Be a Wise Whale and Wildlife Watcher

Exploring the Whale Museum in Telegraph Cove (Photo by R. Spencer)

A couple weeks ago, I went up island with my family to do some whale and wildlife watching. Not only did we see belted kingfishers and a pair of sea lions and bald eagles, but we were lucky enough to glimpse a pod of northern resident killer whales and two humpback whales passing through Johnston Strait!  It was a thrilling experience for us, but I couldn’t help but notice some of the visitors and commercial operators were not following all the guidelines of our Wise Whale and Wildlife Watcher Pledge. If you’re planning an end of the summer camping or wildlife watching trip, it might be handy to review these guidelines, or Take the Pledge yourself!

As a recreational or commercial boater travelling in sensitive waters (like the Georgia Strait) it is very important to:

Be cautious and courteous. Marine mammals can be very cryptic creatures, and it is your responsibility as a boat operator to use caution while travelling through their habitat.
 

Slow down. Reduce speed to less than 7 knots when within 400 metres/yards to the nearest marine mammal, avoiding abrupt course changes.
 

*On our whale watching trip, the skipper was in constant communication with killer whale researchers positioned up the adjacent hillside. They would update him on their position, and make appropriate recommendations on how fast and what direction our boat should go (pretty neat!).
 

Avoid approaching closer than 100 metres/yards to any marine mammals or birds.
 

Limit your viewing time to a recommended maximum of 30 minutes to minimize the cumulative impact of many vessels and give consideration to other viewers.
 

Large male killer whale in Johnston Strait (Photo by R. Spencer)

*On our whale watching trip, the skipper was very attentive to our proximity to the whales, and the duration of our time in the strait. When it was safe, he manoeuvred our boat away from the whales, making sure to not approach them from behind, driving parallel to them, and allowing other boats to take our place.
 

Following these guidelines is an excellent start to your whale or wildlife watching experience. However, if you decide to book a tour with a commercial operation, I would recommend still doing some background research! For instance, TripAdvisor reviews of BC whale watching tours provides a useful starting point.
 

Interested in learning a bit more about killer whales, and what you can do to help protect them? Check out these useful links:
 

1) Read our Killer Whale Species At Risk Profile to learn more about resident, transient and offshore populations.
 

2) Be ToxicSmart! Reduce the use of toxic chemicals in your home. Make your home ToxicSmart and your garden pesticide free to help reduce toxins in the marine food chain.
 

 
Enjoy your last bit of summer sunshine! 

~Megan~

Species at Risk on the Atlas

Photo by: Bruce Obee

We are pleased to introduce an addition to the Georgia Strait Communities Atlas, a new chapter of our virtual atlas which explores Species at Risk in the Salish Sea.  Over the coming year, we will be releasing a series of interactive Google Earth maps that will be featured on our Communities Atlas website.  These maps will provide information about species at risk (such as resident killer whales, nooksack dace, sockeye salmon and rockfish) and why they are considered to be threatened or endangered. In particular the maps will focus on providing information to support the strategies for the recovery of these species as mandated under Canada's Species at Risk Act.


With the generous support of the Schad Foundation, we present the first map in this series which tells the tale of why our southern resident killer whales are a Species at Risk.  These whales, found in southern BC and Washington, are considered to be at risk because of their small population size (currently 85 individuals), a loss of prey availability and their exposure to pollution and disturbances from human activity.  To illustrate this issue, this map provides interactive information layers that show how southern resident killer whale critical habitat and food sources intersect and overlap with human activity in these areas.  Check out the Species at Risk: Southern Resident Killer Whale map here. This map, and the maps that follow, will help us to clearly see that we do in fact coexist with these ‘Species at Risk’ and that their protection and the reduction of the threats that endanger them is our responsibility and should be a priority for all of us.

Help us Map Species Risk in the Georgia Strait

Would you like to share a story, photo or video of our amazing southern resident killer whales?  Help others learn about and witness the majestic beauty of these amazing animals by helping us build a Local Knowledge component to the Species at Risk Maps.  Sign up on the website to submit your contribution, and check the Georgia Strait Communities Atlas for the release of new Species at Risk maps and updates!
 

Pipelines and Public Relations

"Information Session". Now isn't that a friendly, non threatening term. And indeed that's exactly what the Kinder Morgan Information sessions on their proposed new pipeline to bring Alberta Tar Sands crude to the coast to load onto tankers were for the most part.  These are almost over, with just one left in this region on Salt Spring Island in January.

