NZ KW

- Courious killer whale investigate snorkelers.

- Killer whales understand the behavioural consequences of sharks.

A Star is Born!

polaris

Southern resident killer whale Star/J46 was born to 16 year old Polaris/J28 on November 11th. Five babies have been born to this population this year L112, L113, J45, J44, and J46 with zero losses, good news for this Endangered species of now 87 members. Gestation takes 17 months and calves are often born in the fall and winter due to a spring and summer mating season. A firstborn calf can be stillborn due to the toxic offload of PCBs and fire retardants from their mothers, succinct offspring have a better chance at survival. Polaris' mother J17 has the newborn J45 and will assist in the raising of Star.

Polaris J28 female b.1977

cwr
5 calves
tc

New killer whale photo-ID catalog

It is the first photo-identification catalog of tropical pelagic killer whales. 195 individual killer were identified in the eastern tropical Pacific between 1986 and 2006. The catalog yields information on the geographic movement and external morphology of this little known population of killer whales.

Catalog Link

Shell offshore oil drilling in the Arctic

Conservation groups based in Alaska have accused the Obama administration of repeating the mistakes of George Bush after it gave the conditional go-ahead for Shell to begin drilling offshore for oil and natural gas in the environmentally sensitive Beaufort Sea.

Offshore Killer Whale Consultations

In April 2009, COSEWIC re-assessed the status of the Offshore Killer Whale, changing it from special concern to threatened; it will now enter the legal listing process for potentially changing its status under SARA. At this stage, it is important for the public to learn more about the species being considered for re-listing, and to provide input before a decision is finalized.

Survey

Offshores

A12 & A36 Boys

Proposed Offshore Killer Whale Management Plan

The offshore killer whale is a marine mammal and is under the responsibility of the federal government. The Species at Risk Act (SARA, Section 65) requires the competent minister to prepare management plans for species listed as special concern. The offshore killer whale was listed as a species of special concern under SARA in 2003. The development of this management plan was led by Fisheries and Oceans Canada – Pacific Region, in cooperation and consultation with many individuals, organizations and government agencies, as indicated below. The plan meets SARA requirements in terms of content and process (SARA sections 65-68). Success in the conservation of this species depends on the commitment and cooperation of many different constituencies that will be involved in implementing the directions set out in this plan and will not be achieved by Fisheries and Oceans Canada or any other party alone. This plan provides advice to jurisdictions and organizations that may be involved or wish to become involved in activities to conserve this species. In the spirit of the Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans invites all responsible jurisdictions and Canadians to join Fisheries and Oceans Canada in supporting and implementing this plan for the benefit of the offshore killer whale and Canadian society as a whole. The Minister will report on progress within five years.

Link - Offshore Recovery Plan

Bere Point Eagles

The bald eagle historically ranged throughout North America and are now only found in Alaska, Canada, Florida, and the Northwest America. The bald eagle mates for life and breeds in old growth forests. During the winter these animals disperse inland to forage in rivers upon salmon. The Bald Eagle has a maximum 8-foot wingspan. Bald eagles are piebald animals, lacking pigment, resulting in a white head and tail feathers. Their beak, feet, and irises are yellow, legs are not feathered and they have short powerful toes with long talons. The front 2-hold their prey and the 3rd hind toe has the largest talon used for piercing. The body of the bald eagle is black and juveniles are brown, mottled with white.





Threats to the eagle include noise pollution, industrial contaminates (decreasing egg shell thickness), decreased food availability, and habitat destruction. Encroaching civilization decreases these bird populations. Land development and logging also threaten the survival of salmon streams, a major food source for both birds and humans. Maintaining healthy green spaces near coastal habitats can protect these species. Using organic, biodegradable products, recycling, and decreasing our carbon footprint can all decease pollutants, thereby producing a cleaner, healthier, and more productive environment.

the gods

BC Summer Resident Humpback Whales

mother




calf

Proposed Vessel Regulations for Killer Whales

As part of the recovery program for endangered Southern Resident killer whales, NOAA Fisheries Service is proposing new rules for vessel traffic aimed at further protecting the whales in navigable waters of Washington State. The proposed rules would prohibit vessels from approaching any killer whale closer than 200 yards and forbid vessels from intercepting or parking in the path of a whale. In addition, the proposed regulations would set up a half-mile-wide no-go zone along the west side of San Juan Island from May 1 through the end of September, where generally no vessels would be allowed. There would be exemptions to the rules for some vessels, including those actively fishing commercially, cargo vessels traveling in established shipping lanes, and government and research vessels. The no-go zone would also have exemptions for treaty Indian fishing vessels, and limited exceptions for land owners accessing private property adjacent to it. The news release, proposed rule, draft environmental assessment, and other supporting documents are available, along with instructions for submitting comments. There is a 90 day public comment period and we will hold public hearings Sept. 30 in Seattle, and Oct. 5 in Friday Harbor to provide additional information on the proposed rule. Thank you for your interest.

Sonar-induced temporary hearing loss in dolphins

T. Aran Mooney, Paul E. Nachtigall1, and Stephanie Vlachos

There is increasing concern that human-produced ocean noise is adversely affecting marine mammals, as several recent cetacean mass strandings may have been caused by animals' interactions with naval ‘mid-frequency’ sonar. However, it has yet to be empirically demonstrated how sonar could induce these strandings or cause physiological effects. In controlled experimental studies, we show that mid-frequency sonar can induce temporary hearing loss in a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). Mild-behavioural alterations were also associated with the exposures. The auditory effects were induced only by repeated exposures to intense sonar pings with total sound exposure levels of 214 dB re: 1 μPa2  s. Data support an increasing energy model to predict temporary noise-induced hearing loss and indicate that odontocete noise exposure effects bear trends similar to terrestrial mammals. Thus, sonar can induce physiological and behavioural effects in at least one species of odontocete; however, exposures must be of prolonged, high sound exposures levels to generate these effects.

IWC 2009

Hi everyone,

Here is a story about the last day of this year's IWC meeting. Please use it in any way you may wish. It will be posted on our web site (www.orcalab.org) soon, along with some photos.

IWC 2009 June 23

Greenland humpbacks: to kill or not

The morning session of IWC 61 (’09) Day Two was taken up by discussion of the “future” of the IWC, and the need to continue Chairman Hogarth’s efforts to resolve the deadlock that has arisen in negotiations, i.e. the failure of wishful thinking. The meeting was presented with a draft document titled “Consensus resolution on the extension of Small Working Group on the Future of the IWC until the 62nd Annual Meeting of the Commission” and asked to approve it. Getting the issue softly out of the way would have allowed the meeting to move on to other matters, and apparently this is what Chairman Hogarth expected to happen. After all, he had virtually been assured of consensus agreement at a private (read secret) Commissioners-only meeting on Sunday. Possibly some delegates weren’t paying attention, or else second thoughts had occurred in the interim, because many voices suddenly wanted to be heard. Predictable positions emerged as plainly as ever, making it quite clear that consensus was absent in the room. India contributed its belief that the 21st century should be dedicated to the recovery of whale populations after centuries of exploitation, a sentiment shared by many. Sadly and ominously, a dour note was sounded when a proposal to delete the reference to “a strong belief in maintaining healthy populations of whales and especially in the restoration of severely reduced populations” from the resolution. If not this, what, opined one observer, is the IWC about? Fortunately, Russia provided a light moment, amiably describing the establishment of a small smoking group with some Pacific Islanders, with the intention of studying the effects of the rain on this activity.

After lunch, things became far darker. The agenda item was the report of the Aboriginal Subsistence sub-committee, but the meat of the afternoon session was in Greenland’s request to add the deaths of 10 humpback whales to the long list of cetaceans if kills annually to feed its people, and incidentally create profits for supermarket retailers and whale product wholesalers. Yes, Greenland’s aboriginal whalers are partly commercial whalers. Aboriginal subsistence needs are generally regarded sympathetically by IWC members, but humpbacks have been a much beloved iconic species for decades. Virtually anyone, including Greenlanders, who propose making humpbacks gush their life’s blood as they experience agonizing death, can expect opposition. This must have been Greenland’s expectation, because until last night, during a fun-filled reception hosted by Madeira’s government, no one (apart from the proponents) knew what was about to happen. Greenland had submitted its proposal to the Secretariat at the last possible moment yesterday, and it had not been reviewed, as is customary, by the Aboriginal Subsistence sub-committee.

Last year, when Greenland (Denmark) proposed killing humpbacks, the IWC refused permission. This time round, though the proposal is the same, i.e. 10 humpbacks to be killed each year, the outcome is far less clear. The problem lies in the decision by the group of IWC members who belong to the European Union. Even though the EU is not a member of the IWC, the group of 24 EU countries that are members decided to vote as a bloc before this year’s meeting started. Suddenly, they are immersed in a nightmare. One of them, Denmark, is the proposer; others (e.g. Sweden) want EU members to abstain, knowing perfectly well that if they do so, Greenland’s wish will be granted. Getting consensus about a common position among the EU members in this room suddenly looks about as likely as Chairman Hogarth’s prospects for getting consensus about the future direction this chaotic organization will go in.

Tomorrow, the NGOs will have a chance to speak, 3 on each side of the barrier, for 5 minutes each. Perhaps rays of light, or pearls of wisdom will descend on this room under the volcanoe. We can only hope.

With thanks to WDCS bloggers



IWC 2009 June 24, 2009

On the edge

It became clear today that this 61st meeting of the IWC has only one substantive item on its agenda, Greenland’s attempt to obtain the Commission’s approval for killing humpback whales. Just before the afternoon session closed (it was running an hour late) Denmark announced that its request on behalf of Greenland was being reduced from 10 humpbacks per year for 3 years, to 10 humpbacks for “just” one year. Denmark seemed very pleased with the change, and expressed confidence that consensus would now occur. Possibly wanting to avoid an open dog fight, Chairman Hogarth put off debate until tomorrow morning, urging delegates to talk about it over night, and enjoy the wine at the NGO reception, being careful not to get lost on the way home. It’s not difficult to see what’s afoot here. Reliable sources say that the US has been strong arming (or charming) delegates all day, no doubt at the behest of Chairman Hogarth, who is also the head of the US delegation, telling (or asking) them to agree to Greenland’s modest proposal when it comes to the floor tomorrow morning. There seems to be a vague if not explicit threat in the message, i.e. that unless Greenland (read, whalers, aboriginal or not) gets its way, the delicate state of “future” negotiations could be in jeopardy. Well. In the first instance, everyone knows that once Greenland’s toe is in the door, the door will remain open; and beyond that, the floodgates that hide the “cultural” coastal whaling that Chairman Hogarth dreams of solving the entire IWC puzzle stand ready.

The tactics being employed are a combination of stealth and brute (or subtle) force. As noted yesterday, Denmark waited until the last possible moment to submit its resolution, and it didn’t give the Aboriginal Whaling sub-committee any clues, so the plot wasn’t even visible to most delegates until they came into the room yesterday. Just the same, wily pro-whale NGO’s, accustomed to the underhanded ways of its opposition, were ready, and immediately set about changing minds and (possible) votes. Recognising that US policy is in flux, and that President Obama has promised to base decisions on science, WDCS set up a page on its web site aimed at flooding the White House with ‘save Greenland humpbacks’ messages, hoping the US delegation would receive orders from Washington to back off. We’ll see what tomorrow brings; in the meantime, Greenland humpbacks stand at a (flensing) knife’s edge.

Speaking of NGOs, the highlight of this day occurred early on, when 6 NGOs, 3 on each side representing their respective communities, spoke to the assembled delegates. The pro-whaling speeches, from indigenous and commercial whalers, were full of heart, need, and fear. It was impossible to resist the charm of a Maori blessing, and the urgency of a Chukotka plea for understanding; nor was it easy to evade the concern felt by whalers’ families as their loved ones headed into Antarctic waters inhabited by fearsome enemies. But the combination of history, knowledge, science, logic and heartfelt concern for the dangers the oceans, the whales and our world are facing now that was provided by the pro-whale NGOs, though understated in tone, was forceful and utterly convincing. Dr. Sidney Holt, who has certainly been involved in the whaling debate far longer than anyone else in the room, announced his conclusion that the only possible way “forward” is to phase out and close down commercial and “scientific” whaling, forever. No more moratoriums or limited opportunities, just stop, period, and within 3 years of the decision being made. Given that Dr. Holt had been an ardent advocate of setting in place a system that would provide limited opportunity for whaling, while protecting vulnerable whale populations, his view provided a clean and welcome counterpoint to the messy manipulations of Chairman Hogarth. Should it be accepted, it would enable “us” to get on with what is critically important, saving endangered oceans and our precious planet.

