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!An alarming trend to watch:
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
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
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 listCanada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Conservation groups are alarmed that the status of fin whales as a threatened species on Canada’s West Coast is about to be downgraded just as the dangers of LNG shipping and climate change are on the rise.
The global population of the sleek, fast moving whale — dubbed the greyhound of the sea and named for the dorsal fin near its tail — was decimated by industrial whaling, which lasted until the1980s. Canada’s Pacific fin whale population was listed as threatened in May 2005 and was legally protected under the Species at Risk Act (SARA) the following year.
That protection may now be weakened after the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) concluded fin whales numbers are increasing and reclassified it as a species of special concern in 2019.
Continue reading At-risk fin whales are in hot water with protection downgrade, LNG, and climate change