 I attended the one in Nanaimo and saw nothing but overt good cheer and intentions from the full spectrum of opinions that we all know this project has. Apparently there were some minor kefuffles in Hope and Victoria but not having been there I can't give a perspective. Kinder Morgan seems to know they cannot just ram this project through as perhaps once was the case and have developed a strategy that is all about public relations at this stage.

When I got there quite a few people had already gathered awaiting entry. When the doors opened I was one of the first in and was asked if I wanted to sign in. I presented my card and asked if I could speak to the main PR person expecting someone from Vancouver or Calgary. I was surprised to find they actually have someone based in Victoria. This means they are taking this PR stuff very seriously.

Lots of opposition at the Nanimo info session

Looking around the room the essence of slick PR professionalism was everywhere. From the many members of the young fresh faced PR team to the few experienced company, port and response representatives. The comprehensive, very professional looking information signage covering almost every conceivable aspect of the project including the inevitable environmental and socioeconomic concerns of course and the general layout of the room which allowed for the one-on-one discussion method to be most effective.Having been a somewhat serious student of the martial arts for almost 30 years I recognize this strategy of drawing your opponent in.

However a large number of the folks who were there seemed to be highly informed about the project already and were not letting themselves be drawn in. In fact many stayed outside the room singing songs and handing out  information from a different perspective. There were all sorts of signs in opposition and many blue drops (a sign of solidarity for clean water).



I let myself be drawn in order to tell the main PR guy very clearly and firmly that Georgia Strait Alliance does not support this project or any that would increase the risk of a major spill in our sensitive waters or significantly contribute to climate change. The environmental, social and economic consequences are just not worth any risk! Prepared to extract myself from a conversation geared to convince me to the merits of the project if necessary, I was pleased but not overly surprised to be told that he would not try to dissuade us from our position (another tactic I'm familiar with).

What I was surprised at however was a cheerful, though perhaps unintended, admission that there was really no point in me trying to convince him of our position either. I understand some of these folks are not just about growth or short term gain and they actually believe this is a good project, but I guess I'd call that a a bit of a PR disaster.
I thought they wanted to hear from us. Well maybe they do but they certainly didn't seem to want to actually listen.

In martial arts, a strategy following the drawing in, is a reversal of your opponent's energy to use it against them. I'm curious if Kinder Morgan will try this next? And will it work if they cannot actually draw people in? Another option of course would be to actually listen to the community concerns, in fact be part of the community - not opponents at all, and be prepared to pull out of the project if it is not supported, rather than forge ahead regardless.

There's more than tankers out there!

Anyone who spends time traveling around or gazing out on Georgia Strait will see ships here there and everywhere in the region. The anchored ships in English Bay, Vancouver are a world renowned spectacle for tourists, travelers  and business visitors alike. Personally I love to see them and greatly appreciate how they bring many of the goods that my family and I need to this part of the world.

In the Port of Metro Vancouver there are well over 3000 ships entering and exiting each year and that does not include BC Ferries. Nanaimo sees over 200 and Victoria the same once again not including all the ferry trips.  While many of the ships look similar they perform a wide range of functions. From ferries to oil tankers, bulk carriers to container vessels, military vessels to large pleasure craft and cruise ships to break bulk. More information about ships in Georgia Strait is available on our main website.

Excluding tankers, an average ship is over 2 football fields in length and carries over 1.5 million litres in fuel oil. Add in oil tanker traffic and that's a lot of hydrocarbons floating around our waters. For the most part, the shipping industry is very conscientious and usually gets  them in and out of here without incident. However there have been accidents and oil has been spilled here. Just like the increasing tanker traffic that has had so much media attention lately, the more other ships we have transiting our waters, the more risk we have of a hydrocarbon spill.

So in order to keep those risks at an acceptable level it behooves us as a society to ensure that those shipping trips are necessary and that the goods that are being shipped are needed. Ninety percent of world goods are transported by ships and unfortunately some of those goods are just satisfying consumer wants and/or perceived needs.  I suspect that the production, transportation and use of some products could do more harm than good when you look at the bigger picture of world environmental and socioeconomic sustainability. Oil and coal might come immediately to mind but there are many other examples. What would it take to ensure all products shipped fit into a world view of sustainable development as outlined by the Bruntland Commission Report way back in 1987?

"Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". It contains two key concepts:

• the concept of "needs", in particular the essential needs of the world's poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and
• the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment's ability to meet present and future needs."

Your respectful thoughts are welcome.

