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

Why so blue, little ling cod?

National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Five years ago, marine ecologist Aaron Galloway surfaced with a ling cod he had spearfished off the coast of Oregon and proceeded to freak out.

Endemic to the Pacific coast from Alaska to Baja California — but most abundant in British Columbia waters — ling cod are big-mouthed, feisty, bottom-dwelling fish that make for good sport and good eating.

Though typically mottled-brown red or even greyish-green with white-hued flesh, Galloway’s specimen was a shocking electric blue.

Continue reading Why so blue, little ling cod? →
Environment, Indigenous Nations

Coastal First Nations take steps to protect wild waters of Great Bear Rainforest

National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A coalition of coastal First Nations has achieved a significant step towards protecting the wild shores and waters of the Great Bear Rainforest on B.C’s central coast. 

The Heiltsuk, Kitasoo/Xai’xais, Nuxalk and Wuikinuxv nations signed an agreement with Ottawa and the province of B.C. to do a feasibility study for a national marine conservation area reserve encompassing a significant section of the coast and offshore marine waters alongside the Great Bear Rainforest (GBR). 

Continue reading Coastal First Nations take steps to protect wild waters of Great Bear Rainforest →
Rivers & Oceans

Cross-border Salish Sea study finds key puzzle pieces of wild salmon die-off

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National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

For millennia, the Salish Sea — the shared body of water linking northwestern Washington state and southern B.C. and encompassing the Puget Sound, Strait of Juan de Fuca, and Strait of Georgia — was abundant with salmon.

The keystone species is the bedrock of the entire ecosystem of the Pacific Northwest. All seven species of Pacific salmon populated the Salish Sea — sustaining a host of other iconic animals, such as bald eagles, southern resident killer whales, and grizzlies, along with their surrounding aquatic and terrestrial environments and scores of Indigenous nations and cultures.

But beginning in the late 1970s, salmon survival, particularly for chinook, coho, and steelhead — which migrate to the ocean like salmon, but can spawn multiple times — began a mysterious downward slide, especially in the marine environment, said Isobel Pearsall, director of marine science at the Pacific Salmon Foundation (PSF). 

Continue reading Cross-border Salish Sea study finds key puzzle pieces of wild salmon die-off →
Environment, Indigenous Nations

Investing in Indigenous-led conservation key in Canada’s climate crisis fight

National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Like most people heeding the red alert issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change last week outlining humanity’s continued spiral towards irreversible climate catastrophe, Valérie Courtois was alarmed. 

“It scared the crap out of me,” Courtois, director of the Indigenous Leadership Initiative (ILI), told Canada’s National Observer. 

“And I think it’s scaring the crap out of anybody who heard about it. At least, I hope it did.” 

No longer a distant calamity, the panel’s report indicates the Earth will likely surpass the 1.5 C warming threshold as early as the 2030s. 

Continue reading Investing in Indigenous-led conservation key in Canada’s climate crisis fight →
Rivers & Oceans

BC’s vital salmon route is seriously clogged

National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Floundering Pacific salmon stocks are finding little refuge in the lower Fraser River — the lifeblood for the iconic species, and historically, the most significant spawning and rearing grounds on the West Coast of North America.

Researchers have found 85 per cent of the historical floodplain habitat for salmon in the lower Fraser has been lost.

Continue reading BC’s vital salmon route is seriously clogged →