All posts by Rochelle Baker

Rochelle Baker is a staff reporter with Canada’s National Observer, thanks thanks to a grant from the Local Journalism Initiative of the Government of Canada. She previously worked as a newspaper reporter and photographer in BC’s Lower Mainland for over 7 years.
Rivers & Oceans

Hums, growls and farts: Fish sound the alert

National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Fish have plenty to say and we need to make more of an effort to listen to them and understand what they’re talking about, researchers say. 

The hums, grunts, squeals and even farts made by soniferous, or noise-making, fish are a noteworthy part of the ocean soundscape, said marine ecologist Kieran Cox. 

The former University of Victoria researcher was part of an international team that combed through more than 800 studies to catalogue vocal species and created a publicly accessible global library called FishSounds. 

Continue reading Hums, growls and farts: Fish sound the alert →
Forests

Logging company’s deferrals of old-growth jewels bittersweet, environmentalists say

National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

West Coast environmental organizations are cautiously optimistic after a large forestry company announced deferrals of old-growth logging in some prized conservation areas in its private land holdings on Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii. 

Mosaic Forest Management, the largest private land-holder in B.C., is pausing logging on 400 square kilometres of forest for a minimum of 25 years, opting instead to rely on carbon credits to generate revenue. 

Continue reading Logging company’s deferrals of old-growth jewels bittersweet, environmentalists say →
Rivers & Oceans

Pacific herring spawn spectacle surfaces along West Coast

National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Ribbons of milky turquoise green water twist and swirl along the coast of the northern Strait of Georgia each year when Pacific herring return to spawn. 

A natural wonder that peaks in March, the herring spawn is a herald of spring, eagerly anticipated and celebrated by humans and wildlife alike. 

Continue reading Pacific herring spawn spectacle surfaces along West Coast →
Rivers & Oceans

State-of-the-art lab on Quadra Island untangling the effects of ocean acidification

National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Whenever scientist Iria Giménez wants to contemplate her work, she settles on a wobbly driftwood bench perched on a mossy rock bluff and stares over the waters of Hyacinthe Bay on Quadra Island. 

But despite the remoteness of her thinking spot on the small ferry-dependent island, Giménez is just steps away from the Hakai Institute’s cutting-edge Marna Lab, a key research hub on the biological impacts of ocean acidification (OA) and climate change on the B.C. coast. 

Continue reading State-of-the-art lab on Quadra Island untangling the effects of ocean acidification →
Rivers & Oceans

Feds leaving West Coast fishing sector to flounder after salmon closures, harvesters say

National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The West Coast fishing sector is being hung out to dry and deserves a just transition like other climate-affected industries after the federal government put in widespread closures to the salmon fishery last year, the fish harvesters union says. 

Boat captains, crews, and shore workers are suffering dire economic hardship with zero emergency or transitional supports after the ministry of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) closed 79 salmon fisheries last June, said James Lawson, president of the United Fishermen and Allied Workers’ Union (UFAWU). 

Continue reading Feds leaving West Coast fishing sector to flounder after salmon closures, harvesters say →