Down at the Dock: Clean Marine BC sees real, positive results!

Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking to the Duncan-Cowichan Chamber of Commerce on Perspectives on the Marine Economy. My talk focused on our Clean Marine BC green boating and marina eco-certification program, and how a clean marine environment is critical to a healthy coastal economy here in BC. Alongside teachers and politicians, the room was full of marine industry representatives, so I was expecting a tough crowd.

Photos taken at Maple Bay Marina by David Messier

The common misconception is that jobs and protecting the environment do not go hand in hand. The reality is that it costs too much not to protect our environment, but that kind of message can fall upon deaf ears. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how receptive the folks were to the idea that marine conservation is good business.  I was also lucky. Lucky that speaking right after me was a real life example of how this is true. Carol Messier of Maple Bay Marina spoke from the marine industry perspective. Maple Bay Marina is one of GSA’s eight eco-certified marinas, and among the highest ranking marinas within the program with 4 anchors (no marina has yet achieved the highest 5 anchor rating).

Carol spoke of many wonderful things going on at Maple Bay, but I was most excited to hear about how their hard work and commitment to marina environmental best practices is paying of for the marine environment, and for their business!

"We believe our participation in the Clean Marine BC program has been good for our business. The practical information presented by GSA and the collaborative nature of it, has helped us to improve the natural environment in and around the marina. This has translated into better boating experiences and in turn helps us to earn and retain high quality customers. It is also very satisfying to see the eel grass beds returning naturally along with the salmon fry and other wildlife." - Maple BayMarina

There you have it…Clean Marine BC is good for salmon, eelgrass, and business. We couldn’t ask for anything better, down at the dock!

Tankers, Thanks and Banks

Adapted from original publication on smallchangefund Blog

Oil tankers shipping out of Vancouver Harbour were really not paid much attention to by the general public a couple of years ago, and maybe even just a year ago. The increase seen over the last decade did not get much publicity and the fact that tankers of some form or another have been using our waterways since the turn of the last century seemed to make it less threatening. Thanks to a perfect storm of different but colliding events, all that is rapidly changing. Certainly all the publicity about dirty tar sands oil has been part of it and Enbridge’s beleaguered Northern Gateway Pipeline project, the climate change debate, Keystone XL pipeline kerfuffle in the US and the Kalamazoo pipeline spill in Michigan. 

However even before Kinder Morgan’s announcement earlier this year of intentions to build a second pipeline to Vancouver from the tar sands, Georgia Strait Alliance (GSA) and a few others were starting to be concerned about the steady but seemingly silent, increase in tanker traffic through Burrard Inlet and the ecologically sensitive Salish Sea. After some extensive research we published the first version of our citizen's guide to tankers, oil spills and the risks to our region late last year and we have updated it recently to reflect the current situation.

Why would GSA be concerned about a few tankers traveling our waters when there are so many other issues facing this fantastic body of water we work to protect? Well, when I give presentations I explain that what is happening to Georgia Strait is like the death by a thousand cuts. Each travesty of pollution or inappropriate development that befalls it is cumulative and at some stage, if enough is done, Georgia Strait would eventually become like so many other devastated bodies of water. That being said, the damage that is currently being done, can (at least partially) be undone or stopped, and over the years we have lead many projects which have helped restore parts of Georgia Strait or served to protect it.  We believe our work and that of others will save Georgia Strait as a place of much natural beauty and biological diversity.

That, however, would all change if we have a major oil spill here and anything that increases the likelihood of that happening is of real concern to us.  If we have a catastrophic spill here we simply do not have the capability or resources to stop the irreparable damage to the ecology, economy and social fabric of this region. It would be a disaster in the real meaning of the word. Also of considerable concern to us is the fact that our communities have not been given any real opportunity to say if they are willing to take the risks of tar sands crude being shipped through our waters. That is something we are working toward on a number of different levels from our petition  and information on our website and in print to our liaison and email listserve hosting with other groups working on this issue and contribution to reports to meeting with Industry representatives.  

To do that we need funding, and this is the point we’d really like to thank our current funders including Patagonia, MEC and smallchangefund for all their support and promotion and all the wonderful donors who are contributing to our work. Thanks for going to your banks to help make our community voice on crude oil tankers a strong one. If you have not had a chance to contribute yet please do so on our website or by calling our office at 250-753-3459.

Many thanks!

