. The ship was commissioned into the Argentine Navy on 8 July 1959. The anti-aircraft armament was initially reduced to twelve 40 mm guns, soon further reduced to eight. In May 1962 the ship was however provided with one quadruple and nine double mountings of that caliber. After all the modifications the displacement of the ship had climbed to 19600 LT while the vessel's maximum speed had declined to 23 kn.

The air group, which had a maximum of 24 aircraft, was mainly formed from Vought F4U Corsairs, North American SNJ-5Cs Texans and Grumman S2F-1 (S-2A) Trackers. Naval Aviation inventory also included Grumman F9F Panther (the first jet fighters in service with the Argentine Naval Aviation, starting from August 1963 which launched from Independencia) and TF-9J Cougar jets, although Independencia's catapult was not powerful enough to launch them. The ship also used the North American T-28 Trojan trainer. The aircraft carrier ARA Veinticinco de Mayo, also of the British Colossus-class aircraft carrier but with a more powerful catapult retrofitted while in Dutch service, entered service in 1969, and Independencia moved to the reserve in 1970. She was scrapped in 1971.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: HMS Warrior (R31)


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Common dolphin

The common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) is the most abundant cetacean in the world, with a global population of about six million. Despite this fact and its vernacular name, the common dolphin is not thought of as the archetypal dolphin, with that distinction belonging to the bottlenose dolphin due to its popular appearances in aquaria and the media. However, the common dolphin is often depicted in Ancient Greek and Roman art and culture, most notably in a mural painted by the Greek Minoan civilization.

It is presently the only member of the genus Delphinus. The common dolphin belongs to the subfamily Delphininae, making this dolphin closely related to the three different species of bottlenose dolphins, humpback dolphin, striped dolphin, spinner dolphin, Clymene dolphin, spotted dolphin, Fraser's dolphin and the Tucuxi and Guiana dolphin. The common dolphin was originally categorized into two different species (now thought to be ecotypes), the short-beaked common dolphin and the long-beaked common dolphin. However, recent evidence has shown that many populations of long-beaked common dolphins around the world are not closely related to one another and are often derived from a short-beaked ancestor and do not always share common derived characteristics. For this reason, they are no longer considered different species.

Physical characteristics
Common dolphin are medium-sized dolphins; adults range between 1.9 and 2.5 m long, and can weigh between 80 - 235 kg, although the range between 80 - 150 kg is more common. Males are generally longer and heavier. The color pattern on the body is unusual. The back is dark and the belly is white, while on each side is an hourglass pattern colored light grey, yellow, or gold in front and dirty grey in back. They have long, thin rostra with up to 50–60 small, sharp, interlocking teeth on each side of each jaw.

Taxonomy
Despite the historic practice of lumping the entire genus Delphinus into a single species, these widely distributed dolphins exhibit a wide variety of sizes, shapes and colors. Indeed, over the past few decades, over 20 distinct species in the genus have been proposed. Scientists in California in the 1960s concluded there were two species — the long-beaked and short-beaked. The long-beaked common dolphin was thought to have a disjointed range in coastal areas in tropical and warmer temperate oceans. The range included parts of western and southern Africa, much of western South America, central California to central Mexico, coastal Peru, areas around Japan, Korea and Taiwan, and possibly near Oman. Vagrants have been recorded as far north as Vancouver Island. This analysis was seemingly confirmed by a more in-depth genetic study in the 1990s. This study also suggested a third species (D. tropicalis, common name usually Arabian common dolphin or Indo-Pacific common dolphin), characterized by an extremely long and thin beak and found in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, might be distinguished from the long-beaked species. The current standard taxonomic works recognize this as a subspecies of D. delphis rather than a separate species.

Recent evidence has demonstrated that different populations of long-beaked common dolphins around the world are not closely related to one another and are often derived from a short-beaked ancestor (as well as not sharing common derived characters). Therefore, long-beaked and short-beaked common dolphins are now listed as the same species under the scientific name of Delphinus delphis. Currently, the common dolphin is divided into four subspecies:
 * D. d. delphis, the nominate subspecies
 * D. d. bairdii, the Eastern North Pacific long-beaked common dolphin (though some elevate this to species)
 * D. d. ponticus, the Black Sea common dolphin
 * D. d. tropicalis, the Indo-Pacific common dolphin

Fossil record
Many extinct cetacean species were once lumped into Delphinus, but have since been placed in other genera. In the late 19th century several fossil species were described, including taxa: Delphinus baltringii, Delphinus delannoy and Delphinus domeykoi. However, these species are no longer considered valid. Another species known as Delphinus brevidens was reassigned to the genus Stereodelphis which is now generally considered synonymous with Squalodon.

Natural history
Common dolphins live in both warm-temperate and tropical waters ranging from 40–60°N to 50°S. Long-beaked common dolphins mostly inhabit shallow, warm coastal water. Short-beaked common dolphins are common "along shelf edges and in areas with sharp bottom relief such as seamounts and escarpments". Common dolphins have a varied diet consisting of many species of fish and squid. This includes both mesopelagic species and epipelagic schooling species. They have been recorded to make dives up to 200 m deep.

Common dolphins are a widely distributed species. They can be found around the world in both offshore and coastal waters. In the Northwest Atlantic, they can be found from Cape Hatteras North Carolina, to Newfoundland and are strongly associated with the Gulf Stream. Dolphins in this region can often be found in areas that have certain geological factors like underwater canyons and ridges because this is where up-welling occurs which result in greater nutrients. In the Eastern Pacific, common dolphins are found along the coast of California and are associated with the California current. Short-beaked common dolphins can also be found in Europe, particularly the Scotian shelf, the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. In the Southern Hemisphere, they are abundant in the southwestern Pacific, around New Zealand and southern Australia. They are generally a pelagic species that are often found in waters 650–6,500 feet deep, with the short-beaked type preferring deeper waters than the long-beaked type Temperature also plays a large role in the congregation of dolphins. For example, in the western North Atlantic, almost all sightings of common dolphins took place in waters from 16 to 20 °C. However, there were common dolphin sightings in waters as low as 5 °C.

Common dolphins can live in aggregations of hundreds or even thousands of dolphins. Common dolphins are often seen in groups numbering several hundred individuals (with subgroups consisting of 20–30 individuals). Occasionally, different groups will come together to form mega-pods which can consist of over 10,000 dolphins. Genetic studies in the Northeast Atlantic suggest that common dolphin pods generally do not consist of close kin, but rather of members that are not closely related. Unlike many delphinids, common dolphins do not live in a matriarchal society. That being said, closely related individuals are usually found in similar geographical locations fairly consistently, providing evidence that this species displays site fidelity (at least in the Northeastern Atlantic). Male common dolphins display greater site fidelity in relation to their kin than females. Common dolphin pod structure often consists of nursery pods (which includes females and calves), bachelor pods (consisting of all males) and mixed groups of males and females, including sub-adults and calves. Genetic evidence seems to indicate that common dolphins live in fission-fusion societies, where dolphins form pods that are not necessarily stable and do not necessarily consist of related individuals. It is not known if common dolphins form lifelong bonds with other individuals like the long-term male alliances seen in bottlenose dolphins.

