
Herring fishing near Denman and Hornby island in the 1980s | Bob Cain photo
Free webinar lectures on herring and the protection of natural shorelines in the Salish Sea
The demise of the Salish Sea’s unique population of our resident killer whales confirms what biologists increasingly recognize: that the Salish Sea is “a collapsed ecosystem.”
The food chains that support the chinook salmon populations on which orcas depend have been largely driven to extinction through the destruction of beaches and estuaries that support forage fish on which chinook depend as well as through overfishing.
In keeping with its educational and civic mandate Comox Valley Nature presents a week-long series of five (5) free public lectures on the state, importance and protection of natural green shorelines for herring and forage fish starting Monday, Feb. 22 and ending Friday, Feb. 26 at 10 am.
Although overfishing is an important current public concern, shoreline armouring is no less responsible, even though it is politically overlooked. The state of Washington has recently passed very progressive laws that place the responsibility squarely on landowners, industries and municipalities to reduce and even remove hard armouring detrimental to fish habitat.
To restore BC’s fisheries to a semblance of their original productivity BC must take similar steps. The University of Victoria’s Environmental Law Centre recently published an important report: “Saving Orcas by Protecting Fish-Spawning Beaches”. The report explores legal avenues to enable similar legislation within Canadian law.
Dr. John Nielson (DFO) will kick things off with an overview of the state of herring off Cape Lazo. That will be followed on Tuesday by the UVic Environmental Law Centre presentation.
On Wednesday, Feb. 24 internationally Dr Ignacio Vilchis from San Diego Zoo who is internationally recognized for his work on the negative impacts of hard shores on seabird populations will present “Assessing seabird ecological correlates to inform conservation.”
On Thursday, Feb. 25, Dr Robert Rangeley from the non-profit “Oceana” will present a report on Canadian Fisheries and the importance of forage fish in “Rebuilding fisheries: unlocking Canada’s potential for abundant oceans .
The series will close with Salish Sea Herring Archaeology, an eye-opening overview of the state of herring before contact, as revealed from archaeological reconstructions, by UVic’s Dr Iain McKechnie.
The series is hosted for Comox Valley Nature by the Canadian Society of Environmental Biologists. The webinars are free and open to the public. URL’s for registration is can be found at the CVN website under the heading “CSEB Webinars”,
CVN is a non-profit always welcomes new members. Inquiries should be directed to Dr L. Maingon (250 331 0143). Parties interested in the status of herring in the Salish Sea are encouraged to also sign up for the Hornby Island Herringfest.
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
The Week: The heart of our survey is in the comments, not the hard numerical data
Decafnation’s Local Government Performance Review was designed to shed light on why people felt a certain way rather than predict some outcome through statistics.
The Week: How sorry are you for people pleading “trapped” in Arizona or Mexico?
Local elections are not that far away; don’t feel sorry for people who travelled out of country; and, based on Alberta’s level of thinking, the human race is doomed
CV Regional District adopts a statement of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples
The Comox Valley Regional District has formally recognized its commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples in a statement adopted by the board last week
Did you know: We drink Canadian beer out of American cans, where’s the logic in that?
During the recent aluminium tariff “trade war” between the US and Canada, the lowly beer can became a sign of the entire debacle. It began on August 6 when the US announced a ten per cent tariff on aluminium from Canada.
The Week: We focus on how our money is spent and Wildwood: a model for Shakesides
A new study shows that when newspapers close and nobody is watching, the cost of government rises. That’s one reason why Decafnation shines its light on local governments
Elon Musk’s SpaceX plans to launch starships from ocean oil drilling platforms
Elon Musk’s SpaceX company plans regular trips to the Moon as well as the eventual creation of the first human colony on Mars. A key part of the plan is the creation of spaceports at sea that will allow for greater flexibility with launches and landings
The Week: buzzing about city annexation (don’t bet on it) and 3L logging (yeah, probably)
Comox Valley newspaper ad creates buzz about Courtenay annexing 3L Developments land, but it’s all wishful speculation
The Week: Save 58% on the ‘The 12 Days of Christmas’ gifts, and other useless information
The COVID pandemic pushed down the cost of purchasing all the gifts in the classic Christmas song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” this year
Contemplation in action — a friend remembers Father Charles Brandt
A reflection on Father Charles Brandt by Bruce Witzel, chair of the Brandt Oyster River Hermitage Society
Comox Valley receives $9.251 million to offset COVID-19 pandemic economic impact
Four Comox Valley local governments received a total of $9.251 million as part of the $425 million BC Restart Grant Program
Nice photo!!