It is interesting to note things that get the room going, united or divided. Whale watching is one such issue. It is enthusiastically endorsed by numerous IWC members, including former whaling nations who sing its praises. By one account, it is now a 2 billion dollar industry, a sum close enough to bank bailout numbers to raise interest among even die hard holdouts who cling to the belief that the only sustainable “use” whales of lies in their dead bodies. For a while this morning, it seemed possible that complaints about the benefits of whale watching flowing only to rich countries might translate into an initiative, suggested by Monaco & others, that might see whale watching know-how transferred to poorer nations which would directly benefit (and which Japan finds easy to persuade). It hasn’t happened yet, but perhaps a seed has been planted. The one thing that rocked the room and rolled everyone into the same corner, scrambling to be heard, was the issue of safety at sea, which translates into the issue of Sea Shepherd’s anti-whaling activism in the Antarctic. A video shot from the mast of a Japanese whaler, accompanied by panicky shouts from the crew, was universally accepted as evidence of blatant aggression, which soon became evidence of piracy equivalent to that now happening off Somalia; and the utter gall of the pirates’ leader, observed lounging by the pool in the hotel next door, was beyond belief. It took an hour before the steam was spent, and though in the end it was acknowledged that after 30 years of outrage, Paul Watson would probably be back for more, it was also acknowledged that the IWC was probably powerless to prevent him from returning to the Antarctic.

And so the show goes on. Surprisingly, tomorrow will probably be the last day. This belief, encouraged by Chairman Hogarth, does however rely on his expectation that consensus will occur around Greenland’s humpback goal. If he is wrong, the road ahead to the end of this meeting could be long.



IWC 2009 June 26, 2009

So the band plays on

This 61st meeting of the International Whaling Commission began with a wonderful medley from Madeira’s Mandolin Orchestra, the oldest such in Europe. It brought back memories of a former time when families sat around the radio, imagining themselves stepping off a train into a crowded street where music played and people danced in each others arms, waltzing, round and round. What primal pleasure it evoked, entrancing the room. If only the mood had remained. Chairman Hogarth, to his credit, was choked and practically in tears at the end when he said farewell, telling everyone “I consider y’all my family” as he handed the baton on to Chile’s Commissioner, confessing that he didn’t know whether to sing or dance, and wishing him and everyone luck in the task ahead. Sadly, he forgot to mention that the task ahead is precisely that which he had in front of him when his tenure began 3 years ago; with one foot mired in mud and the other stepping onto quicksand. No-one could doubt the sincerity of Chairman Hogarth’s intentions, or his gratitude for being allowed to hold onto his job when the new US Administration took over, but the simple truth is, like so much else that came with the Bush era, and despite the standing ovation that accompanied his exit, he failed.

The morning of the last day of this shortened week provided a perfect example of the delusional state Chairman Hogarth has been in. Last night, as you’ll recall, he ducked debate over Denmark’s modified proposal to kill humpback whales, deferring the issue until today in the belief that he could wrangle consensus in a private Commissioners-only meeting first thing this morning. Not a chance. The only thing that came out of the secret confab was a decision to tell the Secretariat to spend at least £60,000 on an intercessional meeting, to be held somewhere (Santiago, it turns out) before the start of Greenland’s next harpoon season, to settle that sole issue. The £60k is just the cost to the Secretariat, and you’d have to calculate the cost of bringing representatives from scores of countries scattered around the world to Chile (because just about everyone will want to be there) to come close to the cash that will be squandered on what is quite possibly going to be a fruitless exercise. And to get anywhere near the real cost, you’d have to add in the carbon footprint, certainly huge, that will nudge the jewel that is this planet we inhabit, in the direction of Mars. As Chairman Hogarth himself might have said, it’s enough to make a grown man cry.

So all we have from this annual exercise in futility is a vague promise to keep holding hands as we wend our way towards a Shangri-la that lies in the distance as ephemeral as a desert mirage, a perfect conclusion perhaps, to a forced vacation in paradise. After all, the next stop is Morocco. As the Russian Commissioner remarked, there at least, we’ll get to see Casablanca (quite possibly humming “as time goes by”.

None of this is to say that there are not encouraging signs popping up here and there amidst the debris. Climate change is now a big deal in deliberations of the Scientific Committee, and is increasingly mentioned in debates on the floor. Moreover, the initiative of Australia to undertake a systematic programme of non-lethal research in the southern oceans, is not only endorsed by the “like-minded” community of nations, it has stated goals that have the blessing, without dissent, of the Scientific Committee. These developments clearly represent a significant step forward. Australia, bless her, is clearly willing to back the intent (to show there is a different way to do whale science than counting bodies) with serious funding. Two major research cruises, in collaboration with New Zealand and other partners are already planned for this year, and more will follow. A new path is being opened, and (dare one say it) through that path a way to the future may be found.

As Chairman Hogarth said in his last words to this fractious and fragmented body, there’s hope, hope, hope.

The live stream has ended, but you can get more information about this year's meeting from:
http://www2.wdcs.org/blog/
http://www.earthisland.org/marinemammal/index.php/eco2009

As ever, this comes with our best wishes to you all,

Paul & Helena

BC Resident Grey Whales and Sea Otters

The following photos were taken near Flores Island, Clayoquot Sound on May 13, 2009. We encountered the same whale on two different occasions and is easily recognized by the local tour boat captains as a regular summer resident grey whale though its light coloured head and unique markings. There were other grey whales in the large outer swells and foraging in the bays off the west coast of the island but this individual seemed to prefer the more sheltered east and south sides that day.

1st Encounter (11:56)




2nd Encounter (17:06)





Sea otters were spotted near the area and are a successful 1960s translocation experiment from the Aleutian Islands after being hunted to extinction in British Columbia during the fur trade 1700-1800s. In 1911, an international treaty protected the sea otters allowing existing populations in Alaska to grow.

1st Otter

2nd Otter



Fish farms and active heli-logging were present in Clayoquot Sound.

Robson Bight salvage set to begin

At long last, the salvage of the diesel fuel tanker that fell to the bottom of Robson Bight, on August 20th 2007 is set to begin. A barge laden with salvage equipment is anchored over the site, and a 30 person crew from Mammoet Salvage, a Dutch company, and Seattle based Global Diving & Salvage, has been busily getting everything ready for the operation over the past few days. Local First Nations and NGOs are also involved, helping to monitor the sensitive environment surrounding the Ecological Reserve that was created in 1982 to protect vital orca habitat. The salvage will probably begin tomorrow (May 13th). Giant anchors have already been deployed to keep the barge in place. Today, a small remotely operated vehicle (ROV) equipped with cameras is inspecting the underwater site. Hopefully, this inspection will ensure that the tanker truck and other debris are located exactly where they were when last seen in December 2007.



Hopefully, too, the inspection will determine that the condition of the diesel tanker truck has not deteriorated to the point where it will break apart when moved. To help avoid the possibility of a spill of diesel oil during the tricky lifting part of the operation, a metal box (yellow in the photo at http://www.orcalab.org) will first be lowered over the tanker truck, which will then be secured inside the box. A huge crane on the barge will lift the box and its deadly cargo to the surface. When the load reaches 10m below the surface, divers will inspect the box and tanker, to determine whether any diesel has leaked during the lift. If there are no leaks, the box and tanker will be hoisted onto the deck of the barge. At that point, the diesel will be pumped out of the fuel tanker into another storage tank, and everyone involved will breathe a collective sigh of relief. Weather permitting; the job of lifting will start tomorrow, beginning with a container filled with dozens of pails of hydraulic oil. If all goes well with this initial lift, the fuel truck will be hoisted to the surface the following day (Thursday) or perhaps a day later. On the surface at least, the plan is a sound one, though the operation is still complicated and unknowns may lie in the way. To guard against the possibility of an inadvertent spill of oil, booms will be deployed around the site. Everyone involved hopes they won’t be needed, and that the weather cooperates. We will let you know what happens once the salvage operation is completed. In the meanwhile, our fingers are crossed.

As ever, this comes with our best wishes to you all, Paul & Helena

Grey Whale - Ship Strikes

Preliminary findings were that the 41.5' adult male
Gray whale had good body condition and had a stomach full of food (ghost shrimp and other inverebrates from a quick glance). Evidence of bruising and internal bleeding lead biologists to believe this whale likely died from blunt force trauma, such as a large ship strike.

Cascadia Research will be providing a summary of their findings on both this whale and the whale necropsied Tuesday near Birch Bay, WA which we will post in our next whale report.

Healthy Oceans

A credible, long-term plan for any ocean region must include an increase in protected areas where specific types of industrial activity are limited. Canada has the longest coastline of any nation on Earth, and 40 per cent of our jurisdictional area is ocean, yet the federal government has set aside less than one per cent of that as marine protected areas. - Dr. David Suzuki

Healthy Oceans

Navy Submarine Sonar

This file is edited from the Navy SONAR recorded yesterday by John Boyd through the Whale Museum Lime Kiln hydrophone. The sonar had a fundamental frequency of 3.8Khz with harmonics up to 15Khz. The fundamental frequencies of killer whale calls range from 300Hz to 6 kHz. Killer whales respond to tones within the frequency range of about 0.5 to 125 kHz. Peak hearing sensitivity for killer whales is about 20 kHz and their sensitivity declines gradually above and below 20 kHz. Dr. Val Veirs of Beam Reach reported that the SONAR source level was in the range 175 dB to 225 dB re 1 microPa@1m.

Transient T44 found dead

John Ford of Canada's DFO reported the sad news that 31 year old male Transient T44 had been found dead near Port Hardy, BC. T44 and his family, the T41's have been sighted and reported regularly to Orca Network, and T44 was one of those easy to recognize whales with his large fin with a nick in it.




A couple of days ago, the MacKays were told of a sighting of a dead orca floating near Hope Island (near Port Hardy). The DFO was alerted and with the help of a Coast Guard boat, that was in the vicinity, the whale was secured. DFO was able to identify the 31 year old transient male as T44. A necropsy will be performed in the next day or so. Finding a whale, soon after death, is a very rare occurrence and presents an opportunity to gain valuable knowledge.
Helena Symonds, Orcalab

Sea Shepherd Society

Help Protect Wild Salmon

Help Alexandra Morton in the fight to protect our wild salmon stocks from fish farms by signing the petition.

Help Protect Canada's Oceans

Our oceans need protection, action to protect them delays, as threats increase.

sign government petition here

Killer Whale Protection

Feds boost protection for killer whales after being sued

The federal government is making it illegal to damage the habitat of critically endangered killer whales off the coast of B.C. — and a coalition of environmental groups is taking credit. The government issued an order under the Species at Risk Act this week that legally protects the areas where northeast Pacific northern and southern resident populations of killer whales live. It also enhances the government's ability conduct inspections and investigations and fine parties who damage those areas, although it does not include specifics about what would constitute damage. A coalition of environmental groups says a lawsuit they launched in October, which alleges the government failed to protect killer whales' habitat as required by law, prompted the government to issue the order on Monday. Jay Ritchlin, director of marine and freshwater conservation at the David Suzuki Foundation, one of the groups involved in the case, said he is glad the federal government has now decided to take this step. "And we're looking forward to a time when they do so without having to be sued first," he said in a statement. The order is the first ever made under the 2004 Species at Risk Act. It came after the government stated in September that it would rely on existing legislation to protect the killer whales. That prompted nine environmental groups represented by Lara Tessaro, a lawyer with the environmental law group Ecojustice Canada, to file the lawsuit against the government.

Review prompted order: official

Pardeep Ahluwalia, director general of the species at risk management program at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, said government has reviewed the killer whale protection policy it issued in the fall, taking into account comments from stakeholders, including environmental groups. "We thought we could do better and so the protection order that we published this week was in response to our review," Ahluwalia said. "It's hard to say whether or not that [lawsuit] influenced our decision." Such reviews are standard when the government is working with new legislation such as the Species at Risk Act, he said. According to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans resident killer whale recovery team, the animals are threatened by declining salmon stocks, increased boat traffic, toxic contamination, and loud underwater noises from dredging. Recent counts show 85 individuals remain in the southern population and around 245 in the northern population.

The nine groups involved in the lawsuit are:

* Dogwood Initiative.
* Environmental Defence.
* David Suzuki Foundation.
* Raincoast Conservation Society.
* Sierra Club BC.
* International Fund for Animal Welfare.
* Greenpeace.
* Georgia Strait Alliance.
* Wilderness Committee.

Tessaro said Wednesday that while she is pleased with the government's order, she won't immediately drop the lawsuit. She wants to see the final, more detailed version of the order that is to be published in the Canada Gazette on March 4 and then consult with her clients before taking that step. "I'm quite sure that this lawsuit is what forced DFO to issue this order," she said. Environmental groups are now hoping the government is serious about enforcing the new protection for killer whales and will follow up with similar orders for other endangered species, Tessaro said. "What this means for the whales is that no longer is their survival and recovery going to be dependent on old laws like the Fisheries Act or unenforceable policies," she said. "Endangered species in Canada are endangered because their habitat is being degraded. Orders protecting their habitat are fundamental if we're going to ensure that these species survive and recover."

Faith - L57

Faith has been determined as missing by the Center for Whale Research. A recent CWR superpod encounter near Victoria revealed the 31 year old adult male missing and two new babies one in L and J pods each bringing the total for the population to 85 whales. This population is usually off Monteray Bay, CA, at this time of year. Faith is the last member of the L45 matriline. His mother L45 died in 1995 at the age of 57 years old. Faith was her only surviving offspring, his sibling L36 was born two years earlier but died later that same year in 1975. Faith's uncle died, at the age of 19, the same year L57 was born in 1977. The average life span for male resident killer whales is 29 years of age, but they can live longer. Ruffles is the oldest living male southern resident at 58 years of age.