There is some evidence that common dolphins use signature whistles, similar to that of the bottlenose dolphin. These whistles are believed to serve as an acoustic label, and provide identification information similar to that of a name. It takes approximately 1 year for a calf to learn its signature whistle after which it remains stable for the rest of a dolphin's life. In South Africa, as many as 29 common dolphin signature whistle types were detected. However, it was difficult to determine if each dolphin had its own signature whistle due to the vast number of dolphins present (over 1,000) and anthropogenic background noise. Additionally, considering the vast number of dolphins present and  taking into account their feeding and diving behavior, it appears that common dolphin signature whistles are also used for group cohesion. Another hypothesis for the function of signature whistles is that they serve as a beacon for lost individuals.

Common dolphins sometimes associate with other dolphin species, such as pilot whales. In the Gulf of Corinth, common dolphins frequently display mixed species association, especially with striped and Risso's dolphins. Over one third of all dolphin sightings in the gulf consisted of mixed species associations that partially consisted of common dolphins. In mixed species associations, the ratio of striped to common dolphins ranged from 6:1 to 11:1. When Risso's dolphins were present (there would usually be only one or two individuals), it appeared that many of their scars were the result of interactions with striped and spinner dolphins. In many of the interactions, the Risso's dolphins would chase and herd the common dolphins toward the boat, while the common dolphins would try and swim under the Risso's dolphins. When groups of common and striped dolphins would charge at each other, the Risso's dolphin would chase the striped dolphins. Sometimes these interactions appeared to be playful, and at other times aggressive. Synchronized swimming and surfacing were commonly observed. These interactions take place in the deepest part of the Gulf, furthest from shore, and usually consist of a total of about 60 dolphins from all three species.

There have been confirmed cases of hybridization between striped and common dolphins in this region. There have been 15 cases of common dolphin and striped dolphin hybrids. Genetic and observational evidence has demonstrated that the hybrids are fertile and are capable of not only reproducing with other hybrids, but are capable of reproducing with each of the parent species. Striped dolphins have been known to mate with other dolphins, as the Clymene dolphin is the result of hybrid speciation between striped and spinner dolphins. However, this is unlikely to happen with common dolphins, as their population in the Gulf of Corinth is too low. Common dolphins and bottlenose dolphins have been known to interbreed in captivity. There is one confirmed case of a hybrid between a bottlenose and common dolphin in southern Spain, an important feeding ground for both species. The mother was a female bottlenose dolphin (dubbed Billie) who had spent 10 years in a common dolphin pod. Billie was observed assisting common calves reach the surface three different times and would babysit the calves after the mother went through labor. The length of the calf was similar to that of a bottlenose dolphin calf, with the lateral stripes and coloration of a common dolphin. The calf was seen with its mother almost daily on dolphin-watching tours among a nursery pod of common dolphins which also contained some immature striped dolphins. Sightings of the calf took place when temperatures were between 14 and 26 °C. The calf was mainly observed swimming alongside the mother and was seen rubbing its head on its mother, jumping backwards over its mother and engaging in flipper-to flipper, belly-to flipper and belly-to belly contact.

Common dolphins have been observed bow riding on baleen whales, and they also bow ride on boats. They are fast swimmers, and breaching behavior and aerial acrobatics are common with this species. They are known to display altruistic behaviors to support injured members.

The short-beaked common dolphin has a gestation period of 10 to 11 months. The newborn calf has a length of 70 to 100 cm and weighs about 10 kg. For the Black Sea population, weaning occurs at between five and six months, but occurs later (up to about 19 months) in other areas. Typical interbirth interval ranges from one year for the Black Sea population to three years for eastern Pacific Ocean populations. Age of sexual maturity also varies by location, but can range between 2 and 7 years for females and 3 and 12 years for males. No evidence exists of any major reproductive differences between the two species. In captivity, the long-beaked common dolphin has hybridized with the common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). One of the hybrids has been bred back to a bottlenose dolphin, demonstrating such hybrids are fertile.

Conservation
The common dolphin is probably the most abundant cetacean species on the planet, and the overall species is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, indicating that it is in no danger of extinction. Abundance has been estimated for most major portions of the species range in the Northern Hemisphere, but only for a few places in the Southern Hemisphere. In the Pacific Ocean, there are an estimated 1,428,000 off Japan and in the temperate central Pacific Ocean, 969,000 off the U.S. west coast (Carretta et al. 2019); and 2,963,000 in the eastern tropical Pacific. In the Atlantic Ocean, 70,000 are estimated for the western Atlantic Ocean (Waring et al. 2019); 467,000 for European waters; more than 19,400 for the Mediterranean Sea; and several tens of thousands for the Black Sea. In the southern part of the Indo-Pacific Ocean, there are an estimated 20,000-22,000 common dolphins in a small portion of southern Australia (Bilgmann et al. 2017), and 15,000-20,000 off southern Africa. There are no estimates for the population of dolphins in the northern Indian Ocean. Taken together, these estimates suggest that well over six million common dolphins inhabit the World's oceans.

Common dolphins face a mixture of threats due to human influence. Moderate levels of metal pollutants, which are thought to negatively impact dolphin health, have been measured in some populations. Populations have been hunted off the coast of Peru for use as food and shark bait. In most other areas, the dolphins have not been hunted directly. Several thousand individuals have been caught in industrial trawler nets throughout their range.

Bycatch is the main threat that common dolphins face today. Short-beaked common dolphins are taken as cetacean bycatch the most in all of Europe, given that they are the most abundant dolphin in the Eastern Atlantic. About 1000 short-beaked common dolphins are bycaught in the North Atlantic each year by either tuna drift, trawling and gillnetting. The regulation is that only cetacean bycatch can not be longer than 15 meters and this can lead to be a problem because short-beaked common dolphins are only about 2.7 meters. Common dolphin bycatch is a particularly important issue in Galicia Spain, via trawler fishing. The bycatch of short beaked dolphins in Galicia from May to September from 2001 to 2002, consisted of 394 individuals annually. Depth was an important factor in bycatch, as incidental capture mostly took place along the continental shelf in water less than 300 m deep. Very few entrapments took place when the depth exceeded 300 m. Time of day was also important as most dolphins became trapped in trawling nets at night (most active feeding takes place at night). Most of the dolphins captured were males and had a mean age of 13+- 4.4 years. It is believed that the reason why the vast majority of bycatch consisted of males is because bachelor pods appear to be particularly abundant in Galicia from the May–October season. This fact reinforces the hypothesis that common dolphins may be sexually segregated in the Northeast Atlantic. If there was a ban on fishing in Galicia in waters than less than 250 m deep, and if there were seasonal closures, it is estimated that 78% of the dolphins would not have been caught. In the Western North Atlantic, dolphins are vulnerable to swordfish driftnet fishing, with the number of males being caught as bycatch, doubling the number of females. It was also found from stranding samples that males tend to strand more. This provides evidence of sex-based habitat partitioning or pod congregation.

Common dolphins were abundant in the western Mediterranean Sea until the 1960s but occurrences there have tailed off rapidly. The reasons are not well understood, but are believed to be due to extensive human activity in the area. In the US, they are a protected species and sometimes are caught by accident in some trawler nets as by-catch, though despite this they are still quite common throughout their range. Despite these potential threats, the short-beaked common dolphin is considered to be Least Concern by the IUCN Red List, and the long-beaked common dolphin is listed as Data Deficient.

