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.

Website Updated

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

Anenomes

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.


MORE:

Japanese whalers hunt humpbacks

Environmentalists have clashed with the crew of Nisshin Maru before
A Japanese whaling fleet has set sail aiming to harpoon humpback whales for the first time in decades. The fleet is conducting its largest hunt in the South Pacific - it has instructions to kill up to 1,000 whales, including 50 humpbacks. The humpback hunt is the first since a mid-1960s global ban and has drawn strong protests from environmentalists. Commercial whaling was stopped in 1986 but Japan is permitted whaling in the name of scientific research. Four whaling ships, including the lead craft Nisshin Maru, set off from the southern port of Shimonoseki on Sunday. The 239-man mission plans to kill more than 900 minke whales as well as fin whales and humpbacks, in a South Pacific whale hunt that will run until mid-April. The 8,000-metric ton Nisshin Maru was crippled by a fire on a whaling mission in the Antarctic in March. One crew member was killed. A Greenpeace campaign ship will be following the Japanese fleet.

Sensitive mammals

Tokyo's plan to target the humpback - which was hunted to near extinction four decades ago - has drawn condemnation from environmentalists. "Humpbacks are very sensitive and live in close-knit pods so even one death can be extremely damaging," Greenpeace spokesman Junichi Sato said. Japanese fisheries officials insist both humpback and fin populations are back to sustainable levels. "Humpback whales in our research area are rapidly recovering," said fisheries spokesman Hideki Moronuki. "Taking 50 humpbacks from a population of tens of thousands will have no significant impact whatsoever." Mr Moronuki said killing whales allowed marine biologists to study their internal organs. Meat from Japan's scientific catch is sold commercially but Japanese officials deny that the mission plans to make a profit. Tokyo argues that whaling is an ancient Japanese tradition, and has pushed unsuccessfully at the International Whaling Commission to reverse the 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling. Environmentalists say Japan's research programme is a pretext for keeping the whaling industry alive.

link

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?

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.