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A key goal associated with the biosphere reserve concept is to sustainably manage and govern social-ecological systems. Hopefully, this goal is achieved in the Howe Sound region.
B.C.'s Howe Sound designated a UNESCO biosphere region after years of lobbying | CBC News
www.cbc.ca
After nearly five years of campaigning, B.C.’s Howe Sound has finally been designated a UNESCO biosphere, allowing stakeholders in the region to collaborate more effectively on sustainable development.
Boats are coming this week to pick up the piles of marine debris on our beaches, so please don't worry that the debris has been left behind! Huge amounts of debris have already been collected by volunteers and workers on Hornby, Denman, and in the Comox Valley, and our main boat pickup starts today. ![]()
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This video shows the current enormous amount of debris on Denman. There are also piles on Hornby Island and at Buckley Bay.
A sad but not surprising update.The Center for Whale Research (CWR) is sad to report that Southern Resident killer whale, L47, is missing from our 2021 census. CWR last encountered L47 on February 27 in Swanson Channel, where she did not appear to be in particularly poor condition. She was subsequently missing from surveys conducted by our colleagues at Fisheries and Oceans Canada conducted in the western Strait of Juan de Fuca in the early summer months. In September, CWR teams have had six on-the-water encounters with L47’s matriline and have repeatedly photographed all of her offspring and grandoffspring without finding L47. Her repeated absence meets our criteria for declaring a whale missing and likely deceased.![]()
Read more www.whaleresearch.com/l47
An excellent article. Cleanups such as the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, which is mentioned in the article, are important, but they only address a small fraction of the problem. We need to prevent plastics from entering the marine ecosystem in the first place.
Scooping Plastic Out of the Ocean Is a Losing Game | Hakai Magazine
www.hakaimagazine.com
Open ocean cleanups won’t solve the marine plastics crisis. To really make a difference, here’s what we should do instead.
So sad...
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Awesome letter by Mary Jane Stewart and great photo.
www.comoxvalleyrecord.com
Dear editor,
As noted in the article, noisy boaters must give these pregnant resident whales the space they need.
www.comoxvalleyrecord.com
Drone shots from U.S. researchers reveal three swimming moms-to-be
ADIMS is now working on the entire Comox Valley Shoreline Cleanup as part of the Clean Coast Clean Waters Project. Our partners include local nonprofit organizations, K’ómoks First Nation, and Ocean Legacy.
Deep-sea mining gets a resounding rejection from conservation authorities
news.mongabay.com
MARSEILLE, France — Delegates at this year’s global conservation summit have voted overwhelmingly in support of a motion that calls for a moratorium on deep-sea mining and the reform of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the U.N.-mandated body tasked with regulating this activity. Eighty-...
At least three humpbacks have died in just one week in BC waters. We must do better! The www.SeeABlowGoSlow.org website includes excellent info including maps showing high density humpback areas and laws/best practices for boaters.Please don't look away. ![]()
No one wants this to happen. ![]()
But it IS happening and much could be avoided through greater action and awareness. We are going to be blunt: If you are a boater and do not know the laws and best practices, you are part of the problem. See www.SeeABlowGoSlow.org. Entanglement and collision are of course a human safety concerns too. It is the law that entanglements and collision must be reported : 1-800-465-4336. ![]()
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In just one week, three Humpback Whales have suffered significant injury. Of these three, two are dead. We also know of at least one more that is entangled, and one more that has been hit by a boat. Those are just the Humpbacks we know about from this last week. So much is undocumented or unknown. The dead often sink to the bottom of the ocean or their bodies wash up where they are unseen . . . their stories remaining unknown. ![]()
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As always, we want their realities to count. We want to tell their stories so that more people may be compelled to care about them as individuals. ![]()
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The whales we have identified for DFO are: ![]()
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1) Still alive with recent, severe propeller lacerations: Calf less than a year old. Mother is Stingray (BCZ0409). Calf has now been nicknamed "Hope". Photo September 2nd in the Strait of Georgia near Texada Island by Peter Hamilton / Lifeforce Ocean Friends. Previously documented by our dear colleagues OrcaLab near northeast Vancouver Island. Was not injured then, August 18th. ![]()
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2) Dead from drowning as a result of entanglement: A juvenile female around the age of 4. Before August 25th, previously only documented in Hawaii in March 2018 (known due to the efforts of Happywhale and Pacific Whale Foundation). She has been necropsied by DFO. Photo August 29th in Quatsino Territory by Cora denHartigh. We do not wish to relay exact location but have helped with signage near her body so that those who do chance upon her, know her story. She did not have a nickname. Was catalogued as PWF-NP_1694. ![]()
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Additionally - there is another dead whale currently being necropsied by DFO.![]()
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Thank you Peter, Cora, Charlie, Team OrcaLab, those who reported the entangled whale shown here, data contributors / supporters and YOU who cared enough to read this. Please share so that others too may care and be compelled to be educated.![]()
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@Ocean Friends![]()
Fisheries and Oceans Canada![]()
Cetus Research & Conservation Society![]()
Boating BC Association![]()
Transport Canada![]()
Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons / Escadrilles canadiennes de plaisance![]()
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#SeeABlowGoSlow #BoatBlue #HowToSaveAWhale #BeWhaleWise #ForTheWhales
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Fewer copepods in the warming waters in the Gulf of Maine force North Atlantic right whales to feed and spend more time in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where the waters are cooler but also more treacherous due to boats and fishing gear. The researchers call for more dynamic management plans to prevent the extinction of North Atlantic right whales.