The short-beaked common dolphin Delphinus delphis is listed globally on Appendix II of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). As amended by the Conference of the Parties in 1985, 1988, 1991, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2005 and 2008. Effective: 5 March 2009 of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) as it has an unfavourable conservation status or would benefit significantly from international co-operation organised by tailored agreements. The Mediterranean population of the short-beaked common dolphin is also listed on Appendix I, as this population has been categorized as being in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant proportion of their range and CMS Parties strive towards strictly protecting these animals, conserving or restoring the places where they live, mitigating obstacles to migration and controlling other factors that might endanger them. In addition, the species is also covered by the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas (ASCOBANS) and the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans in the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area (ACCOBAMS).

Mass stranding events
On June 8, 2009, a mass-stranding event (MSE) occurred in Falmouth Bay, Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is believed the MSE was likely caused by naval involvement, as all other factors which cause MSEs in cetaceans appear unlikely to have influenced the event. During the event, 26 common dolphins washed ashore, and about the same number floated back out to sea. There were three other MSEs in the UK before this event, all of unknown cause, from the years 1915 to 1938, but with what are believed to be lower counts of stranded dolphins.

Captivity
Common dolphins are not common in captivity. But on at least three occasions, a beached common dolphin in California was nursed back to health at SeaWorld San Diego, but deemed unfit to release back to the ocean. These common dolphins remained at SeaWorld with the bottlenose dolphin exhibit. On one occasion, a male common dolphin managed to impregnate one of the female bottlenose dolphins in the exhibit, leading to four hybrid births. One of the resulting common dolphin/bottlenose dolphin hybrids remained at SeaWorld, San Diego (alternately under the name Cindy or Bullet) while the other (named CJ) was kept at Discovery Cove, and was moved to SeaWorld Orlando in 2016.

Other than at SeaWorld, at least 90 common dolphins are known to have been captured from the wild and kept in captivity. Captured common dolphins are said to be difficult to keep in captivity.

The behavior of captive common dolphins is not very well studied. However, a study was conducted in New Zealand of common dolphin reacting to swimmers at Marineland. Unlike bottlenose dolphins (which demonstrated antagonistic or sexual behaviors), the common dolphins retreated to the refuge center of the pool, where swimmers were not allowed. They did not leave the refuge section until the swimmers left. The dolphins also surfaced much more frequently, which is a possible indicator of stress. Aggressive and playful behavior among the dolphins decreased when swimmers were present. This behavior is consistent with wild common dolphins off of New Zealand, as they actively avoid swimmers.

title: Common dolphin


text:
1988 Canadian federal election

The 1988 Canadian federal election was held on November 21, 1988, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 34th Parliament of Canada. It was an election largely fought on a single issue: the Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement (CUSFTA); the Progressive Conservative Party campaigned in favour of it, whereas the Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party (NDP) campaigned against it. Mulroney won a governing majority and the agreement was passed into law, even though a majority of the voters had voted for parties opposing free trade. The Mulroney government instituted the Goods and Services Tax during this term as well.

The incumbent prime minister, Brian Mulroney, led his Progressive Conservative Party to a second majority government. Mulroney was the party's first leader since John A. Macdonald to win a second majority government, although in 1988 with less than half the votes cast.

The Liberal Party experienced a recovery after its 1984 wipeout- receiving a greater vote share and votes and doubling its seat count. The New Democratic Party won its largest number of seats up to the time (they would beat the 1988 record in 2011).

The election was the last won by the Progressive Conservatives, the last until 2011 in which a right-of-centre party formed a majority government, and the last where a right-of-centre party won the most seats in Quebec. It was also the last election in Canadian history in which only three parties would be elected to Parliament.

Background
Brian Mulroney led the Progressive Conservative Party to a landslide majority government victory in the 1984 federal election. Despite this achievement, scandals including patronage damaged his polling numbers. However, in his fourth year in office in 1988, his popularity began to recover; a poll a few days before the election call showed the Progressive Conservatives ahead of the Liberal Party and New Democratic Party.

The Liberal Party led by John Turner suffered a heavy defeat in the 1984 election. Despite this, Turner stayed on as leader and was preparing to campaign for the second election. However, the Liberal Party was in financial and political disarray; by 1986 the party was heavily in debt and the expenses of the national organization continued to rise. Turner's office experienced significant staff turnover, and leaving members were willing to recount stories of the office's disfunction to the press, resulting in Turner's leadership being nicknamed a "reign of error". Some pundits believed the Liberals would permanently drop to third place.

In 1988, Mulroney reached an agreement on free trade with the United States. Turner's Liberal Party and Ed Broadbent's New Democratic Party opposed the agreement; Turner believed that the agreement would "Americanize" Canada. Mulroney used his large majority to pass the bill through the House of Commons, however, the Liberal-dominated Senate demanded an election before they would pass it. The election was called on October 1.

Campaign
The Liberals had some early struggles, notably during one day in Montreal where three different costs were given for the proposed Liberal daycare program. When asked by reporters about the incident, Turner's chief of staff responded using vulgar language. The campaign was also hampered by a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) report that stated there was a movement in the backroom to replace Turner with Jean Chrétien, even though Turner had passed a leadership review in 1986 with 76.3 percent of delegates rejecting a leadership convention.

Turner strongly campaigned against free trade, arguing that it would cost many Canadian jobs. His October 25 debate performance helped polls suggest a Liberal government; a week after the debate, the Liberals were six points ahead of the PCs. The Liberal surge prompted the PCs to stop the relatively calm campaign they had been running and instead run a more negative campaign, capitalizing on the perceived lack of public confidence in Turner, his perceived inability to lead the Liberal Party, and arguing that he only opposed free trade because of political opportunism. The PCs' poll numbers started to rebound.

National results
The Progressive Conservatives won a reduced but strong majority government with 169 seats, and the free trade agreement would go into effect on January 1, 1989. Mulroney was the first Conservative prime minister since John A. Macdonald to win more than one majority.

Despite the Liberals more than doubling their seat count from 38 to 83, the results were considered a disappointment for Turner, after polls in mid-campaign predicted a Liberal government. In an ironic reversal of most prior federal elections, the Liberals were kept out of power by their inability to make any headway into the overwhelming Tory majority in Quebec. Indeed, the Liberals actually lost five seats in Quebec. This second election loss sealed Turner's fate; he would eventually resign in 1990, and was succeeded by Jean Chrétien, who proved to be a more effective leader and when in government, accepted free trade with the United States and did not overturn CUSFTA.

Despite the New Democratic Party enjoying their best result at the time (winning 43 seats), Ed Broadbent resigned as leader in 1989. Some NDP members were disappointed by the fact that they didn't become the Official Opposition. Note: "% change" refers to change from previous election

Vote and seat summaries
A number of unregistered parties also contested the election. The Western Canada Concept party, led by Doug Christie, fielded three candidates in British Columbia. The Western Independence Party ran one candidate in British Columbia, seven in Alberta, and three in Manitoba (although one of the Manitoba candidates appears to have withdrawn before election day). The Liberal candidate in Etobicoke-Lakeshore, Emmanuel Feuerwerker, withdrew from the race after suffering a heart attack, resulting in the Liberals not running a candidate in all 295 ridings during this election. The Marxist–Leninist Party fielded candidates in several ridings. Blair T. Longley campaigned in British Columbia as a representative of the "Student Party". Newspaper reports indicate that this was simply a tax-avoidance scheme. The moribund Social Credit Party fielded nine candidates, far short of the 50 required for official recognition. However, the Chief Electoral Officer allowed the party's name to appear on the ballot by virtue of its half-century history as a recognized party. It would be the last time that the party, which had been the third-largest or fourth-largest party in Canada at its height, would fight an election under its own name. The party was deregistered before the 1993 election after it failed to nominate enough candidates to keep its registration.