Making a splash at World Oceans Day in Victoria

GSA's summer students, Isabelle (left) and
 Deanna (right), with the orange octopus

The first year of World Oceans Day in Victoria was a success! It was good to get down to Victoria and raise awareness about the issues in the Strait of Georgia. Although a lot of the people that approached us were tourists, they had a strong interest in knowing more about the place they were visiting. Their enthusiasm was contagious! We enjoyed making friends with the other exhibitors and sampling the many fine products of the Bastion Square Market (Peppers and sauces and baked goods, oh my!). Thank you to all the lovely vendors, exhibitors and visitors who bought raffle tickets, and to the Maritime Museum and Oceans Network Canada for organizing the event! Here's hoping World Ocean Day 2013 is even better and that our friend, the orange dancing octopus returns. All in all, it was a fabulous way to kick off our summer outreach tour!

Stay tuned, we will be at the BC Shellfish Festival in Comox on Saturday June 16 and at Car Free Day on Main Street in Vancouver on Sunday June 17. We hope to see you there! To keep up on where we will be this summer, check out our event page.

Crossing The Strait of Georgia - A Very Personal Journey

Just over 2 months ago I suffered a very severe cardiac arrest while teaching a Karate class on Gabriola Island on the west side of Georgia Strait. It was pretty instantaneous as I felt strange for just a few seconds before I collapsed and I was essentially dead before I hit the floor. There was no way of knowing this could happen to me and in fact I'd had check-ups fairly recently and in retrospect the medical folk can't pinpoint any definitive factors that would have contributed to it happening.

Thankfully, our local vet, who also trains the volunteer firefighters in CPR, was right beside me when I dropped and his quick assessment and action, and along with my wife/ fellow instructor, kept my blood and oxygen flowing until help arrived. The rest of the class was amazing too. After 10 minutes of very aggressive CPR I was zapped back to life when the first responders arrived. One of the island doctors was also there within minutes.

With blood coming out of my lungs and a skin colour that I understand was less than attractive, it was pretty obvious that I needed to be airlifted ASAP and calls were made. Our local ambulance service raced me to the island's sports field where we were met by a cardiac team from Nanaimo. When the helicopter arrived a decision was made to fly me straight to Vancouver rather than Victoria, where cardiac patients normally go, because of a big storm closing in on Southern Vancouver Island.

Despite having crossed the Strait of Georgia hundreds of times before, that journey in the middle of the night with a winter storm bearing down on us was the most significant of my life. I had a very clear choice that, despite all the medical help I was receiving, was one that only I could make. The easiest choice by far was to die. All I had to do was let my will go. It was not at all scary and not actually that challenging to contemplate. In fact it was quite a desirable choice.

When we landed in Vancouver yet another team of dedicated caring people took amazing care of me. I was in hospital for 6 days as I recovered enough to go home.

I may never know all the reasons why I chose to live that night as we flew in the dark across an amazing body of water that I have spent more than 10 years trying to protect but that was the conscious choice I made. It is without a doubt the hardest thing I have ever done, physically, mentally and/or spiritually. A fraction of a second loss of focus and I would have died.

It has been a long and challenging road since that night and although I knew that when I made the choice, I sometimes briefly wonder what possessed me to fight to live. Every medical person I have seen since shakes their head and says how lucky I am to have survived. Despite that I have essentially remained very positive most of the time even when things were bad enough to send me back to hospital. What has helped my recovery a lot is the amount of support I have had (and am still getting) from my family, friends, neighbours, colleagues and all the communities of which I am a part.

As my healing continues my thoughts are returning to my work with Georgia Strait Alliance and the magnificent body of water we are trying to keep healthy. As I've be convalescing I have spent a good amount of time looking out on the Strait of Georgia and trying to harness it's healing energy. I am very thankful that we can connect to this special place.

I've also pondered on the parallels of my experience to the state of the world and in particular how people (me included) often take the easy route and accept the status quo especially where making money or keeping egos safe is concerned. No doubt if we all chose the easy path and stayed with selfish thought there would be no-one to left to keep watch over our waters, lands, and skies and everyone would be out there trying to make a profit without wanting or able to give anything to the planet in return.

Thank-you to all of you who choose to undertake and survive the hard journeys of this world! You make the world a kinder and healthier place and you inspire me to make more of those hard choices.

GUEST BLOG - Georgia Strait Alliance receives grants for programs and capacity

By Cheryl Onciul - Fundraising Assistant

As one of the newest members of the Georgia Strait Alliance team, I am really excited to share some of the highlights of my 5 months as GSA’s Fundraising Assistant. In my work, I share GSA’s stories and plans, in the hope that like-minded Foundations and businesses will want to partner with us.