Faith on the left (Haro Striat superpod,12:09 August 27, 2006)

Faith (L&J pods at San Juan Island, 12:35 June 23,2006)

Ocean Noise 2008 Science

Behavioral impacts clearly replaced strandings and deaths as the key issue for marine mammals encountering human noise. Several studies released during 2008 all suggest that whales of many species may stop or reduce their feeding when moderate to loud human sounds enter their habitat, and this particular impact is likely to become a central focus of future research and regulatory consideration.

The legal tussles over mid-frequency and low-frequency active sonars continued, and the Supreme Court decision does not put an end to the controversy. The Navy crossed an important threshold, completing full Environmental Impact Statements for their sonar training procedures for the first time; the lack of sufficient NEPA analysis was the root of most of the legal challenges. The plans they are putting forward to govern sonar training off most of the US coastline continue to rely on safety measures that Federal Courts have found wanting, though it appears that challenges to their proposals are more likely to focus on avoiding biologically important areas than increasing the safety zones that are designed to avoid injury. All parties seem to be accepting that gross injury is rare to the point of being difficult to use as a lever to shift the balance of interests with the Navy’s national security imperative, but NGOs, many field researchers, and agency staff are all looking more closely at the behavioral impacts that take place at much longer ranges (up to several or even tens of kilometers). The next round of Navy sonar conflicts will center on how willing the Navy is to consider these subtler impacts, and whether NMFS or the courts will impose broader territorial restrictions on sonar training to protect areas where whales may be more susceptible to repeated disruption by sonar transmissions.

Shipping noise is moving very quickly to the forefront of international concerns about rising ocean noise. This year the US, with strong German support, initiated a two-year process at the International Maritime Organization to come up with ship quieting recommendations. Also, the unusual sensitivity of harbor porpoises to boat noise has become clearer.

PDF

Acoustic Ecology Institute

January Sunsets

Dolphins, whales lack protection from fishing

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Bush administration has failed to provide protections required by law to more than a dozen marine mammals potentially at risk of death or injury due to commercial fishing, congressional investigators said Wednesday.

The report by the Government Accountability Office assessed the National Marine Fisheries Service, which identifies potentially endangered animals such as whales and dolphins that can become entangled in fishing gear or lobster traps. It found that out of 30 marine mammals deserving protection under federal guidelines, the agency had failed to set up teams of experts to provide protection for 14 of them.

According to the GAO, the fisheries service was generally aware it needed to take protective measures for the additional mammals, which included the Hawaiian stock of false killer whales and the Central North Pacific stock of humpback whales. But it had not done so because officials said they either had faulty data and lacked money to obtain better information, or believed factors other than commercial fishing were to blame.

The GAO also said the fisheries service generally lacked a "comprehensive strategy" for assessing the effectiveness of its animal protection measures and often missed deadlines to set up teams and devise safety plans.

The report urged Congress to have the fisheries service report on any data limitations. Lawmakers should also consider steps to ensure the agency complies with federal law, it said.

The fisheries service "faces a very large, complex and difficult task in trying to protect marine mammals from incidental mortality and serious injury during the course of commercial fishing operations," investigators wrote.

The GAO report comes a day after President George W. Bush designated what he called "three beautiful and biologically diverse areas of the Pacific Ocean" as national marine monuments in what was the largest marine conservation effort in history. Bush used his announcement to broadly defend his environmental record.

"For an administration that is desperately trying to create a legacy of ocean stewardship before leaving office, it is disappointing to hear that they have dropped the ball on reducing incidental deaths of mammals due to commercial fishing," said Rep. Nick J. Rahall, D-W.Va. He is chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, which requested the GAO report.

Associated Press

Copy of GAO
report

Puget Sound Researchers Find Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria in Orcas

Puget Sound's orcas collectively harbor more than a dozen different kinds of antibiotic-resistant bacteria — as well as other bacteria known to kill animals that are in a weakened condition, according to Puget Sound researchers. Independent researchers David Bain, a biologist, and Pete Schroeder, a veterinarian, have been studying the droplets emitted from Puget Sound whales' blow holes and culturing the samples. Their research, discussed this week at a meeting about recent orca deaths, found at least two groups of bacteria known to cause death in immune-compromised individuals. The findings add to other studies that show the orcas, possibly weakened by toxic chemicals in their environment and a salmon shortage, could be wiped out in a catastrophic event — such as an oil spill or disease. Some say a loss of a third or more of the 83 orcas alive today could trigger a death spiral for the entire population. And it's not just the whales that are at risk. "If these things are getting into whales, then they could be getting into swimmers at the beach," Bain said. Because some bacteria show resistance to antibiotics, it is likely that they are coming from human sources, possibly stormwater or improperly treated sewage. Another concern is that a disease could get into animals on land and spread to Puget Sound. "We don't have an effective barrier to keep it out of the marine environment," Bain said. "It is possible that someone could bring a disease from another continent and expose the whales, causing a significant decline in their population.

For example, a fungus called cryptococcus gattii has been implicated in the deaths of dozens of harbor porpoises in the Northwest, he said. That same fungus has resulted in the deaths of numerous pets and serious illness for humans. Some researchers believe the fungus was brought to British Columbia in a eucalyptus tree from Australia, where the fungus is native. Spores may have washed into stormwater flowing into the Georgia Basin, which connects with Puget Sound. Nobody can say whether the seven deaths of orcas this year were connected to cryptococcus or any other organism, because none of the carcasses were found. Researchers did obtain a blubber sample of one emaciated whale that later disappeared. They are waiting for test results to see if a cause of death can be determined. "One thing we want to learn," said Bain, "is whether there is a correlation between the number of species (of bacteria) and the mortality rates of the whales," he said. In other words, are the individuals with a greater bacterial load at greater risk of getting sick and dying? Schroeder, a marine mammal veterinarian, said two groups of bacteria found by the researchers are of great concern. They are the Vibrios and Claustridiums, which are known to cause death in immune-compromised individuals. "The same biological rule holds true in people and in animals," he said. "You can carry these pathogens around, but they have to get into your system through an open wound. Even then, you might fight them off if your immune system is in good shape." One concern for the orcas, however, is that they contain some of the greatest concentrations of toxic chemicals of any marine mammals in the world. The chemicals include polychlorinated biphenyls, believed to impair the immune system. Another factor that could weaken the whales is a shortage of salmon, which can cause them to use up their fat reserves in search of food. Lack of salmon has been mentioned frequently as a likely factor in the seven recent deaths. Bain, Schroeder and their colleagues in British Columbia have not found major changes in the bacteria they discovered during their three-year study of the Puget Sound whales, known as Southern Residents.

They would like to continue the research, which is funded by the National Marine Fisheries Service, and include Northern Residents, a related group of orcas in British Columbia. Schroeder said the bacterial counts in water and orcas could become an important indicator of ecosystem health. One reason he and Bain have begun talking about their unpublished research is to get the attention of the Puget Sound Partnership, which is putting together an Action Agenda for restoring Puget Sound. "My standpoint as a veterinarian is that I want to find out if we can prevent these animals from becoming ill," Schroeder said. "If we identify enough of these antibiotic-resistant bacteria, we can start source studies." Tracking the bacteria to their sources — possibly sewage-treatment plants, boat discharges and urban stormwater — could be the key to reducing the orca's exposure to the dangerous pathogens, Schroeder said. Sewage from the city of Victoria is released practically untreated into waters not far from where the whales spend much of their summers. "That," said Schroeder, "is the elephant in the room." Treating the whales for illness is beyond the realm of current research. Schroeder has worked with whales and dolphins in captivity where blood tests reveal the health of an individual. In wild "herd animals," such as orcas, signs of illness may go unrecognized until an individual is so ill that it drops out of its group. If a wild whale could be diagnosed in time, Bain said it could open the door to using the appropriate antibiotics to treat the disease and reduce the risk of wiping out the entire population. That level of manipulation is sure to generate controversy. But knowing that the orcas are surrounded by unnatural bacteria, as well as a variety of man-made chemicals, could change management goals for saving the whales.

source - Kipsap Sun

Help stop the expansion of unsustainable salmon-farming practices in B.C.

photo - Rachael Griffin

Click Here - to Help stop the expansion of unsustainable salmon-farming practices in B.C.


photo - Rachael Griffin

BC: Save Wild Salmon, Save Orcas

Now Public

Anemones

IMGP3499, originally uploaded by Aqua Green.

Arbutus Bay

Bald Eagle & Blue Heron

83 Southern Residents

photo - L67/Splash by Rachael Griffin

There were seven losses to the southern resident killer whale community of BC this year leaving a total of 83 animals. Those lost include Splash/L67 (23 year old), Luna's mom and little brother Aurora/L101 (6 years old). Lummi/K7 was the oldest female (98 years old) of the population and was noted missing at the beginning of the season. Ankh/L21 a 58 year old female is among the missing and Blosson/J11 a 36 year old female. The calf born in June this year K42 is still surviving however the other calf born this year in August L111 is missing as is J43 a calf born last year. This is very discouraging as the community is endangered and many of the whales are looking like they are malnourished showing a distinctive 'peanut head' when starved apparently due to low Chinook fish stocks.

photo - L67/Splash by Rachael Griffin

Sombrio Beach Grey Whales

Two grey whales were feeding near Sombrio Beach during our stay from August 29 to September 2, 2008.

New calf in L pod!

photo - L7/Canuck - L pod member

New L pod calf L111, discovered on August 12, 2008, born to L47. Researchers photographed fetal folds indicating a very recent birth. L47 was witnessed on August 11th without a calf further indicating a birth date of August 12th. This is the sixth calf for L47, L111 joins sisters L91/Muncher and L83/Moonlight who had her own son this time last year, L110. Last year L pod had 43 members, the Center for Whale Research (CRW) has yet to officially confirm two missing members making this a very important birth for L pod.

CWR photos

See and Hear Orcas!

You can hear the underwater calls of the same killer whales you view remotely on the live OrcaCam!

Orca Cam

Orca Sounds - click on "Listen to OrcaSound on San Juan Island"

K7 - Lummi - presumed dead

K7, known as Lummi, the oldest whale in the southern resident killer whale community is presumed to have died since she has not returned to her summer home this year. She was estimated to be born in 1910 making her the age of 98 this year. She gave birth to three whales in her life time, two males and one female. The sons of Lummi are no longer alive, K1 was born in 1955 and died in 1997, K2 was born in 1953 and died in 1974. In 1933 Lummi gave birth to a female K11 who is still alive with one offspring, three grand children and two great grand children.

Center for Whale Research

Save the Streams - Brochure

Ocean Society Needs a Zodiac

SRKW Call Catalouge - updated

IWC

More than 500 people from 76 countries attended the 60th annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in Santiago, Chile. Of these, 316 were members of delegations, 161 were observers and 103 were media representatives. As a planet burning exercise (in accumulating air miles) it was no doubt a great success, but as a means to an end (saving or killing whales) it must be recorded as ephemeral at best. The Chairman’s theme was peace and harmony at last, to be achieved through sincere effort on all (both) sides during negotiations to be carried out over the next 12 months, with a view to settling the main issues and thereby simultaneously providing comfort to foe and friend. It reflected a seemingly worthwhile ambition, i.e. to fix a broken instrument and turn it into a useful tool. The subtext here is to give Japan what it wants (read, what whalers want) and give pro-whale advocates what they want. In practice, this could mean giving Japan the right to kill whales in its nearby waters, thereby satisfying or at least calming the ardent nationalists who are driving the government’s agenda; and on the pro-whale side it could mean creating a whaling-free southern hemisphere, thereby satisfying the most ardent whale advocates, i.e. Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and the whales’ other Latin lovers. We will have to wait a bit to see whether Dr. Hogarth’s vision is mere fantasy or something tangible. My guess (bet) is that it is rather like morning mist that comes with the rising sun… so often, and so disappointingly, it turns what promises to be a glorious day into a murky haze that lasts until night falls (again). Lurking behind the congratulatory and appreciative remarks directed at the Chair for playing Saviour-at-last, the hard edges remained. Despite apparently genuine attempts from both sides, achieving consensus in this meeting turned out to be impossible, and it took very little to turn politeness into rowdyism. “Very little” is perhaps an unfair term, as saving the lives of the 10 humpback whales who will survive this year is no small matter - either to the individuals who will continue their lives in the wondrous manner of their kind, or to a humpback population which is still recovering from care-less plundering. Reading the face of one NGO who expressed joy at having saved the lives of real whales, I knew that this contest of wills is not going to be resolved easily, or soon. To those who know whales for what they truly are (advanced, sentient beings) there is no question as to where the future of the relationship between our species and theirs lies. Knowing truth with such certainty lends passion, grit and endurance to whale-savers, one might almost say, unstoppable energy. To them there is no alternative – the contest will go on, until the point is won. The unfortunate reality of this forum is that no-one really wants the fight to continue - hence Chairman Hogarth’s search for a way out, and hence the absence of an offer to host the 2010 meeting. There is widespread acknowledgement that the whaling issue divides and distracts potential allies on another, vastly more urgent front: global warming. Japan and Europe are already agreed in their determination to fight climate change, and there is every reason to believe that the US will join them after the coming Presidential election. This single issue clearly trumps every other on our planet’s agenda. If “we” do not find a way to deal with it now there will be no agreeable future, for the whales or for our grandchildren and their progeny. They will inherit a bleak world from us, and it will take millennia or even eons to restore the gift we inherited. The only possible way out or forward is for everyone (all governments) to work together in the common cause that now binds us. Our response will seal humanity’s fate. The most unfortunate aspect of the whaling issue is that it creates a significant impediment to working effectively in this common cause. My conviction, and it was agreed to by everyone I spoke with (pro and anti whatever) at this IWC 60 meeting, is that the whaling issue must be set aside (if not resolved) so that everyone in the IWC room can truly work together to address the only problem that must be solved, if humanity is to have a viable future. The choice is ours. As a footnote, at the airport on my way out of Santiago, I had a chance to look at the verbatim transcript of the meeting which set up the IWC in 1946. It was clear that this was an attempt by the whalers’ allies to arrange the future in an agreeable way (to them). Interestingly though, it was also apparent that the International Whaling Commission was originally created as a temporary expedient to protect whales in lieu of the unformed character and yet to be determined mandate of the United Nations. Had the IWC been from the outset an organ of the UN, we would be seeing a very different tune played today. By the time the next meeting of this club rolls around, in Portugal’s island paradise of Madeira in June ‘09, we will know more about what the future holds for this fractured body, the whales, and ourselves. We can only hope that in the time between, a way can be found to set the whaling issue aside so that the international community can get on with what must be done, and can only be done together. Failing this test, we will find ourselves back in an IWC future we unfortunately know all too well.