Results by province
xx - less than 0.05% of the popular vote. Note: Parties that captured less than 1% of the vote in a province are not recorded.

Election milestones
Until the 2011 federal election, the 1988 election was the most successful in the New Democratic Party's history. The party dominated in British Columbia and Saskatchewan, won significant support in Ontario and elected its first (and, until the 2008 election, only) member from Alberta.

This was the second election contested by the Green Party, and it saw a more than 50 percent increase in its vote, but it remained a minor party.

The election was the last for Canada's Social Credit Party. The party won no seats, and won an insignificant portion of the popular vote.

This was the first election for the newly founded Reform Party which for this vote only contested seats in Western Canada. The party at this stage was filled to a large extent with former Socreds along with some former PC supporters disaffected at the perceived lack of support from the Mulroney government for western interests. It was led by Preston Manning, who was himself a one time Socred candidate and the son of longtime Alberta Social Credit premier Ernest Manning.

Reform won no seats and was not yet considered a major party at the national level. However, Deborah Grey would win the first seat for Reform, Beaver River in Alberta, in a by-election held four months later. Grey, who had finished a distant fourth running in the same riding in the general election, succeeded rookie Progressive Conservative MP John Dahmer. Dahmer died of pancreatic cancer before taking office.

For the Progressive Conservatives, this was the last federal election they would ever win.

10 closest ridings

 * 1) London-Middlesex, ON: Terry Clifford (PC) def. Garnet Bloomfield (Lib) by 8 votes
 * 2) Northumberland, ON: Christine Stewart (Lib) def. Reg Jewell (PC) by 28 votes
 * 3) Hamilton Mountain, ON: Beth Phinney (Lib) def. Marion Dewar (NDP) by 73 votes
 * 4) York North, ON: Maurizio Bevilacqua (Lib) def. Micheal O'Brien (PC) by 77 votes
 * 5) Rosedale, ON: David MacDonald (PC) def. Bill Graham (Lib) by 80 votes
 * 6) London East, ON: Joe Fontana (Lib) def. Jim Jepson (PC) by 102 votes
 * 7) Haldimand-Norfolk, ON: Bob Speller (Lib) def. Bud Bradley (PC) by 209 votes
 * 8) Hillsborough, PE: George Proud (Lib) def. Thomas McMillan (PC) by 259 votes
 * 9) Cariboo—Chilcotin, BC: Dave Worthy (PC) def. Jack Langford (NDP) by 269 votes
 * 10) Vancouver Centre, BC: future Prime Minister Kim Campbell (PC) def. Johanna Den Hertog (NDP) by 269 votes

title: 1988 Canadian federal election


text:
Worshipful Company of Fruiterers

The Worshipful Company of Fruiterers is a livery company of the city of London originally and presently concerned with the fruit trade, and a charitable institution.

History
The Company was founded in 1463 and received a Royal Charter in 1605. As a guild it was concerned with the sale and quality of fruit brought into London, training apprentices, supporting its members and doing charitable works. The connection of the Company to the fruit trade had diminished by the late nineteenth century, but in the later twentieth century its connections were revitalized. It is known for its special recognition of individuals in the fruit industry and for its support of related research and development. Currently, over half the livery is made up of industry representatives.

The Awards Council
The Awards Council was founded in 1931 as a sub-committee reporting directly to the Company's Court of Assistants. The awards focus on matters relating to fruit culture.

 * The triennial awards:
 * Ridley Medal for outstanding achievements in fruit culture
 * Lewis Award for outstanding achievements in the marketing of fruit
 * Matthew Mack Award for outstanding achievements in training within the industry
 * The annual awards:
 * Fruit Culture Award (awarded annually at the National Fruit Show)
 * Fruiterers' Management Award (awarded annually at the Company's Dinner in November)

The Awards Council also makes an annual presentation of fruit to the Lord Mayor of London, organises the annual City Food Lecture in Guildhall (established in 2000), awards prizes at the Cherry and Soft Fruit Show and National Fruit Show, and supports scholarships and research.

Order of precedence
The Company ranks forty-fifth in the order of precedence of Livery Companies. Its motto is Deus Dat Incrementum, Latin for God Gives the Increase.

title: Worshipful Company of Fruiterers


text:
Talk:Umm el-Marra

Untitled
All future links to Tuba (city) will be to Umm el-Marra, then. How obscure. I guess the ancient city of Tuba is obscure itself. There's no Wikimention so far, at any rate... Wetman 23:04, 17 Nov 2003 (UTC)

title: Talk:Umm el-Marra


text:
Mossel Bay

Mossel Bay (Mosselbaai) is a harbour town of about 120,000 people on the Southern Cape (or Garden Route) of South Africa. It is an important tourism and farming region of the Western Cape Province. Mossel Bay lies 400 kilometres east of the country's seat of parliament, Cape Town (which is also the capital city of the Western Cape), and 400 km west of Port Elizabeth, the largest city in the Eastern Cape. The older parts of the town occupy the north-facing side of the Cape St Blaize Peninsula, whilst the newer suburbs straddle the Peninsula and have spread eastwards along the sandy shore of the Bay.

The town's economy relied heavily on farming, fishing and its commercial harbour (the smallest in the Transnet Port Authority's stable of South African commercial harbours), until the 1969 discovery of natural offshore gas fields led to the development of the gas-to-liquids refinery operated by PetroSA. Tourism is another driver of Mossel Bay's economy.

Etymology
The origin of the name Mossel Bay (the Bay of Mussels) has to do with the ascendancy of the Dutch shipping merchants in the late 16th and the early 17th Centuries. In one account, the explorer Cornelis de Houtman named the place Mosselbaai when he stopped there in 1595, whilst in another, the Dutch Admiral Paulus van Caerden named it when he came ashore on 8 July 1601. Whatever the case, though, the mussels and oysters on the shore would have been a welcome addition to the limited diet on which ship's crews were expected to survive in those days.

History
Although it is today best known as the place at which the first Europeans landed on South African soil (Bartolomeu Dias and his crew arrived on 3 February 1488), Mossel Bay's human history can – as local archaeological deposits have revealed – be traced back more than 164,000 years.

The modern history of Mossel Bay began on 3 February 1488, when the Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias landed with his men at a point close to the site of the modern-day Dias Museum Complex. Here they found a spring from which to replenish their water supplies. Dias had been appointed to search for a trading route to India by King John II of Portugal, and, without realising it, actually rounded the Cape of Good Hope before landing at Mossel Bay – which he named Angra dos Vaqueiros (The Bay of Cowherds). Dias is also credited with having given the Cape the name Cabo das Tormentas (the 'Cape of Storms'), although King John II later changed this to Cabo da Boa Esperança (the Cape of Good Hope).

Dias' excursion ashore ended hastily when the local people chased him off in a hail of stones.