Rising ocean temperatures force North Atlantic right whales to move for survival: study
www.ctvnews.ca
Warming waters in the Atlantic Ocean appear to be forcing North Atlantic right whales into the Gulf of St. Lawrence and could lead to their extinction by the end of the century, a new study suggests.
We hope you can participate in the 2021 beach cleanup (Sept 7-21). See below for how to register and other info! ![]()
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𝗙𝗬𝗜, 𝗱𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗢𝗩𝗜𝗗-𝟭𝟵 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀, 𝘄𝗲'𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆 (𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝟰).
So sad, and especially so given that it was a large return of salmon. We need to be prepared for future low water levels/high temps. I dislike the term "new normal" because there is nothing normal about human interference with the planet's climate system.
Low water levels, high temps deadly combination for salmon in the Tsolum - Comox Valley Record
www.comoxvalleyrecord.com
Various factors have led to more than 1,000 pink salmon dying
Canada’s salmon are at risk. How can tourists help?
www.nationalgeographic.com
Land-based fish farms, alternative seafood menus, and other ways British Columbia is trying to save Chinooks and sockeyes.
Pradnya Sawant: What the heat wave signals for B.C.'s coast
www.straight.com
Not only did the soaring 40°C+ temperatures wreak havoc on land by burning the town of Lytton, the coastal ecosystem suffered immediate effects, too.
More great info, this time on harbour seals, by Dennis Forsyth for DCA.August Mating![]()
Dennis Forsyth writes: Last evening near the Lindsay-Dickson I was attracted by the sound of loud, explosive splashing near the beach. There I found this male Harbour Seal violently smacking the water with his pectoral flippers and tail. At this time of year, mid to late August, this behaviour is not uncommon. It’s mating time for these pinnipeds and the males are trying to attract receptive females. And, in fact, after about fifteen minutes, this seal was joined by a smaller animal which I am confidant would be a female.![]()
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Harbour Seals are not nearly as social as Sea Lions and generally we see them as solitary animals going about their business. During the spring and summer when we see two seals together it is nearly always a mother and pup. Seals have their young usually in April and May and mothers will typically look after a pup until well into winter. Gestation for these seals is about ten months so usually a mature female will still be taking care of a pup when she mates in August. Seals use a clever technique called delayed implantation which allows the female to hold a viable egg cell for several weeks after mating before letting it attach to the uterus wall to begin development. That means that the new pup won’t be born too early in the spring - there will be lots of food available and she will be free of last year’s pup by then.![]()
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While the pup is being nursed the mother will be providing one of the richest milks in the animal kingdom. Seal milk is about 50% fat. Compare that to heavy whipping cream at the dairy counter which is 36%. The richness of this diet is probably necessary since the new pup doesn’t have the thick layer of insulating fat that it will develop later on and needs to survive in the cold waters of the sea.![]()
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So, for the next few weeks listen for the smacking sounds of amorous male Harbour Seals advertising their virility to susceptible females. Dennis
www.comoxvalleyrecord.com
Scientist: unclear if populations of sea stars in B.C. waters will survive