Save the Streams - Brochure

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

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...

Save the Streams - Presentation

click - Save the Streams Presentation

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

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

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

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.

BC Lakes & Streams

Shawnigan Lake

Small Mouth Bass

John's Creek



Goldstream

Salmon Fry

Thetis Lake

Save the Streams Update

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

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

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.