By the time the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama reached the area in 1497, the Bay had been marked on the maps as Aguada de São Brás, (the Watering Place of St Blaize - whose feast is celebrated on 3 February).

Da Gama bartered successfully for cattle with the local Khoi people in what is generally regarded as the first commercial transaction between Europeans and the indigenous people of South Africa.

Post Office Tree
In 1501, another Portuguese navigator, Pedro d'Ataide, sought shelter in Mossel Bay after losing much of his fleet in a storm. He left an account of the disaster hidden in an old shoe which he suspended from a milkwood tree (Sideroxylon inerme) near the spring from which Dias had drawn his water. The report was found by the explorer to whom it was addressed – João da Nova – and the tree served as a sort of post office for decades thereafter. (More recently, a boot-shaped post box has been erected under the now famous Post Office Tree, and letters posted there are franked with a commemorative stamp. This has ensured that the tree has remained one of the town's biggest tourist attractions.)

João da Nova erected a small shrine near the Post Office Tree, and although no traces of it remain, it is considered the first place of Christian worship in South Africa.

European settlement
Although the Dutch governor of the Cape Colony, Jan de la Fontaine, visited Mossel Bay and erected a possession stone here in 1734, the first permanent European building – a fortress-like granary – was built only in 1787. In July of the following year, the first shipment of wheat grown in the area was shipped from the Bay.

Although a British force had invaded the Cape in 1806, and Britain had taken permanent possession of the Colony in 1814, the Mossel Bay area retained its Dutch-given name until its declaration as a magistracy in 1848, when it was renamed Aliwal South, after the Battle of Aliwal in India, where the then governor of the British-held Cape Colony, Harry Smith, had won victory over the Sikhs on 8 January 1846. The name Aliwal South never stuck, however – even when the town was officially proclaimed in 1848, and when it became a Municipality in 1852.

From the earliest days of the Dutch settlers, Mossel Bay acted as the major port serving the Southern Cape region and its hinterland, the arid Klein (or Little) Karoo, and during the ostrich feather boom of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, more than 800,000 kg of feathers were exported through the port every year – which may have been the impetus that led to the construction of the first breakwater in 1912.

Fishing and farming remained the main activities of the area during the early years of the 20th Century, and the growth of the port reflected this. The discovery of natural gas fields offshore in 1969, of the FA gas field in the Bredasdorp Basin (also off the Southern Cape coast) in 1980, and of the nearby EM field in 1983, led to the development of the Mossgas gas-to-liquids refinery (commissioned in 1987 and renamed the PetroSA Refinery in 2002).

This changed the nature of the port so that its major business now comes from serving supply ships for PetroSA's offshore platforms, and from export via its offshore single point (or single buoy) mooring, which is located in about 21 metres of water in an unsheltered roadstead at Voorbaai, in the lee of the St Blaize Peninsula.

The development of the refinery led to a marked increase in property development in Mossel Bay, with the number of houses growing rapidly to accommodate the workforce during the construction period.

Many of the people who came to work on the project remained in the town after commissioning, and it would appear from the changing economy of the town that they found work in tourism, light industry or commerce.

Whilst the Port and the Refinery have, of course, had a major influence on the development of Mossel Bay, they have always worked in tandem with the growth of tourism and general commerce so that the town now boasts a balanced and vibrant economy. Tourism in particular has influenced much of the growth since 1994, although the town has been a popular resort destination for South Africans since as early as the late 1800s.

The Afrikaans Language and Cultural Society (Taal en Kultuurvereniging), also known as the ATKV, bought the farm Hartenbos, east of what was then the town of Mossel Bay, in 1936, and developed it as a holiday resort (now known as the ATKV Hartenbos Resort, and considered the biggest self-catering resort in the Western Cape Province). This was a significant step in the development of the town's tourism economy as it positioned Mossel Bay as a beach holiday destination - and beach tourism remains a major focus for incoming tourism in the 21st century.

South Africa installed its first democratically elected government in 1994, which brought about sweeping changes in the structure of local government throughout the country - one of the results of which was that Mossel Bay merged with the smaller, neighbouring villages of Friemersheim, Great Brak River and Herbertsdale to form the present-day Municipality of Mossel Bay in December 2000.

Climate
Mossel Bay has an ocean-moderated semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification: BSh).

Mossel Bay's climate is mild throughout the year as the town is situated in the area where the winter rainfall and all-year rainfall regions of the Western Cape Province meet. Its weather is influenced by the Agulhas Current of the Indian Ocean to the south, and by the presence of the Outeniqua Mountains to the north. Mossel Bay receives 80% of its rainfall at night.

Frost is rare or almost absent and snow has never been recorded on the coastal platform. Snow does, however, occasionally fall on the mountain peaks and can be seen from the town on rare occasions. Prevailing winds are westerly in winter (May - August) and easterly in summer (September - April), and rarely reach storm- or gale-force strength. The average days of sunshine are 320 days per year.

Topography
Mossel Bay straddles the Cape St Blaize peninsula (which rises to an average height of 96 metres), and spreads out along the sandy shores of the Indian Ocean, eastwards towards the town of George. The Outeniqua Mountains, which form part of the Cape Fold Belt, lie to the north of the municipal area. These mountains of sandstone and shale are characterised by gentle slopes to the seaward side (which are generally covered by montane fynbos and grasslands), and rise to a height of 1,578 m at Cradock Peak, near George (40 km east of Mossel Bay), and 1,675 metres at Formosa Peak near Plettenberg Bay (150 km east of Mossel Bay).

To the east, the land slopes upwards towards the wave-cut platform (average elevation 245 metres) that characterises the more lush all-year-round rainfall area of the Garden Route. Here the land is mostly covered by grass and farmlands. The deep sandy soils of the western portion of the municipal area also give way to grass and farm-lands, with large stands of typically dry fynbos which are characterised by, amongst others, the Aloe ferox (also known as the bitter aloe, Cape aloe or red aloe) from which skin-care products are made locally, and the Chondropetalum tectorum (Cape or thatching reed) which is used for the roofing of traditional Cape-Dutch buildings.

The municipal area's boundaries are the Gouritz River in the west, the Outeniqua Mountains to the north, the Maalgate River in the east, and the Indian Ocean to the south.

Demography
According to the South African National Census of 2022, the population of Mossel Bay (including the adjacent townships) is 140,075 people. Of this population, 40.9% described themselves as "Coloured", 40.1% as "Black African" and 17.6% as "White". 57.4% spoke Afrikaans as their first language, 30.7% spoke Xhosa and 6.9% spoke English.

In the 1936 Census the town had a total population of 7,227 people making it the 39th largest settlement in South Africa; 3,782 of whom were recorded as "Coloured," 3,260 as "European," 93 as "Asiatic," and 92 of whom were recorded as "Native" or "Bantu".

Attractions
Mossel Bay has been a beach holiday destination for South Africans for more than a century – a situation that received a particular boost after the Afrikaanse Taal en Kultuur Vereniging (ATKV) bought the farm Hartenbos in the 1930s, and began developing it as a holiday resort for its members.

The major attractions were then, and (to a large extent) still are, the dry, warm and stable weather, and the Indian Ocean and its beaches. However, with good roads, modern vehicles and the development of inland accommodation, the broader environment of the area (including the Outeniqua Mountains to the north, and large stands of fynbos, or Cape macchia, to the west) is now vital to the tourism economy.