It was a busy spring, but well worth all the work as we have received news of exciting grants in recent weeks, notably from a couple of Canadian leaders in Corporate Social Responsibility, Mountain Equipment Co-op and Vancity.

MEC’s Vancouver store recently approved a $2000 grant through their Urban Sustainability Grant Program for the expansion of our Clean Marine BC (CMBC) - Marina Eco-rating Program. The grant will help GSA promote the program and inspire more facilities to join the program, focusing on boating facilities in the Lower Mainland. Our voluntary program encourages marinas and other boating facilities to adopt environmental best practices, making positive impacts on waste, energy consumption and transportation.

MEC also awarded a $20,000 Capacity Building grant which supports the investment in tools and training that will increase GSA’s capacity to better engage supporters and members. With these funds, we are engaging Groundwire to install, provide training and integrate the Salesforce database program into our organization. This database and engagement program is a key technical part of our overall strategic planning process but the bottom line is it will help us stay connected with you, keep you updated on the latest happenings, and help us to empower more concerned citizens like you to become engaged in the pursuit of our shared vision for the region – a healthy Georgia Strait!

We are also very excited to let you know that GSA is among 15 organizations selected to receive a 2011 enviroFund award from Vancity for our Connecting Communities to a Healthy Strait program. In January of this year, we launched our online map, and these funds will help us to ramp it up as a way to connect with you on issues of concern in the Strait, as well as bringing these issues to the attention of local decision makers. With Vancity’s support, we will also be able to continue growing the map, adding more useful information and improving its reliability. The project also includes the development of our “Georgia Strait Protection Principles”. The Principles will be created with your input and aim to support the incorporation of marine habitat protection and restoration issues and values into urban planning and development.

It has been an exciting few months for me here at Georgia Strait Alliance, and a rewarding time. I remember the day I first met GSA’s Executive Director, Christianne Wilhelmson and Board Member Frank Tester. It was my job interview, and I was asked “what do you think would be the easiest part of working with Georgia Strait Alliance?” My response was “convincing funders to support GSA’s work.” It turns out, I was right. There was little doubt in my mind that in joining the Georgia Strait Alliance as a contractor, I would be joining a winning team. GSA’s programs are really making a difference to the health of the Strait. The programs are based on science, involve the people who most stand to benefit from them - residents of the region, are cost-effective, achieve measurable results, are collaborative, stand on a firm foundation of past successes, and are responsive to the changing needs of communities and the environment. It has been a real pleasure to share some of GSA’s stories with a few funders over the past few months. I look forward to continuing to do so, and hopefully to sharing a story or two with you too!

For You I Am a Better Person

Working in the environmental sector can be both rewarding and incredibly trying and stressful. It can take years, even decades, to see any sort of positive change around a particular issue, and it’s not surprising that people in this line of work often burn out. Recently I was finding myself uninspired, frustrated and, needless to say, unproductive. So I took an unplanned two week vacation to hang out at my new home on remote Sonora Island, to reconnect with nature, and to relax and recharge.

On my very first morning off, I walked out in front of my cabin to a tiny little beach, and to my dismay found it was covered in little pieces of Styrofoam – it was in the vegetation at the high tide mark, all along the water’s edge, and floating in the water too. Just what I needed on my day off, I grumbled to myself as I angrily began picking up the garbage…a beach cleanup! Where did it come from I wondered? Don’t people know that this stuff soaks up toxins and becomes little poison pills to any creatures that might eat it? Don’t they know that mama birds feed this to their chicks and they starve to death with it choking their stomachs? Don’t they know about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a huge gyre full of plastic garbage covering an area the size of Texas?

I couldn’t possibly pick it all up. I wasn’t even going to try, but I couldn’t just walk away. So I filled up my garbage can in short order, knowing I would have to pack it out with me the next time I left Sonora. This vacation was not allowing me to forget my work, and I kept thinking about it as the days went by; especially when I went to the same beach a few days later and found more Styrofoam had washed up onto the beach…and I picked up some more garbage.

But as my vacation passed by, I began to see things in a whole new light. Who was I to be angry about picking up a little garbage on my day off, when thousands of people volunteer to do that sort of thing every day? Who was I to complain about stress and burnout when it is an honour and privilege to do this work? Who was I to resent the grief and anguish I feel about the state of the world, right down to the tiny bits of Styrofoam on “my” beach, when others fight injustices solely on their convictions while I collect a pay cheque for my efforts? 

