
Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Sunflower sea stars clinging to life in BC’s cold-water fjords are officially on the edge of extinction, a scientific advisory panel is warning.
A once-abundant predator of the sea floor along the Pacific coast, stretching from Alaska to Baja California, Pycnopodia helianthoides, has been assessed as endangered by the federal Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC).
While disheartening, the decision isn’t unexpected and could offer a margin of hope for the survival of the massive, vibrant sea star, said Alyssa Gehman, marine ecologist with the Hakai Institute.
Continue reading BC’s sunflower sea stars are now endangered, but rays of hope remain