By Paul Spong
July 4, 2008

Please use or distribute at will. For additional stories about IWC 60, see www.orcalab.org and http://www.earthisland.org/immp/index.htm as well as others accessible via search engines like Google that will give you much news & many views under “whaling”.

SRKW calls

S16_4


S16_5


S19_1


S19_var


S19_x3


S19x8

Stop Plans to Drill US Coastlines!

McCain, Bush, and Gingrich are organizing a push to drill for oil along our coastlines and lift a 27 year moratorium. They seem to be taking advantage of high gas prices to help their friends in big oil make even more money. Opening up our coastline to drilling will take up to 10 years before the first drop of oil would reach your local gas stations and it would last for less than 10 years - yet the devastation it will cause is hardly worth the price. Opening national coastlines to oil exploration would begin with seismic testing to find where the oil is located. Seismic blasts have a decibel level of 260 - that's more than twice as loud as an ambulance siren. Whales, dolphins and other marine mammals rely on their sense of hearing to navigate, to locate food and to communicate with each other. Exposure to this level of sound underwater can cause deafening disorientation and can lead to permanent damage and brain hemorrhaging and even cause entire pods of whales and dolphins to beach. Only last week over 100 melon-head whales beached off of Madagascar close to where ExxonMobil was conducting seismic testing.

Sign the Petition

Robson Bight Update

In mid May, after months of delay, British Columbia’s Ministry of Environment finally issued a Request for Proposals to salvage the diesel fuel tanker that has been lying at the bottom of Robson Bight since last August’s tragic barge accident. Several proposals were received by the June 4th closing date, and are now being evaluated with assistance from an ‘outside’ consultant. It will be several more weeks before a contract is signed. Sadly, this means there is no chance that the tanker will be removed before the orcas return for their annual “season” in the Johnstone Strait area. It should be considered too risky to remove the tanker while orcas are nearby.

In the aftermath of the accident, fully 25% of the Northern Resident orca community was exposed to toxic diesel fumes. The health consequences of this exposure are potentially very serious. Though some of the exposed groups have been sighted during the past few months & appear intact, the most heavily exposed group, the A30 family, has not been seen at all. It has been common for the A30s to be sighted in northern B.C. waters by now, so their absence is a worry. However, the deviation from expected behaviour does not mean the A30s are in trouble. We hope the concerns are in our minds and not their bodies, but we are anxiously awaiting the first sighting of this important and favourite orca family.

None of this delay was necessary. The government has powers that enable it to take urgent actions when needed, and can issue contracts by Direct Award. Doing this avoids cumbersome delays built into the competitive bidding process, and facilitates getting jobs done that must be done in the public interest. Given the dire urgency of the situation in Robson Bight, and the clear public interest involved, it was obvious that a Direct Award of the salvage contract was not only appropriate, but necessary. Unfortunately, despite urging from North Island MLA Claire Trevena and non-government groups, BC’s Environment Minister Barry Penner could not be convinced. The upshot is the situation that we, and the orcas, are now facing.

At this point, the clear priority is for steps to be taken to protect the orcas, and the sensitive ecology of Robson Bight, from a potential release of diesel from the tanker before it can be removed. This means oil spill cleanup equipment needs to put in place, with a trained crew nearby and on standby. We are left with the hope that governments are able to put these essential contingency plans in place, in time. Given the slow pace at which governments have acted so far, it is very difficult to be optimistic.

An anxious summer lies ahead.

As ever, this come with our best wishes to you all,

Paul & Helena

Greenpeace - Whale Meat Scandal

Stake outs, testimony from informers, hidden cameras and tailing trucks full of stolen goods - it reads like a Hollywood movie, but it was an every day experience for Greenpeace activists in Japan, who have spent four months cracking open a major conspiracy of corruption at the heart of Japan's government-backed, sham scientific whaling operation.

Sign Petition here!

Mute Swan, Cygnus olor

Aggressive bird, entirely white, orange bill with large black basal knob and naked black lores. Curved neck is often stained with pigments from iron or algae. Legs and feet are black. Feeds on aquatic plants collected from bottom. Direct flight with strong steady wing beats. Prefers freshwater, salt marshes, and protected bays. The familiar pose with neck curved back and wings half raised, known as busking, is a threat display. There have been many reports of Mute Swans attacking people who enter their territory. Their wings are believed to be so strong that they can break a person's arm with one hit.



Mute Swan - orange bill
Trumpeter Swan - black bill
Whooper Swan - yellow and black bill



Ref - What Bird

PLAN TO SALVAGE ROBSON BIGHT WRECKAGE

The British Columbia government and the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans will salvage critical pieces of wreckage from Robson Bight following the August 2007 barge incident, Environment Minister Barry Penner and federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Loyola Hearn announced today. “Working in co-operation with the federal government, we have determined that this is the best way to proceed,” said Penner. “As with any salvage operation, there will be risks involved but we want to retrieve the equipment as soon as possible while minimizing potential impacts to orcas and other wildlife.” Recent video footage of the sunken equipment in Robson Bight Ecological Reserve shows that the vehicles are mostly upright and relatively undamaged, and do not appear to be leaking. “Recognizing how ecologically sensitive Robson Bight is, it’s important for our two levels of government to work together, so we can remove the major risk of future pollution in Robson Bight from the barge incident,” said Hearn. “We will consult with experts to determine the best approach to minimize the potential risk of this salvage operation.” The B.C. Ministry of Environment contracted with technical experts to provide additional analysis of the equipment in Robson Bight. This helped the two levels of government assess the risks posed by the equipment and identify options for its mitigation. Those analyses included a look by Environment Canada at the possible effects if any of the remaining petroleum products are released, and reviews by other experts to further assess the condition and stability of the tanker sitting on the seabed. The partners then reviewed the experts’ findings before determining next steps. Operational details of the salvage operation will be released shortly. On Aug. 20, 2007 a barge carrying vehicles and forestry equipment foundered, dumping 11 pieces of equipment inside the boundary of the protected area.

contacts:
Kate Thompson
Ministry of Environment
250 953-4577
250 889-7972 (cell)

Dan Bate
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
604 775-8809
604 209-6225 (cell)

Ref - http://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/news_releases_2005-2009/2008ENV0042-000569.htm

Robson Bight Clean Up

When a barge dangerously laden with logging equipment, including a tanker truck of diesel fuel, spilled its load in the heart of the world’s best known orca habitat – the Ecological Reserve at Robson Bight - last August 20th, whale lovers were outraged, environmentalists dismayed, the public alerted, and even the oil industry took note. Canada’s initial response, via its Coastguard, was to discount the possibility of serious impacts by claiming all the oil and fuel had been released and dispersed. Eventually, after being pressured by NGOs who raised the funds needed to conduct an underwater investigation, the governments of British Columbia and Canada commissioned an underwater inspection of the spill site. This was completed in early December. Months later, despite video evidence (www.livingoceans.org) that the tanker truck is intact and probably still full of toxic diesel fuel we are still waiting for an announcement that the next obvious step – cleanup – will be undertaken before the orcas return in early summer. Organising and conducting the cleanup will take time, once the decision is made, and time is passing quickly. Meanwhile, a ticking toxic time bomb is lying on the ocean floor 350m below Robson Bight. The absence of official reaction to the evidence from the underwater inspection is puzzling, and disturbing. The only thing that seems clear is that once again the governments are dragging their feet. Possibly they are hoping the problem will go away if they ignore it long enough. That simply isn’t good enough. The orcas will return soon, probably in June & no later than July. If the fuel tanker isn’t removed by the time the orcas arrive, it will be considered too risky to do the job until they leave again in the fall or early winter. This means the cleanup could be pushed back to next spring. Meanwhile, the diesel might remain inside the tanker, or it might not. If it is released when orcas are present, the result could be catastrophic. Leaving it lying at the bottom with orcas swimming above is foolhardy and negligent. For the orcas’ sake, and to ensure the ecological integrity of Robson Bight, the job must be done now. Waiting any longer is not an option. As a matter of urgency, please insist that Canada and British Columbia act now. Thank you.

Here are the contact details:

The Honourable Loyola Hearn, Minister
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
200 Kent St. Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0E6 Canada
phone: 1-613-992-3474
fax: 1-613- 995-7858
Eamail: Min@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

The Honourable Barry Penner
Minister of the Environment
P.O. Box 9047, Stn. Prov. Gov't.
Victoria, B.C.
V8W 9E2 Canada
phone: 1-250-387-1187
fax: 1-250-387-1356
Email: env.minister@gov.bc.ca

Refs - OrcaLab
LivingOceans

Great Blue Heron and Bald Eagle

A major food source for the Great Blue Heron (GBH) and Bald Eagle (BE) is the Pacific salmon. By maintaining a healthy environment these animals and humans can both benefit form conservation methods.



The GBH is a long legged grey-blue bird that wades in the shallows and stands motionless waiting to spear fish. They are sometimes mistaken for cranes but can be distinguished by their looped necks in flight. The GBH has a magnificent 6-foot wingspan and juveniles are brown in colour. Great Blue Herons nest in colonies of up to 30 nests, called a heronry. Both males and females share egg incubation and feeding responsibilities. These animals can search up to 30 miles hunting for food. Herons require quiet, large forested, cliff, or lagoon areas to be able to reproduce successfully. Heronries can be found in the Fraser River, Beacon Hill Park and the oldest in Stanley Park. Many of these birds can bee seen foraging off Roberts Bank near the Tsawwassen ferry terminal.



The Bald Eagle has a maximum 8-foot wingspan. Bald Eagles are piebald animals, lacking pigment, resulting in white head and tail feathers. The BE’s beak, feet, and irises are yellow. Their legs are not feathered and they have short powerful toes with long talons. The front 2-hold their prey and the 3rd hind toe has the largest talon used for piercing. The body of the BE is black and juveniles are brown mottled with white. The BE historically ranged throughout North America and are now only found in Alaska, Canada, Florida, and the Northwest America. The BE mates for life and breeds in old growth forests. During the winter these animals disperse to the inland to forage in rivers upon salmon.



Threats to the GBH and BE include noise pollution, industrial contaminates (decreasing egg shell thickness), decreased food availability, and habitat destruction. Encroaching civilization decreases these bird populations. Land development and logging also threaten the survival of salmon streams, a major food source for both birds and humans. Maintaining healthy green spaces near coastal habitats can protect these species. Using organic, biodegradable products, recycling, and decreasing our carbon footprint can all decease pollutants, thereby producing a cleaner, healthier, and more productive environment for both animals and humans.

Adopt a Small Fry and Save BC's Wild Salmon

There are two vital and important actions that you can take - today.

* Raise our collective voice by joining Pacific Coast Wild Salmon Society.
* Donate whatever you can to the Adopt a Fry campaign.

Click here...

MPA's

Marine Protected Areas with Erich Hoyt

Erich Hoyt is an author and senior research fellow for WDCS, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. He feels that creating MPAs for cetaceans can have a far-reaching impact in conserving other species, and whole ecosystems. Marine scientists Ana Cañadas and Ric Sagarminaga working the Alboran Sea off the coast of southern Spain are identifying critical habitats for migratory species while working with various local groups whose livelihoods depend on a healthy sea.

