All posts by Roy Hales

Stranded in the heat, sand, and rocks

There was a boat stranded in the sand, at Smelt Bay, on Saturday. The Woody Point’s anchor lay not too far distant, a testament to its owner’s original intention. The ocean was perhaps another hundred feet distant. 

CKTZ News came to take pictures for another story. Thousands of mussels died on the exposed rocks at the southern side of the beach. They were presumably casualties of the heatwave that ravaged shellfish populations throughout the West Coast almost two weeks ago. 

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What the FireSmart grant means to Cortes and Quadra Islands

CKTZ News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Cortes and Quadra Islands will receive a significant chunk of the $394,000 FireSmart Economic Recovery Grant that the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) just received. 

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Shelley Downey running for Conservatives again

CKTZ News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Long term Port McNeill City Coun. Shelley Downey will once again be the Conservative candidate in North Island-Powell River during the next federal election.

In response to Cortes Currents query about running again, Downey replied, “I will be representing the Conservative Party of Canada when the next election is called.”

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Abnormally high number of Shellfish deaths on Cortes Island

CKTZ News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

In the midst of a heat wave that may have left as many as a billion dead marine creatures along the West Coast, there appears to have been an abnormally high number of shellfish deaths reported at a number of Cortes Island locations. 

Daily temperature highs of between 35°C and 40°C were recorded, at the Cortes Island School, during the last five days of June.  

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A billion marine creatures may have perished in the heat

CKTZ News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Close to a billion marine creatures may have perished in BC’s recent heat wave

What happened? 

“We had some of the hottest weather we’ve ever had and it happened to be on days with very low, low tides and that combination was pretty lethal for a lot of things,” explained Dr Chris Harley, a marine biologist at the University of British Columbia.

He said the one billion death estimate was obtained through calculations of mussel populations.  

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