So I returned to work two weeks after my impromptu little beach cleanup very humbled and grateful to have such a job. But even more so, I am honoured to know so many of you who do amazing things every day just because it is the right thing to do. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, for it is each and every one of you that prevents me from sinking into despair, and keeps me hopeful for our future. Thank you! For you I am a better person. 

Sailing, Shakespeare, Seals, Shags and Slicks!

Last weekend my family and I were lucky enough to travel to Vancouver to see the wonderful Bard on the Beach production of Antony and Cleopatra. Surprisingly it was our 12 year old son's choice. We sailed over from Gabriola Island with an 18 NW knot breeze to push us along. Glorious conditions saw us sail right to our anchorage in False Creek where we anchored for the night. A short dingy trip ashore then a detour to Granville Island for some delectable chocolate eclairs.

On our way out of Granville Island, a large crowd was gathered on the board walk under the Bridge. My curiosity piqued, I wandered over to see what the attraction was. On the dock of a fishing boat charter company some folks were feeding a Harbour Seal. As the seal came back again and again for treats I watched the intense enthusiasm of the crowd as they oohed and ahhed at its antics. Just like when the Grey Whale visited False Creek recently, it reinforced for me, once again, that people are enamored by wild marine creatures and that there is a connection between our species.

As I continued to observe this phenomena I looked more around the waterfront and could not help but notice the scum on the water's surface undoubtedly consisting of once airborne particulates, spilled hydrocarbons and oily bilge discharge. Along with a couple of plastic bags and disposable coffee cups, this made for a not very nice place for marine critters to hang out.

Why the heck as humans, when many of us love and respect wild creatures, we just don't get it when it comes to looking after their (and our) habitat? Why don't folks understand that as long as we pour, spill and throw our waste into the waters (accidentally or otherwise) we will continue to degrade the very home of the critters that give us so much joy. I guess it gets much more complex than that when we start to look at the waste created by the production and transport of everything we buy and every thing we do, but as a start we should at least look at our direct discharges to our beautiful waters!

The show was fantastic and the highlight for many was when a Pelagic Cormorant entered stage right just as Antony died in Cleopatra's arms. The bewildered bird flapped and flopped around in front of the audience as Cleopatra embraced it's appearance and somehow made it part of the show! The bird exited stage right as if on cue!

Next day we dodged the myriad of shipping in English Bay before setting course for Silva Bay. With once again a beautiful breeze we enjoyed yet another crossing of this wonderful body of water. Just outside of our home port we were treated to visit of 50+ Pacific White Sided Dolphins who rode our bow wave and cavorted around us for some time before continuing their journey north. We really do live in a most magnificent part of the world and we need to look after it.

The Dying Clam Gardens of Waiatt Bay

For thousands of years, First Nations have relied upon the traditional clam gardens of Waiatt Bay, which contains 40 culturally modified clam beds. In the last few years we've been hearing reports that the clam gardens are dying, so we decided to go see for ourselves. Waiatt Bay is of particular interest as it is in the middle of the Wild Salmon Narrows.  

As we entered Waiatt Bay on the east side of Quadra Island, clam gardens were evident  in every nook and cranny possible, where for thousands of years First Nations worked these sea gardens by rolling the large rocks down to the low tide line in order to improve the habitat for the clams and cockles they harvest. Immediately upon setting foot on shore, the elders went to work digging clams, as their ancestors before them…and hopefully their children after them!  

We took a look at several of the clam gardens, and at first glance the clams seemed healthy. However the beaches were full of whole empty shells, which suggests many had died fairly recently. Butter clams seemed to be most affected, while the deeper little necks appeared fine. 

The elders slowly filled a few buckets until it was time to head back. The clams collected appeared to be healthy and although the abundance of clams at all the sites we visited was greatly reduced from historical levels, they were able to collect enough to look forward to a good clam dinner. As former Homalco Chief Darren Blaney began opening the butter clams harvested on the apparently healthy beaches, he found them all inedible. The clams were not good at all; rather than a nice healthy pink, they were blackened and sickly looking inside.

It’s not clear why these clam gardens are dying, but the Cyrus Rocks open net-cage fish farm only 1.5 km from the mouth of the bay is a prime suspect. This is the same type of impact being witnessed on beaches near fish farms in the Broughton Archipelago. While we await the results of a study being conducted there, perhaps we should be looking more closely at the beaches near the farms in this area as well. 

Learn more about Waiatt Bay, the Wild Salmon Narrows, and the Cyrus Rocks fish farm.