North Eastern Pacific Seashore Animals

ANEMONES


Northern Red Anemone, Tealia crassicornis
5" high, 3" wide, approximately 100 thick, blunt tentacles, frequently ringed with white, red, or dark pigment. Listed as T. felina in some references, this species size is a function of food availability rather than age.


Green Green Sea Anemone, Anthopleura xanthogrammica
Column greenish brown; tentacles green, blue, or white; oral disk green, gray, or blue. Numerous short thick tentacles, in 6 or more rings.


Plumose Anemone, Metridium serile
This anemone is common on subtidal bottoms on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States. Note the feathery and delicate tentacles.It feeds upon smaller zooplankton. Individuals often exceed 15 cm in length and may be over a meter in length. Under strong current conditions the feathery tentacles are retracted.




Aggregating Anemone, Anthopleura elegantissima

CRUSTEACEANS



Gooseneck Barnacles, Pollicipes polymerus
This barnacle may look like a mollusk but it is in fact a crustacean related to shrimps, lobsters and crabs. Barnacles attach themselves to rocks by their heads and feed by means of their feathery legs. Their resilient stalks are tough enough to withstand the forces of the sea tossing them in the surf. Goose barnacles are edible and have been exported to Spain as a delicacy.


Yellow Shore Crab, Hemigrapsus oregonesis

MOLLUSCS


California Mussels, Mytilus californianus
Thin blue-black covering (periostracum) over shells, often with streak of brown, and a series of rounded ridges extend the length of each shell.


Mossy Chiton, Mopalia muscosa
Girdle covered with stiff hairs. It does not hide under rocks like most chitons so it is readily visible in diredt light. It stays in one place until dark then begins feeding on algae. Unlike the soft girdle hairs of the Hairy Chiton the Mossy Chiton has stiff hairs. Individuals have a home range of 50 cm.

CNIDARIA


Male Water Jellyfish, Aequored aequored (Aequored victoria)
15 cm diameter, luminescent at night, found worldwide, males are blue in colour.

BIRDS


Female Hooded Merganser, Lophodytes cucullatus
The female Hooded Merganser is brown overall with a bushy brown crest, gray upper breast and flanks and white markings on the wings. The upper bill is dark brown and the lower bill is dark yellow.


Male Hooded merganser, Lophodytes cucullatus
Small merganser with black upperparts and white underparts with two black bars on side of breast; red-brown flanks. Crest shows large white patch when raised, white stripe extending backwards from the eye when lowered, and dark bill. Dark wings have white shoulder patches visible in flight.


Harlequin Duck, Histrionicus histrionicus
Leaves the salt water in spring to breed in fast-flowing rivers and streams. An endangered species on the Atlantic coast, dives to the bottom of streams, where it walks along searching for food. Known as 'sea mice' and 'squeakers' because of their mouse-like call, they congregate at traditional winter sites to feed in the swirling waters of shallow and rocky coastal areas.


Male Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos
Medium-sized dabbling duck with gray body and chestnut-brown breast. The head is green and neck ring is white. Bill is yellow-green. Wing speculum is white-bordered metallic purple-blue. The tail is dark with distinct white edges and two curled black feathers. Legs and feet are orange.

Female Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos


Bald Eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Large, hawk-like bird, dark brown body and white head, tail. Heavy bill, legs, feet, eyes are yellow. Hunts for fish, which it sometimes steals from ospreys. Eats carrion and crippled or injured squirrels, rabbits, muskrats and waterfowl. Flap-and-glide flight, also soars on thermals.


Sea gull with kelp crab

NOAA SRKW Recovery Plan

ESA Recovery Plan for Southern Resident Killer Whales

The recovery program in the plan includes actions to address the following topics:

Prey Availability: Support salmon restoration efforts in the region including habitat,harvest and hatchery management considerations and continued use of existing authorities under the ESA and Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to ensure an adequate prey base.

Pollution/Contamination: Clean up existing contaminated sites, minimize continuing inputs of contaminants harmful to killer whales, and monitor emerging contaminants.

Vessel Effects: Continue with evaluation and improvement of guidelines for vessel activity near Southern Resident killer whales and evaluate the need for regulations or protected areas.

Oil Spills: Prevent oil spills and improve response preparation to minimize effects on Southern Residents and their habitat in the event of a spill.

Acoustic Effects: Continue agency coordination and use of existing ESA and MMPA mechanisms to minimize potential impacts from anthropogenic sound.

Education and Outreach: Enhance public awareness, educate the public on actions they can participate in to conserve killer whales and improve reporting of Southern Resident killer whale sightings and strandings.

Response to Sick, Stranded, Injured Killer Whales: Improve responses to live and dead killer whales to implement rescues, conduct health assessments, and determine causes of death to learn more about threats and guide overall conservation efforts.

Transboundary and Interagency Coordination: Coordinate monitoring, research, enforcement, and complementary recovery planning with Canadian agencies, and Federal and State partners.

Research and Monitoring: Conduct research to facilitate and enhance conservation efforts. Continue the annual census to monitor trends in the population, identify individual animals, and track demographic parameters.

Click here for more information.

SRKW Calls - S19 &S36

L pod calls recorded from the southern resident killer whale communituy. I found Luna emitting these same calls in Nootka Sound in 2003 (read more here).


S19


S36


S36_1

Luna Page

SRKW Call Catalouge

Shell Beach Invertebrates

Gooseneck barnacles


Baby sea star


Tunicates - Colonial Sea Squirts

Sea squirts / Sea Pork are an early stage in the evolution of the chordates or animals. There are three types of tunicates: solitary, colonial, and compound. All have two siphons, one for intake and the other for expelling wastes. Colonial tunicates reproduce by budding. Sea squirts have a primitive notochord (vertebral column, backbone) called a urochord(lack segmentation throughout the body and tail) and are distantly related to fish, whales, and humans.


Mollusk eggs

Maine gastropods (snails) reproduce dioeciously (male and female individuals). Egg deposition is in masses surrounded by a capsule, which is usually attached to the substratum. Most larvae develop into a free-swimming veliger. The characteristic feature of the veliger is the swimming organ called a velum, which consists of two large semicircular lobes bearing long cilia. The shell develops spirally in the veliger and may remain at the apex of the adult shell for some time. In sea slugs a shell appears in the veliger and is later cast off during metamorphosis.

Greeting Ceremony

A greeting ceremony is a unique social behaviour unique to the southern resident killer whale community. Upon meeting, after separation of a day or two, they will often group up in front of each other and stop at the surface. After less than a minute the groups dive and create astounding underwater bioacoustics while milling around in tight groups. This behaviour has been exhibited by the northern residents but is much more common among the southern residents as is breaches and aerial displays.



An assembly of whales grouped up tight along the shoreline making loud surface whistles moving very slowly north. Another group turned toward them and lined up in front. The two groups then slowly traveled towards each other in long lines. Upon meeting they dove and made intense underwater vocalizations. The whales regrouped, one heading north while the other went south. (Lime Kiln, San Juan Island - October 4 / 2005, 17:00)

South Korea's worst oil spill

Dead birds washing ashore after South Korea's worst oil spill - Link
Mallipo Beach (S. Korea) (AP): Dead birds coated in oil from South Korea's largest-ever spill are starting to wash up on the coast, activists said on Monday, warning that environmental effects from the disaster could linger for years. Cleanup efforts off the western coast have intensified every day since Friday's spill, which sent 66,000 barrels of crude oil gushing into the ocean after a tanker was struck by a wayward barge. About 8,800 people - including volunteers, local residents, civil servants, police and military personnel - were working on the region's shores today to clean up the oil. Coast Guard personnel, sailors and fishermen worked aboard 138 ships and five helicopters offshore, the Coast Guard said in a statement. Crude oil from the spill started washing ashore Saturday onto the region's picturesque beaches, about 150 km southwest of Seoul. Residents used shovels and buckets to clean up the muck. Officials said today they were considering declaring the site a "special disaster area," which would open the way for direct aid to the battered region that regularly drew millions of tourists to its natural beauty. The spill itself has already been declared a "disaster", enabling regional governments to more easily mobilise personnel, equipment and material. At Shinduri Beach, several mallard ducks could be seen hovering over the oil-coated waters neither diving for fish nor finding anywhere to land.

S Korea’s worst oil spill nears preserve -
Link
South Korean workers using skimmers and containment fences battled on Saturday to clean up the worst oil spill in the country’s history, as part of the slick hit shore near a nature preserve on the west coast. A Hong Kong-registered tanker began leaking an estimated 10,500 metric tons of crude oil on Friday after a barge carrying a crane slammed into it while the tanker was anchored off Daesan port about 110 km (70 miles) southwest of Seoul. “A part of the slick reached the shores of Taean and onto the beaches. There are about 1,200 residents helping in the clean-up,” said Cheon Myeong-cheol, a Taean coast guard official. The region is popular for its beaches and home to a national park. It is also an important rest stop for migratory birds. There has been no major impact yet on marine life where the first oil reached shore, according to the coast guard but that batch was only a small part of the entire spill. “We’re installing oil-containment fences to prevent further inflow,” said Song Myeong-dal, head of the maritime ministry’s Information and Policy Monitoring team. Heavy winds and high waves hurt oil containment efforts on Friday but seas were calmer on Saturday. The leak is about a third of the size of the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill of crude oil onto Alaskan shores, which was the costliest on record. That clean-up alone from that disaster cost around $2.5 billion while the total costs, including fines and settlement of claims, were an estimated $9.5 billion. reuters

Volunteers struggle against S Korean oil spill -
Link
Thousands of South Korean soldiers, police and volunteers are still battling to clean the stretch of coastline affected by the biggest oil spill in the country's history. Maritime Minister Kang Moo-Hyun says the clean-up operation could last at least two months while concern grows that South Korea's maritime economy and fragile ecology is being threatened. Reports from Mallipo beach say thick black oil is still coming in, with each tide giving off an overpowering smell. Using buckets, shovels and even dustpans, the volunteers battled to save one of the country's most pristine beaches. "I felt like crying. This was such a good place for my kids," said Kim Mi-Sook, a Salvation Army volunteer from nearby Seosan county, as she scooped up oil with a dustpan. "The sand was so good, with flowers blooming here and there," she said. "The sludge was initially 50 centimetres high on the beach in some places. The waves could not get over it." About 10,500 tons of crude oil leaked into the Yellow Sea when a drifting barge holed an oil tanker on Friday. The Coast Guard said the slick has already hit 50 kilometres of coastline and more was expected to come ashore.

Save the Streams - Presentation

click - Save the Streams Presentation

Anemone

A sea anemone is a small sac, attached to the bottom by an adhesive foot, with a column shaped body ending in an oral disc. The mouth is in the middle of the oral disc, surrounded by tentacles armed with many cnidocytes, which are cells that function as a defense and as a means to capture prey. Cnidocytes contain cnidae, capsule-like organelles capable of everting, giving phylum Cnidaria its name. The cnidae that sting are called nematocysts. Each nematocyst contains a small vesicle filled with toxins—actinoporins—an inner filament and an external sensory hair. When the hair is touched, it mechanically triggers the cell explosion, a harpoon-like structure which attaches to organisms that trigger it, and injects a dose of poison in the flesh of the aggressor or prey. This gives the anemone its characteristic sticky feeling.

Killing Humpback Whales

Gales, N.J., Clapham, P.J. and Baker, C.S. A case for killing humpback whales?

Abstract: During the austral summer of 2007/08, hunting of Southern Hemisphere humpback whales will recommence after almost half a century of protection. The stated rationale for this hunt, by the Government of Japan, is to gather important scientific information for use in management. If the scientific need was defensible, and the proponents had accommodated reasonable conservation concerns, then criticisms of the hunt would be limited to philosophical issues. This is not the case. The program’s research objectives are unlikely to be achieved by lethal methods and do not address the principal research needs for SH humpback whales identified by the International Whaling Commission.

The complete pdf document can be downloaded free at the wesbite.

Save Wild BC Salmon

salmon fry

The rich waters of the British Columbia coast are home to recently returned humpback whales and vast shoals of sardines. Wild salmon feed bears, whales, eagles and forests that draw wilderness tourism into BC. Wild salmon also support commercial and tidal recreational fishing, which combined with, wilderness tourism, means wild salmon annually lure over $1.6 billion to BC, as compared with $600 million earned by farm fish. Why isn’t your government listening to the businesses that depend on wild salmon?

Sign and Send petition to Premier Gordon Campbell and the Honourable Ministers Pat Bell and Loyola to give wld salmon relief from sea lice by moving crucial fish farms:
Save BC Salmon

New J pod Calf - J43

J43 baby photo from NOAA Fisheries (by Brad Hanson and Candi Emmons taken Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2007)

J43 was born this month to Samish/J14 (b.1974). This is the fifth calf for Samish one of the southern resident endangered killer whales. Samish's first born only survived four years which is common because built up environmental toxins are offloaded while nursing and new mothers can have some difficulty relative to older experienced female matriarchs. J43's siblings are big brother Riptide/J30 b.1995, Hy'shqa/J37 b.2001, and Suttels/J40 b.2004.

