Tag Archives: Jackie Hildering

Rivers & Oceans

BBC’s Planet Earth does a deep dive on West Coast whale poo

Editor’s Note: Most of what follows is applicable to our waters, doubly so because MERS operates in our waters. Stay tuned to see if there are any scenes from Cortes or the surrounding islands in the BBC story.

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Whale researcher Jackie Hildering and her colleagues never imagined their work on humpbacks would capture the attention of the globe’s premier documentary series.  

Or that whale poo would be of such interest to Planet Earth — BBC’s famous nature show. 

Continue reading BBC’s Planet Earth does a deep dive on West Coast whale poo →
Animals, Rivers & Oceans

Holy Mola! That’s a big fish!

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Sunfish sightings continue to surface on the West Coast and — Holy Mola! — some examples are pretty big ones. 

Jackie Hildering was astonished by a recent photo depicting an enormous Mola mola submitted to the Marine Education Resource Society citizen science project, which is collecting data on two different species of sunfish along the Pacific Coast.  

Continue reading Holy Mola! That’s a big fish! →
Animals, Rivers & Oceans

Research groups sound alarm after three whales reportedly struck by ships off West Coast

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Three whales were reportedly struck by vessels in northern B.C. waters over a 10-day period last month, raising West Coast humpback researchers’ concerns over the risk shipping poses to the marine mammals.

Continue reading Research groups sound alarm after three whales reportedly struck by ships off West Coast →
Animals, Rivers & Oceans

Humpback whales are riding a crosscurrent of hope and concern

National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

It was a good news, bad news year for humpback whales residing in the Salish Sea on the West Coast.

Nearly 400 humpbacks were sighted in 2022, the highest number on record, said researcher Tasli Shaw, project lead for Humpback Whales of the Salish Sea (HWSS), which identifies and catalogues marine mammals in the region. 

Continue reading Humpback whales are riding a crosscurrent of hope and concern →
Animals, Rivers & Oceans

Endangered wildlife committee keeps B.C’s humpback whales on the list

By Kaitlyn Bailey, Prince Rupert Northern View, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The North Pacific humpback whale population is still at risk with a recommended status of “special concern”, announced the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) on Dec. 8.

Since commercial whaling for humpbacks was outlawed in 1966, the North Pacific population has been slowly growing, COSEWIC stated. They added that more than 4,000 whales spend time off the coast of B.C., but there are still risks.

Continue reading Endangered wildlife committee keeps B.C’s humpback whales on the list →