The town is a major attraction for adventure tourism, and offers deep sea fishing, SCUBA diving, white shark cage diving, whale watching, sky diving, and the longest over the ocean zipline.

In addition, the history of the town (Mossel Bay was the site of the first contact between European explorers and indigenous people), and its cultural attractions are important features.

Mossel Bay is situated exactly halfway between Cape Town (and the Cape Winelands) and Port Elizabeth (with its game reserves), and is therefore a popular stopping-off and resting point on the itineraries of international visitors to the Western and Eastern Cape Provinces.

The Bartolomeu Dias Museum Complex is the largest of the museums in Mossel Bay. Originally designed to celebrate the arrival of Bartolomeu Dias and his crew on 3 February 1488, and to protect the "Post Office Tree", the Complex now offers a wider look at the history of Mossel Bay from environmental, archaeological, and cultural perspectives. Cape St. Blaize Lighthouse (-34.18603°N, 22.15615°W) was built in 1864 to designs by the Colonial engineer, R. Robinson. The original light (on a masonry tower 20.5 metres in height) was stationary, but in 1897 a revolving, clock-work light, which required winding every three hours, was fitted. This was used until the late 1970s. The light is now fully automated.

Tourism
Mossel Bay has a strong tourism economy. The summer holiday season (from about mid-December to mid-January) is the busiest time of the year, and, in December 2010, the Municipality estimated that the town provided accommodation for between 50,000 and 60,000 holidaymakers per night during this period.

Natural gas and oil
The PetroSA (Petroleum, Oil and Gas Corporation of South Africa Pty Limited) Refinery – which was commissioned as Mossgas in 1987 – is situated about 13 km to the west of the town's central business district. This is one of the world's largest Gas to liquids (GTL) refineries, and has always been a leader in the challenge of commercialising the GTL processes. It produces 36000 oilbbl per day (bbl/d) – a crude oil equivalent of 45000 oilbbl/d – using the Fischer–Tropsch process of converting natural gas (which is piped from offshore fields via PetroSA's FA Platform).

Mossel Bay's GTL plant serves up to 15 percent of South Africa's transport fuels requirements. It produces unleaded gasoline, ultra low sulphur diesel, kerosene, low aromatic distillates, drilling fluids, liquid petroleum gas, low sulphur fuel oil, anhydrous alcohols, liquid oxygen, liquid nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and waxes.

Road transport
Mossel Bay straddles the N2 national highway, which is South Africa's main coastal road from Cape Town in the Western Cape Province, to Durban in KwaZulu-Natal Province. (Using this route, Mossel Bay lies exactly at the midpoint between Cape Town and the Eastern Cape Province's capital of Port Elizabeth – 400 km each way).

The Municipality of Mossel Bay maintains 417,9 km of paved and concreted roads, and 24 km of gravel roads. Mossel Bay is a stopping point for all major road transport operators licensed for this region.

Harbour
The Port of Mossel Bay (-34.18005°N, 22.14603°W) is the smallest commercial harbour on the South African coast. It caters mostly for the oil industry (off-shore gas was discovered in late 1980s), and for a small fishing fleet, and is owned and managed by the Transnet National Ports Authority, which falls directly under South Africa's Department of Public Enterprises.

The depth of the entrance channel is 8 metres, while the maximum permissible draught inside the harbour is 6.5 metres. Pilotage is compulsory from a point 2 nmi northeast of Cape St Blaize.

Bunkering is available on the jetty and at quays 2, 3, and 5. Quay 4 can accommodate vessels of up to 130m, with a draught of 6.5m. A ship repair slipway can accommodate vessels of up to 200 tonnes. Ship chandler and stevedore services are available, as are diving services for hull cleaning, underwater inspection, salvage, etc.

The harbour has two offshore mooring buoys inside port limits: a catenary buoy mooring that caters for ships of up to 32,000DWT (maximum length 204m, draught 12m); and a single point mooring (SPM) marine tanker terminal that's connected to three hoses for the export of products from PetroSA's gas-to-fuel refinery, which is situated inland (about 13 km) and directly west of Mossel Bay. The SPM is located off Voorbaai in an open, unsheltered roadstead in about 21 metres of water.

During the 2008/09 financial year Mossel Bay served 1,567 vessels (mostly South African trawlers) with a combined gross tonnage of 3,317,364-gt, and handled a total of 2,014,185 tonnes of cargo (1,940,310t of bulk cargo – mostly oil products – and 73,875t of break-bulk). 773,267 tonnes of cargo was landed, and 1,240,918t was shipped.

15000 people worked on the synthol & refinery plant in Mossel Bay from 1998 to 2002 from all over the world - changing the landscape of the perception of South Africa Garden Route & giving major credence to South Africa & multi-relations to the world.

Rail
Mossel Bay is connected to the national rail network via a branch line to George. The line celebrated its centenary on 25 September 2007.

Pinnacle Point Caves
According to the presently accepted theory of the Recent African Origin of Modern Humans, all people alive today evolved from a core population of about 600 individuals who lived on the African Continent between 100,000 and 200,000 years ago. The Mossel Bay Archaeology Project (MAP) has shown that the Southern Cape Coast was most probably the point where modern behaviour first emerged about 164,000 years ago.

The Mossel Bay Archaeology Project was created to examine the ancient middens in the Pinnacle Point Caves, most of which lie about 12 km east of Cape St Blaize.

The discovery was made during routine archaeological surveys conducted prior to the development of the Pinnacle Point Beach and Golf Resort, and excavations began in the year 2000 under the leadership of Professor Curtis Marean (a palaeoanthropologist with the Institute of Human Origins at the Arizona State University), and by Dr. Peter Nilssen, of the Iziko South African Museum. The scientific team includes researchers from South Africa (the University of Cape Town), Australia (the University of New South Wales and the University of Wollongong), as well as Israel and France. Funding for the project was obtained from the National Science Foundation (USA); the Hyse Family Trust; the Iziko South African Museum; the University of Cape Town; and the Dias Museum in Mossel Bay.

The Project focuses on a series of caves cut into the sea-facing cliffs on the southern boundary of the Pinnacle Point Beach and Golf Resort, which were occupied between 170,000 and 40,000 years ago by Middle Stone Age people.

The excavations have revealed the earliest evidence for the systematic exploitation of marine resources such as shellfish (which would have provided the Omega-3 fatty acids required for the development of the modern human brain); the earliest evidence for the use of dyes in symbolling (particularly the use of ochre, possibly for body painting or decorative arts); the use of advanced bladelet technology (embedding smaller blades into larger strata to create complex tools); and the earliest evidence for the use of heat treatment in the manufacture of stone tools.

The significance of the finds is increased by the presence of fossilised carbon isotopes in the dripstone formations (stalactites) hanging from the roofs of the caves, which contain a record of the composition of the water that seeped into the caves over a period beginning about 400,000 years ago. As part of their work, the scientists on the Bay Archaeology Project are studying this evidence in order to create a portrait of the climate of the area over the period 400,000 to 30,000 years ago so as to be able to correlate the evidence of human behaviour on the floor of the caves with climate patterns, and thus learn how man has adapted to climate change over the ages.