Robson Bight oil spill update

On October 19th, two months after the August 20th oil spill in Robson Bight, Canada's federal & provincial governments agreed to conduct an underwater investigation of the spill site, and to share the costs involved. This certainly came as good news, though the timing was odd in that the announcement came just hours after NGOs had released details of their plan to the media. Had the NGOs proceeded, the first ("side scan") phase of the investigation would have already been accomplished, and a week hence we could have had the answers we've been seeking. As things now stand, the investigation has been delayed, but given a suitable weather window, it should happen soon. If weather conditions permit, we should know the actual situation on the bottom of Robson Bight within a few weeks.

Here is a link to a more complete story we posted on our OrcaLab web site yesterday: http://www.orcalab.org/news-archive/orcalab_general/07-10-29.html

In case it's useful, we're also attaching our update as a Word file. Please feel free to do anything you wish with it.

As we say at the end of the story, our fingers are crossed!

As ever, this comes with our warmest wishes to you all, and our heartfelt THANKS for caring, and helping.

Paul & Helena

Humpback song & oil spill update

Hello everyone,

As a change of pace, we want to pass along something wonderful for you to listen to. It’s the first true “song” from humpback whales that we’ve heard since they started returning to the inland waters of northern Vancouver Island 25 years ago, after having being totally wiped out by the last gasp of North America’s whaling industry in 1967. Year by year, especially over the past decade, the humpbacks have been becoming more & more comfortable in these waters that were home to their ancestors, and now it seems they are bursting into song!

Please enjoy the sounds we were mesmerized by in the early hours of October 11th. Click on the link to the sound clip. Best to download the whole 150mb file first.

Also, to bring you up to date on the aftermath of the August 20th oil spill in Robson Bight, please check out our most recent story and the latest episode of Twyla Roscovich’s video diary.


As you’ll see, oil is still upwelling from the bottom of Robson Bight, Canadian governments are still doing nothing of substance, and NGOs led by Living Oceans and Greenpeace, having raised the funds needed to do the job, will soon conduct an underwater inspection of the spill site. We can only hope that the imagery obtained from Nuytco’s mini sub will compel Canada’s governments into a full cleanup of the contamination, and launch a formal inquiry into the incident and the broader issue of marine safety in British Columbia’s vulnerable coastal waters.

As always, this comes with our very best wishes to you all,

Paul & Helena
orcalab.org

Saving Luna Premiere

Members of the Maquinna family and the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation sing and dance at the Saving Luna Vancouver Premiere


Suzanne & Mike talk about winning top award at the prestigious Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival in Wyoming.



Encore screening of SAVING LUNA Tuesday, October 9th at 6 pm, Empire Granville 7 Theatres in Vancouver. Tickets are available online or by phoning 604-685- 8297.

SRKW Call Catalogue

Enter here

Protest Japan's brutal slaughter of over 22,000 dolphins

NEWS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Nancy Morris (206) 533-6155
Howard Garrett/Susan Berta, 1-866-ORCANET

ACTIVISTS GATHER AT JAPANESE CONSULATE TO CALL FOR END TO BRUTAL DOLPHIN SLAUGHTER AND EXPOSING JAPANESE CHILDREN TO TOXIC MERCURY
WHERE: Japanese Consulate, 601 Union Street, Seattle
WHEN: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 12:00PM (NOON)
WHAT: Orca Network joins many local and international organizations in a day of worldwide protests against Japan's brutal slaughter of over 22,000 dolphins and for deliberately not informing their citizens about mercury contaminated meat.
Activists in Japan are asking the world community to speak out; they believe this is the best way to make their government stop the brutal killing of over 22,000 dolphins, including some species that are endangered. Japanese officials force Japanese children to eat mercury contaminated meat. Most of the Japanese people do not know this slaughter happens or that they are exposed to toxic levels of mercury. There is a media blackout in Japan regarding the dolphin slaughter and mercury contamination. The mercury levels exceeded the numbers that caused Minimata Disease in the past, which killed or caused severe birth defects in innocent children. The slaughtered dolphins are also processed and used as pet food or fertilizer still containing toxic levels of mercury.

The dolphin drive hunts destroy defenseless, highly intelligent, self-aware mammals in the most brutal way imaginable. These socially complex mammals witness the screaming slaughter of their close family group in a sea turned red with blood, but won't abandon their pod. Some of the survivors are captured and sold to unscrupulous dolphin traders.
For more information on the dolphin slaughter, mercury contamination, and the dolphin captivity industry, please visit Orca Network's web site at: www.orcanetwork.org/captivity/dolphinslaughter.html .
Demonstrations will be held at Japanese embassies and consulates around the world including numerous cities in the U.S. For a complete list of protest cities and organizations, visit: www.savejapandolphins.org.

Save Robson Bight

Many of you already know about the August 20th oil spill that happened when a barge tipped its load of logging equipment into the waters of the Robson Bight (Michael Bigg) Ecological Reserve in British Columbia, Canada. The Reserve was created in 1982 to protect vital orca habitat. Nearly 60 orcas, fully 25% of the Northern Resident orca community, were exposed to toxic diesel vapours in the aftermath of the accident. Severe health consequences (e.g. lung lesions, pneumonia) are possible, though it may take considerable time for them to appear. Next year, we may know more. In the meantime, the equipment, which carried 19,000L of diesel and other oils, remains on the bottom in an unknown state. It needs to be inspected as a matter of urgency, before winter storms arrive, to assess the remaining danger. Canada's Coastguard, the responsible agency, is dragging its feet on the inspection issue, despite pressure from provincial and local governments, and the public at large. NGOs, led by the Living Oceans Society and Greenpeace, have vowed to undertake the inspection if Canada's federal government refuses. The orcas are simply too important to allow uncertainty.

We are writing this to ask you to do two things that will help:

1. Go to the Living Oceans web site and send a message to Canada's Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.

2. Contribute what you can to NGO funds being raised for the underwater inspection.

Canada's government needs to hear our voices. NGOs need our support, so they can act if governments refuse.
What we are asking will take just a few minutes of your time, and money you can afford. Please act now.

For the orcas, thank you very much!

Paul & Helena

Background:
OrcaLab
SaveRobsonBight
LivingOceans
SignPetition

Makah Hunt Gray Whale

Five members of the Makah of Washington State harpooned and shot a gray whale off Neah Bay in Juan de Fuca Strait last Saturday. The whale later died and sank form its injuries. The hunt was unauthorized by the band or government officials. The Makah were successful in an authorized gray whale hunt in 1999, with many of the same members now involved in this week's incident. Each man could face up to a $20,000 fine and a year in jail if convicted of violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The tribe will continue to seek a permit to resume authorized whaling. Even though the gray whale population is not endangered there are special sub populations of animals that utilize the bays of Washington and British Columbia each year called 'resident' grays. Through genetic analysis of gene variation researchers estimate as many as 118,000 gray whales roamed the Pacific before commercial whaling started in the 1800s. Today there are only about 22,000 Pacific gray whales, including about 100 in the western Pacific. A rise in sea temperatures may have limited gray whale prey availability. The recent increase in gray whale deaths suggests a limited food source in their feeding grounds of the Bering Sea.


http://www.kirotv.com/news/14084695/detail.html
http://www.komotv.com/news/9665342.html

SRKW Calls - S6

S6_1 x 3

S6_2 x 3

New Calf for L pod - L110

Moonlight / L83, a 17 year old female, has given birth to her first calf L110. This brings the southern resident population of killer whales to a total of 87 individuals, with 25 individuals in J pod, 19 animals in K pod, and now 43 whales in L pod.
Center for Whale Research

Johnstone Strait Fuel & Oil Spill

Times Columnist
A tug and barge towing several vehicles has sunk in Johnstone Strait off of Robson Bight where the northern residents go to rub along several beaches. The diesel spill has spread out and is reportedly flowing towards the rubbing beach area. A barge loaded with logging equipment, including a fuel truck carrying diesel fuel, flipped Monday and dropped its load into the water by Robson Bight, the protected area where threatened northern resident killer whales feed and rub their bellies. An oil sheen, about two kilometres long, could be seen on the water shortly after the accident and environmental groups say it is almost inevitable that some of the 60 whales known to be in the area will come in contact with the oil.

Save the Streams

There are five species of Pacific salmon that die
after spawning; Chinook, Chum, Coho, Sockeye,
and Pink. Salmon return to their natal streams and
rivers each year. Salmon travel thousands
of miles and spend one to five years feeding in the
ocean before returning to their birth streams.
Spawning females dig out a gravel nests, called a
redd. The males then fertilizes the eggs and the
female protects the redd for one to two weeks.
Alveins hatch and mature into fry, developing
vertical bars for camouflage, called parr marks.
After a period of feeding fry migrate downstream
towards the ocean and grow into smolts adapting
to their marine environment.

Threats
On top of natural dangers from predators dangers
to salmon from human activities include poor
farming and forest practices, pollution, destruction
of coastal wetlands and estuaries. The territory of
British Columbia salmon has been decimated for
decades by industrial clearcut logging. Roots of
trees anchor steep slopes. Logging increases the
chances of landslides filling vital spawning
grounds with mud, debris, and boulders. Shade
from trees is lost increasing water temperatures.
Other threats include overfishing, urbanization,
hydroelectric dams, and fish farms.

Actions
Salmon play an important role sustaining
forest ecology. Spawners bring vital nutrients
from the ocean into the forest. Carcasses are dispersed
by bears and eagles providing the trees with fertilizer;
nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon. Salmon feed the
rivers helping the survival of young salmon. Farmed
salmon does not replicate this vital role and is
detrimental to wild stocks. Dangers from fish farms
include disease, pollution (including contaminating
shellfish), predation on young wild salmon, and
escapement (Atlantic salmon compete for food and
habitat with wild stocks). Conservation actions include
cleaning up salmon streams (ensuring clean and safe
flowing environments), recycling, using biodegradable
and organic products, and choosing wild salmon over
farmed.

Chinook
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
Spring, Salmon, King, Blackmouth,
Quinnat, Chub, Tyee (14+kg)
Chinooks have a greenish-blue dark back with
long black spots, a red hue develops around
the fins and belly, male teeth are enlarged and
they have a hooked snout. Tyee reach 1.5 m
and 58 kg, average 90 cm and14 kg. Spawning
peak May to June and August to September.

Chum
O. keta
Dog Salmon
Females are a metallic
blue, males have a
checkerboard colouration,
a dark horizontal stripe, and
canine-like teeth. Average
from 4.5 to 12 kg. Spawning
peak month October.

Coho
O. kisutch
Silver Salmon
Spawning males are red on
their sides, and a bright green
on the back and head areas, with a
darker colouration on the belly, spots
on upper tail fin lobe. They also develop
a hooked jaw with sharp teeth. Females
develop a lesser-hooked snout. Coho
reach 1 m and weigh up to 14 kg, they
average between 3 to kg. Spawning
peak July to August.

Sockeye
O. nerka
Kokanee, Red Salmon,
Blueback Salmon
Varying shades of red resulting
in a brilliant scarlet fish with a
green head. Grow to 83 cm
and weigh up to 7 kg. Spawning
peak month August.

Pink
O. gorbuscha
Humpies
Pale grey, males
develop a hump.
Get up to 76 cm
and to 5.5 kg,
average 1.5 to 2.5 kg.
Spawning peak month
October.

SARA Transient Killer Whale & Sea Otter Recovery Strategies

Transient Killer Whale (Orcinus orca)

The ‘West Coast transient’ population of killer whales (Orcinus orca) is acoustically, genetically and culturally distinct from other killer whale populations known to occupy waters off the west coast of British Columbia. This population was designated as ‘threatened’ by COSEWIC in 2001, and currently numbers approximately 250 animals. Transient killer whales are long-lived upper trophic level predators that are considered to be at risk because of their small population size, their very low reproductive rate (one calf every five years) and their extremely high levels of chemical contaminants that are persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic. Their high contaminant burdens, which have resulted from bioaccumulation in their prey, combined with other anthropogenic threats such as physical and acoustic disturbance, warrant their protection under the Species at Risk Act, and they are currently listed as Threatened.

PDF
TEXT
Consultation period: 2007-8-7 to 2007-10-6


Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris)

Sea otters ranged once from Northern Japan to central Baja California, but were hunted almost to extinction during the Maritime fur trade that began in the mid 1700s. As few as 2,000 animals, little more than 1% of the pre-fur trade population, are thought to have remained in 13 remnant populations by 1911. The last verified sea otter in Canada was shot near Kyuquot, British Columbia (BC), in 1929. Between 1969 and 1972, 89 sea otters from Amchitka and Prince William Sound, Alaska, were translocated to Checleset Bay on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Recent population surveys (2001 to 2004) indicate the Canadian sea otter population includes a minimum of 2,700 animals along the west coast of Vancouver Island and 500 animals on the central BC coast. Sea otters are legally listed as Threatened under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) but have recently been reassessed by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) as Special Concern as they have re-populated 25-33% of their historic range and the population is growing and expanding. However, the population is still considered small (<3500) and their susceptibility to oil and the proximity to major oil tanker routes make them particularly vulnerable to oil spills (COSEWIC 2007).

