Australian Man, his Dog Rescued by Mexican Boat after Drifting 3 Months in Ocean

In this photo provided by Grupomar/Atun Tuny, Australian Tim Shaddock has is blood pressure taken after being rescued by a Mexican tuna boat in international waters, after being adrift with his dog for three months. (Grupomar/Atun Tuny via AP)
In this photo provided by Grupomar/Atun Tuny, Australian Tim Shaddock has is blood pressure taken after being rescued by a Mexican tuna boat in international waters, after being adrift with his dog for three months. (Grupomar/Atun Tuny via AP)
TT
20

Australian Man, his Dog Rescued by Mexican Boat after Drifting 3 Months in Ocean

In this photo provided by Grupomar/Atun Tuny, Australian Tim Shaddock has is blood pressure taken after being rescued by a Mexican tuna boat in international waters, after being adrift with his dog for three months. (Grupomar/Atun Tuny via AP)
In this photo provided by Grupomar/Atun Tuny, Australian Tim Shaddock has is blood pressure taken after being rescued by a Mexican tuna boat in international waters, after being adrift with his dog for three months. (Grupomar/Atun Tuny via AP)

An Australian sailor who had been adrift at sea with his dog for three months has been rescued by a Mexican tuna boat in international waters, the fishing vessel's owner said Monday.

Timothy Lyndsay Shaddock, 54, was aboard his incapacitated catamaran Aloha Toa in the Pacific about 1200 miles (1900 kilometers) from land when the crew of the boat from the Grupomar fleet spotted them, the company said in a statement.

The company said Shaddock and his dog Bella were in a “precarious” state when found, lacking provisions and shelter. The tuna boat's crew gave them medical attention, food and hydration, it said.

Grupomar did not provide specific details on what day Shaddock was rescued or when he had started his voyage.

The tuna boat, captained by Oscar Meza Oregón, was expected to arrive in the Pacific coast port of Manzanillo on Tuesday with Shaddock and Bella.
Antonio Suárez Gutiérrez, Grupomar's founder and president, said he was proud of his crew, praising them for their humanity in saving the life of someone in trouble.

According to The Associated Press, Shaddock told Australia's Nine News television that he and his dog had survived on raw fish and rain water after a storm damaged his vessel and wiped out its electronics.

“I’ve been through a very difficult ordeal at sea and I’m just needing rest and good food because I’ve been alone at sea a long time," a thin and bearded Shaddock said in video broadcast by Nine on Sunday night Australian time.

“Otherwise, I’m in very good health,” Shaddock added.

The Sydney resident and his dog had sailed from the Mexican city of La Paz for French Polynesia in April, but the voyage ended within weeks, Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported.



Japan Births in 2024 Fell Below 700,000 for First Time 

People walk along a pedestrian crossing at a shopping street Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP)
People walk along a pedestrian crossing at a shopping street Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP)
TT
20

Japan Births in 2024 Fell Below 700,000 for First Time 

People walk along a pedestrian crossing at a shopping street Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP)
People walk along a pedestrian crossing at a shopping street Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP)

The number of births in Japan last year fell below 700,000 for the first time on record, government data showed Wednesday.

The fast-ageing nation welcomed 686,061 newborns in 2024 -- 41,227 fewer than in 2023, the data showed. It was the lowest figure since records began in 1899.

Japan has the world's second-oldest population after tiny Monaco, according to the World Bank.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has called the situation a "quiet emergency", pledging family-friendly measures like more flexible working hours to try and reverse the trend.

Wednesday's health ministry data showed that Japan's total fertility rate -- the average number of children a woman is expected to have -- also fell to a record low of 1.15.

The ministry said Japan saw 1.6 million deaths in 2024, up 1.9 percent from a year earlier.

Ishiba has called for the revitalization of rural regions, where shrinking elderly villages are becoming increasingly isolated.

In more than 20,000 communities in Japan, the majority of residents are aged 65 and above, according to the internal affairs ministry.

The country of 123 million people is also facing increasingly severe worker shortages as its population ages, not helped by relatively strict immigration rules.

In neighboring South Korea, the fertility rate in 2024 was even lower than Japan's, at 0.75 -- remaining one of the world's lowest but marking a small rise from the previous year on the back of a rise in marriages.