Cape St Blaize Cave
The Cape St Blaize Cave is situated directly under the Cape St. Blaize Lighthouse, is the site of one of South Africa's oldest archaeological excavations. It was first excavated in 1888 by George Leith, then by T. Rupert Jones in 1899, and by A.J.H (John) Goodwin in the 1920s. Goodwin is said to have described the Middle Stone Age Mossel Bay Industry from his findings at Cape St Blaize.

The Cave has revealed deposits dating from about 200,000 years ago to the pre-colonial period, during which time middens were laid down by herders of the San or Khoekhoen people.

It is protected by Heritage Western Cape as a Provincial Heritage Site.

Rock Art
The mountains to the north of Mossel Bay are an important repository of South African rock art. This art, which is now associated with shamanistic practices (in which the rock itself is thought to have been considered the veil between this world and the spirit world), was created by the San people, and specimens may date back as far as 27,000 years.

The rock art sites surrounding Mossel Bay are generally located on private land, and are therefore only accessible to the public in the company of registered guides, who will ensure that the integrity of the pieces remains intact.

Coats of arms
Municipality (1) – The original arms, designed by W.H. Armstrong & Co (of Cape Town), were assumed on 6 October 1905. The shield was quartered as follows: 1 the figure of Justice on a red background; 2 a golden fleece on a blue background; 3 three interlaced golden fish on a blue background; 4 the figure of Neptune on a sky blue background.

Municipality (2) – In 1992, after the Bureau of Heraldry had refused to register the existing arms, because they were heraldically defective, the council accepted a new design, prepared by the Bureau. The new arms were registered at the Bureau on 6 March 1992: Per saltire Argent and Azure, in chief a balance resting on the point of a sword erect, Azure; dexter three fish interlaced in annulet Or, sinister a golden fleece and in base, on a base wavy Azure charged with a bar wavy Argent, a Portuguese caravel, sails set, proper. In layman's terms : the shield was divided in four by two diagonal lines, the upper section displaying a blue balance and a sword on a silver background, the left section three interlaced golden fish on a blue background, the right section a golden fleece on a blue background, and at the bottom a Portuguese caravel on a stylised blue and white sea.

The crest was a lighthouse, and the motto Jure et justitia valemus.

Municipality (3) – A new coat of arms was registered at the Bureau on 20 February 1998: Per saltire, in base grady, Azure and Or, in chief two whales naiant in pale and in base a fess nowy of two Karoo gable houses, Argent, the doors Azure, the lower edge wavy; dexter an aloe Vert flowered Gules and sinister a 15th century Portuguese caravelle proper, the sail charged with a cross paty, Gules. In layman's terms : the shield is divided in four by two diagonal lines, the lower parts of which are stepped, the upper section displaying two silver whales on a blue background, the left section an aloe plant on a golden background, the right section a Portuguese caravel on a golden background, and the bottom section two stylised Karoo gable houses in silver against a blue background.

The crest is a lighthouse issuing from a black mural crown. The motto is, again, Jure et justitia valemus.

title: Mossel Bay


text:
Worshipful Company of Plaisterers

The Worshipful Company of Plaisterers is one of the livery companies in the City of London. The Plaisterers' Company was incorporated under a Royal Charter in 1501 and whilst the spelling used in the charter was "Plaisterer", some later charters used the alternative spelling of "plasterer", nonetheless, the company uses the original spelling.

The company originated as a trade association of London's plasterers. Today, it maintains a connection with the trade by establishing plastering standards and by officially accrediting plasterers. The company is also a charitable and educational institution and generates income by renting out the hall on a private hire basis for events.

The Plaisterers' Company ranks forty-sixth in the Order of Precedence of the City livery companies. Its motto is Let Brotherly Love Continue.

The company's first hall was bequeathed by William Elder, Citizen and Plaisterer in 1556. It was situated on the corner of Addle Street and Philip Lane but was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666. Its second hall was built in 1669 to the design of Christopher Wren, although this too was destroyed by fire in 1882. The third hall on the site was destroyed during the Blitz in 1940.

Its current hall, opened in November 1972, has décor throughout of the neo-classical style created by Robert Adam in the 18th century. His various designs have been faithfully reproduced in great detail both on plaster and wood, some being taken from his original moulds. Plaisterers' Hall is the largest and one of the finest City livery halls in London.

Plaisterer's Hall Academy (1744–54) was a dissenting academy that provided for the training of Congregational ministers.

title: Worshipful Company of Plaisterers


text:
Sutton Park, West Midlands

Sutton Park is a large urban park located in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, West Midlands, England. Most of the park is a national nature reserve; large parts are also a scheduled monument. Sutton Park is one of the largest urban parks in the United Kingdom. The park covers more than 2400 acre according to one source, or 900 ha according to another. It consists of a mix of heathland, wetlands and marshes, seven lakes, extensive ancient woodlands (covering approximately a quarter of the park), several restaurants, a private 18-hole golf course on its western edge and a municipal golf course to the south, a donkey sanctuary, children's playgrounds and a visitors' centre. There is no entrance charge to the Park, however there is a parking charge for cars on Saturdays and Sundays during the summer. A wide range of leisure activities are undertaken in the park including dog walking, pony trekking, bike riding and kite flying and there are areas to fly model aeroplanes and helicopters. Additionally, a railway line runs through the park.

History
Peat-cutting, near Rowton's Well during World War II, recovered flint arrowheads at the base of the peat. There are some unassuming prehistoric burnt mounds, and an ancient well. The park contains a preserved section of the Icknield Street, a Roman road; the noticeably cambered road enters the Park near the Royal Oak Gate and exits towards the aptly named Streetly, the "meadow by the paved street"; it is still possible to walk the road. In 1909, two Roman coins were discovered in the park. The Queen's Coppice, planted in 1953, now covers the site of an ancient tumulus, from which a stone 'coffin' was dug out by antiquarians in 1808. Near Blackroot Pool are the earthworks of an ancient encampment, the origin of this is not known – possibly it was a hunting lodge and it may have been Roman, Mercian or Norman (or even all three, over time).

Royal Forest
The park was established as a Royal Forest by the Anglo Saxon kings of Mercia, from their seat at Tamworth at around the 9th century. By the early 12th century, it was in use as a Norman medieval deer park. The land was given to the people of Sutton Coldfield by King Henry VIII in 1528 after Bishop John Vesey, a friend of the King, asked for it as a present to the people of Sutton Coldfield. The charcoal burning that took place in the Park is thought to have given Sutton Coldfield the second part of its name.

Wyndley Pool
Wyndley Pool is the oldest in the Park, perhaps dating from the 12th century or even earlier. The house of the Royal Steward sat on the bluff overlooking Wyndley Pool. Keeper's Pool and Bracebridge Pool date from the 15th century. Powell's Pool, Longmoor Pool, and Blackroot date from the 18th century, and were created to run watermills. There was another pool at Boldmere, now outside the park, but this has since vanished. Most of the Park has been undisturbed since then. The area of Ladywood, at Four Oaks, was taken for housing, but in exchange the Meadow Platt area near the town was added to the Park, thus allowing the construction of a new Park Road access from the town.

Railway station
A railway line, the Sutton Park Line, was built through the Park in 1879 and the Park had its own station. The advent of the railway, and the new town entrance, greatly increased the number of visitors to the Park. The Park's own dedicated station was closed in 1964, and the line now only serves goods trains.