PDF
TEXT
Consultation period: 2007-8-7 to 2007-10-6

BC Lakes & Streams

Shawnigan Lake

Small Mouth Bass

John's Creek



Goldstream

Salmon Fry

Thetis Lake

West Coast - Humpback Injured by Killer Whale

Humpback whale missing part of left flipper due to killer whale attack.





photos by Amy Valagao

Save the Streams Update

DFO Resident Killer Whale Recovery Strategies

Two distinct populations of killer whales (Orcinus orca), known as the northern and southern residents, occupy the waters off the west coast of British Columbia. In 2001, COSEWIC designated southern resident killer whales as ‘endangered’, and northern resident killer whales as ‘threatened’. Both populations are listed in Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act (SARA). These two populations are acoustically, genetically and culturally distinct. Resident killer whale populations in British Columbia are presently considered to be at risk because of their small population size, low reproductive rate, and the existence of a variety of anthropogenic threats that have the potential to prevent recovery or to cause further declines. Principal among these anthropogenic threats are environmental contamination, reductions in the availability or quality of prey, and both physical and acoustic disturbance. Even under the most optimistic scenario (human activities do not increase mortality or decrease reproduction), the species’ low intrinsic growth rate means that the time frame for recovery will be more than one generation (25 years).

Consultation period: 2007-6-21 to 2007-8-20
Files

PDF - Recovery Strategy for the Northern and Southern Resident Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) in Canada (Proposed)

Text -Recovery Strategy for the Northern and Southern Resident Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) in Canada (Proposed)

Comments

San Juan River Log Jam

VICTORIA (CP) - Authorities say a massive log jam on the San Juan River threatens the safety of the town of Port Renfrew on southwestern Vancouver Island.

A log jam 10 years ago washed out the main bridge, cutting the community in two, but this time the bottleneck is much bigger. Port Renfrew fire chief Dan Tennant warns that if the jam were to break free, the entire town could be in danger of being washed away.

He told Victoria's A-Channel News he fears that "when it breaks loose, and I say when not if, it'll come right down" through the town, in addition to washing out the bridge to the Pacheedaht First Nation.

Some people in the community blame logging that's taking place in the hills above Port Renfrew, noting the number of clearcut logs in the jam.

Public Safety Minister John Les says the real danger would come in the autumn when the heavy rains hit, and the lack of an immediate threat gives emergency officials time to prepare.

"This time of year, the flows on the San Juan River aren't unusually high," Les told A-Channel. "But if we had a very significant rainfall event in the fall or the early winter, like we saw last year, if there was going to be a risk, that's when it would occur."

Canadian Press

Delayed Killer Whale Recovery Strategy

After nearly a year of unlawful delays, the latest caused by the Canadian military, environmental groups issued a warning to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) today to release the Recovery Strategy for BC's famous resident killer whales, or face a lawsuit. The Southern Resident Killer Whales are an endangered species under Canada's Species at Risk Act (SARA). Under SARA a team of marine scientists was tasked with creating a science-based plan that identifies habitat, conservation threats, and recovery recommendations. For the last year, DFO has blocked the release of the Team's Recovery Strategy, which DFO was legally required to release by June 1, 2006. Additionally, according to a Canadian military document, the Department of National Defence (DND) is trying to downplay and re-write scientists' concerns over military sonar threats to killer whales in BC waters. The Canadian military conducts sonar testing in the whales' habitat, often in joint operations with the US Navy. "Even the military acknowledges that sonar threatens whales with harm," said Christianne Wilhelmson of Georgia Strait Alliance. "The military must stop interfering with this science-based Recovery Strategy, and we call on the Canadian government to release it immediately." As an example of DND efforts to weaken the Recovery Strategy, it wants to remove the scientists' recommendation that new laws to reduce injury to killer whales from sonar testing be considered. The military is arguing that Canadian and American naval vessels operating in Canadian waters should not be bound by sonar-specific regulations. "Military objectives have no place in a killer whale recovery strategy," said Gwen Barlee of the Wilderness Committee. "If battleships trump science we won't be able to recover this species. "The Species at Risk Act requires Recovery Strategies to follow strict timelines to protect endangered species, to discourage bureaucrats from talking endlessly while a species faces extirpation," said Lara Tessaro of Sierra Legal. "DFO delays risk not only the Killer Whales, but many endangered marine mammals and fish as well." The environmental groups have sent DFO a letter, threatening to file a lawsuit if DFO does not release the Resident Killer Whale Recovery Strategy by June 4, 2007.

Canadian News Wire

Stop the Whaling

The Japanese, Norwegian and Icelandic governments plan to cull over 900 whales in the next year (including endangered fin whales), and to continue such practices indefinitely. The whaling ban was put into place by the International Whaling Commission to protect these mammals, due to the unsustainable manner in which they were culled in the past. Their reproductive cycle is far too slow to compensate for the losses sustained continuously due to the actions of Norway, Japan and Iceland, amongst others. The scientific research that is planned is non-existent, and whale meat remains unpopular in the commercial food markets of the countries involved. The European Union Commission is a world leader in the field of animal welfare and the responsible use of resources - we urge the prime minister, as our representative, to increase import tax for goods originating from the nations involved in commercial whaling, until the ban is once again adhered to. If commercial whaling goes ahead, a matter of time separates us from the untempered ravaging of oceans by a few select nations.

Sign the Petition

Canadian Shipping Act Cruise Ship Regulations

Victoria , B.C. - Travel Just, a B.C.-based environmental group tracking cruise ship pollution for years are declaring the long-awaited reforms to the Canadian Shipping Act (new Regulations for Prevention of Pollution from Shipping and Dangerous Chemicals) announced in Hull, P.Q today by Federal Ministers Lawrence Cannon and John Baird a "Greenwash of Oceanic Magnitude." " These newly announced regulations repeal 8 sets of shipping regulations, replacing them with the weaker contaminant standards of earlier voluntary guidelines co-crafted by the cruise industry. Transport Canada now provide the cruise industry with a regulatory loophole large enough to permit the human waste plume from the wake of the cruise ship fleet with over a million passengers aboard -- to drift without penalty," says Howard Breen, Marine Campaign Coordinator of Travel Just. Cruise ships are floating cities, carrying 5,000 or more people that on a one-week voyage can generate more than:

--1.5 million gallons of "graywater" (wastewater from sinks, showers,
galleys, and laundry facilities)

--200,000 gallons of sewage, and

--35,000 gallons of oil-contaminated water

The cruise industry has a legacy of polluting the seas. >From 1993 to 2003,
cruise ships committed more than 300 acts of dumping oil, garbage,
hazardous waste, sewage and graywater, violating air pollution laws,
inflicting damage to coral reefs, and falsifying environmental records,
paying more than $80 million (U.S.) in fines and restitution within U.S.
coastal waters.

Environmental Fines compiled by cruise ship expert Dr. Ross Klein, (Professor at Memorial University and author of several books about the industry). Loopholes in the new regulations found by Travel Just include (not
exhaustive list):

* There are no overall principles, objectives or goals of the new
regulation that refer to protecting public health or the environment only
to meeting minimum requirements;
* A table of penalities and fines for enforceability and deterrence of
violations is not referenced in the regulations;
* There is no provision for effluent or incinerator ash monitoring,
sampling and testing;
* Where and when concentrated sewage sludge can be discharged is not
specifically addressed;
* Greywater (from sinks, showers, pools, kitchens, etc.) is not regulated;
* All vessels with so-called advanced wastewater treatment systems will be
able to discharge anywhere -- even in port;
* There is no provision to end cruise ship tertiary treatment effluent or
sludge discharging in Canadian marine protected areas;
* The discharge of garbage under the new regulations are less stringent
than 2004 Guidelines (reduced from 4 to 3 miles);
* Incinerator ash disposal containing heavy metals from thousands of
tonnes of burned garbage aboard ships is not prohibited ;
* Waste streams from cruise ships not previously addressed in regulation
continue to remain unaddressed;
* Vessel disclosure, inspection and reporting mechanisms for all waste
streams from previous regulations have been simplified, reduced, or
eliminated;
* No requirement for the use of low sulphur fuels;
* No new funding mechanism to recoup costs for existing or future increased
inspection regime by by Transport Canada;
* No whistleblower protection or compensation is cited;
* Shipboard incineration of polyvinyl chlorides is not prohibited on all
vessels;
* There is no provision for shellfish or viral pathogen studies;
* There is no public appeal or dispute mechanism cited for other
stakeholders deleteriously impacted by ship discharges;
* No provision for installation of new waste compliance monitoring
(transponders) or independent observers to inspect vessels;
* New regulations are not expected to be gazetted for another year and some
provisions not enacted for another 2-4 years;
* New regulations have not been "harmonized" with stricter regulations in
other U.S. jurisdictions.

" Instead of today's widely-reported crackdown on maritime pollution, through a clever sleight of hand the Conservative government of Stephen Harper has given unprecedented regulatory relief to an industry notorious for environmental felony crimes and fines that are among the highest in U.S. pollution enforcement history," says an equally astonished and concerned Breen. " While it may be somewhat comically appropriate to give the ministers a "Big Poopie" award for this latest Conservative greenwash there is nothing comical whatsoever about the impact of their actions on environmentally sensitive B.C. marine ecosystems and the some 20 endangered coastal species that may become deleteriously affected by ongoing cruise ship pollution," cautioned Breen. "The option of doing nothing in respect to unfettered cruise ship pollution has long passed."

Where Are The New Transport Regulations?

The Government has still not made the latest version of the regulations
publicly-accessible on the Transport Canada website nor provided a link in
today's Ministerial news release.

Contact your Member of Parliament and request a copy.
Ministerial News Release

For further information, please contact: Howard Breen, Marine Campaign Coordinator, Travel Just(250) 247-8813

Further reading on the cruise ship industry

New Baby Girl for J pod

Photographs taken May 6, 2007, off Freshwater Bay (west of Port Angeles, WA) lead staff at the Center for Whale Research to believe that J42 is a female based on the distinctive markings on the underside of the belly of this young calf (seen May 2, 2007, J42 joins pod, traveling alongside mother J16).

Willy Sighting!

OrcaNetwork - April 27
Jeff Dodd of Langley called to report what he was pretty sure was a False Killer whale, observed 3 miles north of Protection Island (near Port Townsend). The whale surfaced several times near the boat, & seemed very curious about the boat, then left.
There is a lone False Killer whale in the Salish Sea area that shows up periodically, & seems to like to approach boats - this could be a possible sighting - I have seen it in this area in the past - susan berta

Click - Orca Network Link

Click - Willy Link

Ecuador say NO to whaling and VOTE!

More here...

Orca Sound Project

These real-time hydrophone streams are brought to you by:

Beam Reach Marine Science and Sustainability School

Colorado College Physics and Environmental Science Departments

The Whale Museum of Friday Harbor

With generous support from NOAA.

A growing coalition of scientists, educators, and citizens are working together to expand a regional hydrophone network in the Salish Sea. This site presents the status of the network and is an experiment in sharing real-time underwater sound from different "nodes" of the network via the Internet.

click - Orca Sound

Save the Streams - All

November 26, 2007



click - Save the Streams Presentation

August 17, 2007



There are five species of Pacific salmon that die
after spawning; Chinook, Chum, Coho, Sockeye,
and Pink. Salmon return to their natal streams and
rivers each year. Salmon travel thousands
of miles and spend one to five years feeding in the
ocean before returning to their birth streams.
Spawning females dig out a gravel nests, called a
redd. The males then fertilizes the eggs and the
female protects the redd for one to two weeks.
Alveins hatch and mature into fry, developing
vertical bars for camouflage, called parr marks.
After a period of feeding fry migrate downstream
towards the ocean and grow into smolts adapting
to their marine environment.

Threats
On top of natural dangers from predators dangers
to salmon from human activities include poor
farming and forest practices, pollution, destruction
of coastal wetlands and estuaries. The territory of
British Columbia salmon has been decimated for
decades by industrial clearcut logging. Roots of
trees anchor steep slopes. Logging increases the
chances of landslides filling vital spawning
grounds with mud, debris, and boulders. Shade
from trees is lost increasing water temperatures.
Other threats include overfishing, urbanization,
hydroelectric dams, and fish farms.

Actions
Salmon play an important role sustaining
forest ecology. Spawners bring vital nutrients
from the ocean into the forest. Carcasses are dispersed
by bears and eagles providing the trees with fertilizer;
nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon. Salmon feed the
rivers helping the survival of young salmon. Farmed
salmon does not replicate this vital role and is
detrimental to wild stocks. Dangers from fish farms
include disease, pollution (including contaminating
shellfish), predation on young wild salmon, and
escapement (Atlantic salmon compete for food and
habitat with wild stocks). Conservation actions include
cleaning up salmon streams (ensuring clean and safe
flowing environments), recycling, using biodegradable
and organic products, and choosing wild salmon over
farmed.

Chinook
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
Spring, Salmon, King, Blackmouth,
Quinnat, Chub, Tyee (14+kg)
Chinooks have a greenish-blue dark back with
long black spots, a red hue develops around
the fins and belly, male teeth are enlarged and
they have a hooked snout. Tyee reach 1.5 m
and 58 kg, average 90 cm and14 kg. Spawning
peak May to June and August to September.

