There are 33 freighter anchorages in the Southern Gulf Islands and Cowichan Bay and the federal government is currently considering adding more. The anchorages sites are free, long-term, overflow parking spaces for mostly, internationally owned grain and coal ships, waiting for berths in Port of Vancouver. Because they are outside of the federally regulated Port … Continue reading
Read more »Category Archives: Biodiversity Protection
On the interest of the “public” and/or the “nation”
Every time the topic of the Trans Mountain tanker and pipeline expansion hits the headlines, we are subjected to various public pronouncements by politicians, oil companies, and media figures about how it’s in the “public” or “national” interest. I think it’s important to note that this “public” or “national” interest, cast in primarily economic terms, … Continue reading
Read more »$12,700 raised for orca protection!
Thanks to the support of 229 contributors, Rama DelaRosa’s Swim for the Salish Sea Orcas raised $12,700 to save the endangered Southern Resident killer whale, more than meeting the challenge grant of $10,000 contributed by a long-time GSA donor. It was an incredible journey, and Rama and all of us at GSA are so grateful … Continue reading
Read more »Round and round we go … but where to, we don’t know
Prime Minister Trudeau’s government has announced a new National Energy Board process for the Trans Mountain tanker-and-pipeline project. The Federal Court of Appeal made it clear that the first NEB panel got it so wrong in its assessment of marine shipping impacts on Southern Resident orcas that they need to do it again. Georgia Strait … Continue reading
Read more »A Summer with Georgia Strait Alliance
In May, Octavio Cruz and I joined Georgia Strait Alliance’s Species Protection Outreach Team as summer students. Our goal was to organize local events to educate community members about threats to the Strait of Georgia and, specifically, to British Columbia’s beloved Southern Resident killer whales (SRKWs), while encouraging them to take action to ensure the … Continue reading
Read more »The Whale Guru
Ron Bates, known as the Whale Guru by his loved ones, has spent most of his life with killer whales in the wild. Ron currently resides in Victoria, British Columbia and, although he calls this city his home, he has been a world traveler since he was a young child. Ron sailed to Hong Kong from … Continue reading
Read more »Who grew those oysters on your plate?
The story of shellfish from tide-to-table The average seafood eater on BC’s South Coast is probably blissfully unaware that it takes between two and four years to grow the Pacific Northwest clams and oysters that occasionally adorn their plate. That’s something a local Vancouver restaurant is trying to change by encouraging people to learn more … Continue reading
Read more »Apex Predators and a Healthy Planet
Large predators often get a bad rap in terms of public outlook and opinion. Large predators in both marine and terrestrial environments has often been one of fear, misunderstanding, and misinformation. It was not until recently that public opinion on orcas began to change from one of a negative monstrous creatures to one of intelligent … Continue reading
Read more »From Machine Guns to Save-the-Whales
A History of Human and Orca Interactions In June 1961, the Department of Fisheries mounted a .50 caliber machine-gun overlooking Seymour Narrows, northwest of Campbell River, with the intent to shoot and kill passing orcas. Deemed a threat to commercial and recreational fishing, killer whales were known in the Pacific Northwest as, at best, dangerous … Continue reading
Read more »Are resident orcas moving on?
Southern resident orcas are one of the most highly studied whale populations in the world. Every individual has a name and is photographed for an annual census that has been conducted for over 40 years by the Centre for Whale Research. We know their family trees, when they were born, who they favour spending time … Continue reading
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