Sutton Miniature Railway

The Sutton Miniature Railway ran near to the present-day Wyndley Leisure Centre, from circa 1905 until the 1960s, when it was dismantled and the equipment put into store. The stock and engine shed are now at the Vintage Trains Depot at Tyseley, Birmingham.

Wartime camps
During World War I, convalescent camps were built in the Park. During World War II further camps were built; these were first used for enemy aliens, then for U.S. forces prior to D-Day, and finally for Nazi German and Italian prisoners of war.

Scouting
In 1957, the 50th anniversary of Scouting was celebrated when the 9th World Scout Jamboree, held concurrently with the 6th World Rover Moot and the 2nd World Scout Indaba, was held in the park, with participants from all over the world. The event is commemorated by a short stone pillar in the centre of the park.

Radio 1 Roadshow
On Sunday 30 August 1992, 100,000 fans attended the BBC Radio 1 biggest ever Roadshow to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Radio 1 with live performances from bands including Del Amitri, Aswad, The Farm and Status Quo. Free buses were provided by Travel West Midlands and a large Radio 1 Air ship floated above the park.

Lido
There was a rare 1887 lido, for open-air all-weather swimming, at Keepers Pool but the lido closed in 2003 after arson, and was burned down entirely in 2004. The Lido area has now been purposely reverted to woodland and wetland.

Sports

The park is popular for a number of sports. These include mountain biking, with the "Skeleton Hill" being popular with downhill bikers. Secondly sailing and canoeing, which take place mainly on Powell's Pool and finally kayaking and canoeing club on Blackroot Pool with Royal Sutton Coldfield Canoe Club.

Runners and walkers also make the most of the park and its extensive pathways and trails.

A number of running events are staged in the park. These include:
 * Seven Pools Run (March)
 * Midland Counties men's 12-stage and women's 6-stage relays (March)
 * ERRA National men's 12-stage and women's 6-stage relays (April)
 * National Masters (BMAF) Open Road Relays (May)
 * Royal Mail 5k / 10k Fun Run (May)
 * Hill West 10k (May)
 * Great Midlands Fun Run (June)
 * Race for Life (June)
 * City of Birmingham 10k / 5k Fun Run (September)
 * Midland Counties men's 6-stage and women's 4-stage relays (September)
 * Birmingham Insurance Institute 5k / 10k Fun Run (September)
 * Teach First's Run 10k + kids' 2k (September)
 * ERRA National men's 6-stage and women's 4-stage relays (October)

There is a free 5 km parkrun event in the park at 9:00am every Saturday, starting at Banners Gate.

The City of Birmingham triathlon event in held in July with the open water swim stage taking place in Powell's Pool.

Sutton Park has played host the triathlon events for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. The swimming occurred in Powell's Pool near. Boldmere gate. While the cycling took to the streets of Boldmere before transitioning to running in the park itself.

Be Military Fit hold fitness classes up to six days a week in the park close to the Boldmere Gate.

There are countless cycling routes throughout the park for all different capabilities. Gopro videos of different routes can be found on YouTube. There is an 18-hole golf course near to the Streetly Gate entrance to the park.

There is a section of grass sectioned off for the usage of model aeroplanes and helicopters. This is between Boldmere Gate and the Jamboree Stone and can be accessed at most times by car from Boldmere Gate.

Sutton Park has also been used for motor rallying, and was a popular spectator stage on the Lombard RAC Rally in the 1970s and 1980s.

Also there are many watersports in the park, including fishing, rowing and sailing on the park's Powell's Pool, where the Sutton Sailing Club(SSC) sails regularly throughout the year. They sail on Wednesday evenings and Sunday afternoons throughout the summer and on Sunday mornings during the winter. The Sailing club is situated near the Boldmere gate. Bishop Vesey Grammar School row on Powell's Pool.

Wildlife
Nightjars formerly bred in the park; the last recorded being in 1957, the year of the Scout Jamboree. Since then, there have only been two sightings, in 1974 and 2005. Both red grouse and black grouse were in the park until 1868 and 1897 respectively.

Hydrology
Two streams rise in the park, Plants Brook (also known as the Ebrook or East Brook) and its tributary Longmoor Brook, as well as several of their smaller tributaries and man-made drainage channels. These feed a number of man-made pools and reservoirs. Their outflow, outside the park is into the River Tame, and ultimately via the River Trent and the Humber, into the North Sea. Following heavy rainfall, water is fed into the streams from outside the park via storm drains known as "Combined Sewer Overflows".

Current status
In 1997, English Nature designated most of Sutton Park a national nature reserve and it features on English Heritage's list of recognised historic parks and gardens. In July 2005, a 20-year 'Keepers of Time' scheme was announced, which will eliminate alien species from ancient woodlands and restore native varieties like oak, ash and beech.

The park is currently managed by Birmingham City Council; but in July 2004 it was announced that control would be devolved to the local councillors for Sutton Coldfield.

The roads have reverted to their previous 'heavily restricted' status. There is still considerable car traffic into and out of the park, mainly of families with children, dog walkers, kite/model aeroplane fliers and other recreational use. However, cross-park 'through traffic' is now completely blocked by sturdy gates across the main link roads, similar to the existing gates at all road entrances and exits, that open and close with dusk and dawn. This measure has significantly reduced the use of the park as a rush-hour short-cut (notably between Boldmere and Streetly), with some noticeable impact on congestion of local routes around the Park. The benefit of traffic restriction is improvement in the enjoyability of the park; with cleaner air, safer roads for walkers and cyclists, and much reduced visual and noise pollution, plus reduced wear and tear on the poorly maintained, decaying road surfaces.

Road speed limits through the park have been reduced twice, from 30 mph to 20 mph in the 1980s, and to 5 mph in 2004. Also, on the pedestrianised areas (areas that used to be roads for cars, but are now closed to vehicles, except for emergency/ranger traffic), many speed bumps have been removed.

The commercial funfair for small children beside Powell's Pool continues to operate, attracting significant business. It offers rides such as a daisy-chained go-kart track ride (with 'spooky' tunnels), and a two-person manually operated bell-rope pirate ship swings.

There is a Sea Cadets dry-dock training vessel ("the Concrete Corvette") at Boldmere Gate along with the headquarters of the 1st Sutton Coldfield Sea Scouts, and at the other side of the park the 9th Sutton Coldfield Scouts.

There are now a larger number of police officers in the park, especially at the main gate, Town Gate. This has helped to stop vandalism and arson attacks on the park, however, some incidents still happen.

In December 2007, the National Cycle Network won £50-million in a public vote. The effect on Sutton Park will be to build the Plants Brook route that will create a free off-road bicycle path from east Erdington to Sutton Park.

In February 2008, a City Council feasibility study examined the possibility of once again running passenger trains through the park.

In September 2012, an outbreak of E. coli O157 was confirmed by the Health Protection Agency. Seven people were infected during the months of July and August. The park remained open but Birmingham City Council advised children under 10 to avoid visiting Sutton Park and for visitors to avoid contact with animals and wash hands thoroughly. Due to the outbreak, the autumn Midlands Counties and English National Road Relays running events in 2012 were cancelled.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, outdoor exercise was encouraged as people struggled with the physical effects of lockdown and restrictions. Sutton Park remained busy even as the Wyndley Leisure Centre facilities were shut.

title: Sutton Park, West Midlands