Chum
O. keta
Dog Salmon
Females are a metallic
blue, males have a
checkerboard colouration,
a dark horizontal stripe, and
canine-like teeth. Average
from 4.5 to 12 kg. Spawning
peak month October.

Coho
O. kisutch
Silver Salmon
Spawning males are red on
their sides, and a bright green
on the back and head areas, with a
darker colouration on the belly, spots
on upper tail fin lobe. They also develop
a hooked jaw with sharp teeth. Females
develop a lesser-hooked snout. Coho
reach 1 m and weigh up to 14 kg, they
average between 3 to kg. Spawning
peak July to August.

Sockeye
O. nerka
Kokanee, Red Salmon,
Blueback Salmon
Varying shades of red resulting
in a brilliant scarlet fish with a
green head. Grow to 83 cm
and weigh up to 7 kg. Spawning
peak month August.

Pink
O. gorbuscha
Humpies
Pale grey, males
develop a hump.
Get up to 76 cm
and to 5.5 kg,
average 1.5 to 2.5 kg.
Spawning peak month
October.



August 7, 2007

Shawnigan Lake

Small Mouth Bass

John's Creek



Goldstream

Salmon Fry

Thetis Lake





July 2, 2007





March 29, 2007


Southern Vancouver Island Salmon Streams

1 SAN JUAN RIVER- Chinook, Chum, Coho
2 MOSQUITO CREEK / DAVIS CREEK- Coho
3 FALLS CREEK / FALL CREEK / FALLER CREEK - Coho
4 SOMBRIO RIVER - Chum, Coho
5 MCVICAR CREEK - Atlantic
6 UGLOW CREEK - Coho
7 UGLOW CREEK - Coho
8 JORDAN RIVER - Chum, Coho
9 KIRBY CREEK / COAL CREEK - Chinook, Chum, Coho
10 MUIR CREEK - Chinook, Chum, Coho
11 TUGWELL CREEK - Chinook, Chum, Coho
12 DE MAMIEL CREEK - Chinook, Chum, Coho
13 SOOKE RIVER - Chinook, Chum, Coho
14 AYUM CREEK / STONEY CREEK - Chum, Coho
15 WILDWOOD CREEK / MATHESON CREEK - Coho
16 METCHOSIN - Chum
17 COLWOOD CREEK / GLEN LAKE CREEK - Coho
18 MILL STREAM / HAZLITT CREEK - Coho
19 CRAIGFLOWER CREEK / DEADMAN'S CREEK - Coho
20 COLQUITZ RIVER / COLQUITZ CREEK - Chum, Coho
21 SWAN LAKE CREEK / BLENKINSOP LAKE CREEK - Chum, Coho
22 SANDHILL CREEK / SHADY CREEK - Chum, Coho
23 HAGAN CREEK / GRAHAM CREEK - Coho
24 TOD CREEK - Coho
25 DURRANCE CREEK - Coho
26 GOLDSTREAM RIVER - Chinook, Chum, Coho
27 JOHNS CREEK - Chum, Coho
28 SHAWNIGAN CREEK / MILL BAY CREEK - Chum, Coho
29 KOKSILAH RIVER - Atlantic, Chum, Coho
30 COWICHAN RIVER - Atlantic, Chinook, Chum, Coho

Eliminate Toxic Flame Retardants

US Citizens - Urge your State Senator to Vote Yes on SHB 1024 to Eliminate Toxic Flame Retardants!

Click here

Toxic fire retardants turn up in orcas

DFO Recovery Strategy for Transients

The long-term goal of this recovery strategy is:

To attain long-term viability of the West Coast transient killer whale population by providing the conditions necessary to preserve the population’s reproductive potential, genetic variation, and cultural continuity.

To achieve this goal objectives have been established for the next five years.

Population Objectives
• population size will remain at or above the current level
• number of breeding females in the population will remain at neutral or positive growth rate levels
• determine numerical and demographic population objectives that represent long-term viability for this population

Distribution Objectives
• continue to utilize their known range
• prey will be available, in quantities adequate to support recovery, throughout the currently known range
• studies to determine how range is utilized at a population and sub-population level

Recovery Objectives
• average contaminant load will decline below current levels
• prey populations will be protected from anthropogenic factors
• current measures to protect from vessel disturbance will be maintained or expanded if determined necessary
• will not be exposed to acute or chronic sound levels in excess of those considered to cause behavioural or physical harm in cetaceans
• quantity, quality and distribution of prey necessary to sustain or increase the current population level will be determined
• greater understanding of the impacts of contaminants and other biological and non-biological pollutants will be developed
• the effects of vessel disturbance on will be evaluated
• a more comprehensive understanding of the impacts of chronic and anthropogenic ambient noise will be developed

Ref. - DFO Recovery Strategy for Transient Killer Whales

Vessel Effects on Orcas

Designated critical habitat for Southern Resident killer whales.
(Proposed Recovery Plan)

Request for Information and Comments
Suggestions included a moratorium on all whale watching, prohibiting whale watching for one or more days per week, developing a permit program for commercial operators, and requiring whale watch vessels to purchase and install Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) equipment to allow for monitoring their activities.

NMFS has developed a preliminary list of options for consideration and comment:

Codify the current Be Whale Wise marine mammal viewing guidelines –
Codifying the guidelines, in whole or in part, as regulations.

Establish minimum approach rule –
Have to consider whether the current guideline of 100 yards is appropriate for this regulation.

Prohibit vessel activities of concern –
Surrounding whales or otherwise preventing a reasonable means of escape.

Establish time-area closures –
Restricting human access to specific areas.

Operator permit or certification program –
Approach rules or establish closed areas that applied to all vessels except those operated under a whale watching permit or certification.

You may submit information and comments concerning this ANPR by any one of several methods:

E-mail: orca.plan@noaa.gov.
Federal e-rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Mail: Assistant Regional Administrator, Protected Resources Division, Northwest Regional Office, National Marine Fisheries Service, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115.

Public Hearings
Based on the level of interest in killer whales and whale watching, public meetings have been scheduled for April
18, 2007, 2–4 p.m. in The Grange Hall, Friday Harbor, WA and April 19, 2007, 7–9 p.m. at the Seattle Aquarium, Seattle, WA. Requests for additional public hearings or special accommodations must be made in writing by April 23, 2007.

(Federal Register Notice)

More than $1B for Victoria sewage treatment

The cost of building a centralized sewage-treatment facility for Greater Victoria has been pegged at $1.2 billion by the Capital Regional District. That's a big increase over the original estimate last year of $500 million. The new preliminary estimate in 2007 dollars is for design and construction, and does not include operations of the facilities. Regional district chair Denise Blackwell said homeowners could be facing property tax increases of $300 to $500 each a year, depending on which municipality they live in. She also told CBC News that municipal officials will try to find ways to ease some of the financial pain. "It'll be phased in over time. So that's one of the things we'll have to look at is, how can we phase it in so that it's a gradual increase in taxes to the local taxpayer, because it is a shocking number." A first draft of the sewage treatment plant will be made public by the end of April. The Capital Regional District has been ordered by the provincial government to submit a timeline by June 30 for the project. The federal, provincial and municipal governments have already agreed to help pay for sewage treatment for the capital city, which flushes 129 million litres of raw sewage into the ocean on a daily basis.

Ref.

SRKW Calls - All

Southern Resident Killer Whale Vocal Dialect Catalogue

The following calls were recorded in the presence of all southern resident killer whale pods, J, K and L, on September 26th and 30th, 2006, near Stuart Island in Haro Strait:

S1

S1_1

S1_2

S1_3

S1_6


S2i

S2iii


S6

S6_1 x 3

S6_2 x 3


S16

S16_1

S16_2

S16_3


S37i


S40

Witty's Lagoon

Lobaria pulmonaria / Lungwort
Lichens have a layer of green algae under an outer skin of fungus. The internal clumps on this lichen are cyanobacteria (cephalodiums). Cyanobacteria can take nitrogen gas from the air and turn it into biologically usable compounds, so lichens with cyanobacteria can make major contributions to soil fertility. The non-sexual reproductive structures on the surface are soraliums, little balls of algae wrapped in threads of fungus (soredia) emerge from the soralium to be dispersed. Some lichens make entire non-sexual reproductive packages in the form of soredia or isidia, which are tiny projections from the surface of the lichen that can break off easily and grow into a new lichen. Most lichens are very brittle when they're dry, and some depend on just plain breakage to produce fragments that, like soredia and isidia, can be blown around by wind, washed along by water, or carried off as passengers on insects or birds. Other lichen fungi make spores to form a new lichen. These fungal spores need to capture new photosynthetic partners after they germinate. Some apparently steal them from other lichens. This lichen is used in Britain as an indicator of undisturbed ecosystems. It reminded medieval European healers of lung tissue, and they took this as a sign that it was a remedy for lung ailments. First Nations of British Columbia used it as a treatment for coughing up blood and for lung troubles. Lobaria pulmonaria was used at a Siberian monastery long ago in brewing a bitter beer.

Member Profiles

Rachael M. Griffin B.Sc.M.B
Marine Biologist

Rachael Griffin (B.Sc. Marine Biology) is an independent researcher and photographer located in Victoria BC Canada. A graduate from the University of British Columbia with a Marine Biology Major she specializes in whale research, bioacoustics, and wildlife photography. Her research experience includes monitoring marine mammals in critical habitats, observing vessel effects on killer whale behaviours, investigating whale and dolphin vocalizations, recording sound levels in killer whale habitats. She is originally from England and has contributed to the development of the BeWhaleWise Guidelines and co-authored the paper Killer Whales are Capable of Vocal Learning. In 2005 she developed the Acoustic Monitoring Project and works in partnership with government and educational organizations to identify received sound levels in killer whale habitats. Rachael has over four years experience managing marine stewardship programs, monitoring vessel behaviour around marine mammals, meeting with ecotourism and government agencies to discuss best management practices. Rachael is currently pawning streams, and promoting conservation awareness through the construction of environmental educational presentations.

Other related experience includes working as a Marine Biologist for ecotourism companies to increase knowledge of marine mammal behaviour, promoting stewardship and educating the public on conserving marine species and their habitats. Rachael has worked for the Vancouver Aquarium as a marine Interpreter and database assistant. While at the University of British Columbia she worked as a research assistant, collecting data from scientific articles, aided with Steller Sea Lion morphological measurements, and organized head office paper work. Rachael has coordinated and trained volunteers in boating safety, recording methods, and monitoring efforts. She is a diligent fast-learning team player with a professional and positive work ethic, being self-motivated, creative, flexible and articulate, skilled at problem solving.

Rachael has proven research skills through establishing experimental design, collecting and analyzing data using various field equipment including hydrophones and photo-identification techniques, writing scientific proposals and papers, and conducting research seminars. Her technical skills include being proficient in Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator; and Premiere, Dreamweaver Macromedia, and acoustic software. She is experienced with darkroom equipment and procedures, using negative and photographic solutions, and scanning images. Rachael is a certified Advanced PADI scuba diver, experienced boat operator (Pleasure Craft Operator’s Certificate), and trained in marine safety through the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary (Restricted Operator’s Certificate Maritime, Emergency First Aid, Crew Level 1), and Occupational First Aid.

Website - Aquagreen Marine Research
Guidelines - Be Whale Wise
Paper - Killer Whales are Capable of Vocal Learning
AMP - Acoustic Monitoring Project
SRKW - Call Catalogue.

Photography




Videos



Sheila Hynes, Mes, HBa
International Marine Education

Sheila Hynes is an Expert in International Marine Education, with 14 years experience. Her areas of expertise include Teaching Methods, Marine Assessments, and Business Sustainability. Sheila is originally from the Northeast Coast of Canada. Major projects include Case Study Curriculum, Marine Ecosystem-Based Management (MEBM), and Marine Assessments. Focusing on the best interests of the marine ecosystem, Shelia is a liaison between the public, teachers, government, and industry. Some of Sheila’s accomplishments include achieving First Class Honors with Academic Distinction in her BA, and completing a rigorous Master’s in Environment program, receiving several awards for distinction during her career. Above and beyond her achievements, Sheila cares about the health and well being of her colleagues, stakeholders of her projects, good water, quality education, the protection of endangered species, and cultural tradition, all making her an outstanding and valuable leader in her field.

______________________________________________________

CONTACT: oceansociety@gmail.com

Welcome to Ocean Society!

The Ocean Conservation & Research Society (OCRS) is a non-profit environmental organization based on southern Vancouver Island. The society was first established in 2004 and is dedicated to the conservation of marine animals and ecosystems. The environmental team is made up of biologists, researchers, mariners, media specialists, students, government associates, and community stakeholders. The OCRS focus is on worldwide habitat restoration projects, environmental education programs, public outreach activities, and research studies. The Ocean Conservation & Research SocietyÂ’s objective is to help recover marine mammals and environments through habitat stewardship and research projects. Goals are achieved through consultation and co-operation with government agencies, businesses, scientists, local and international environmental groups, and the public.

CONTACT: oceansociety@gmail.com