Tag Archives: Powell River

Disaster

West coast expedition explores deep-sea habitat never seen before

Editor’s note: Vancouver Island’s last major earthquake was in January 1700 and measured +9 on the richter scale. Earthquakes of this magnitude occur roughly every 500 years (but could be as little as 200 years or as much as 1,000 years – Dr. Gerard Fryer, University of Hawaii). The largest local earthquake in more historic times only measured 7.3 and occurred in 1946. The epicentre was Cumberland, Union Bay and Courtenay, where 75% of the chimneys crumbled, but building swayed as far away as Vancouver. There were reports from Campbell River, Powell River and on Cortes, Quadra and Read Islands. 

By Melissa Renwick, Ha-Shilth-Sa, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Deep under the ocean’s surface off the west coast of Vancouver Island lies a mountain range of around 50 underwater volcanoes – measuring from 1,000 to 3,000 metres high. 

These seamounts, as they’re more accurately named, are the reason earthquakes and tsunamis threaten British Columbia’s coast, said Cherisse Du Preez, head of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO) deep-sea ecology program.

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Rivers & Oceans

Waiting for DFO to decide the fate of open-net pen fish farms

Sometime in the next three weeks, Canada’s Minister of Fisheries, Joyce Murray, will decide whether the licenses for 79 fish farms will be renewed. 

“I heard a rumour that the minister laid out her options or her ideas to cabinet and cabinet has the plans right now. They’re  figuring out what to do. We can expect an announcement quite shortly on the plan around the transition of farms out of British Columbia and also the licensing decision,” said Stan Proboszcz, senior scientist with the Watershed Watch Salmon Society.

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Rivers & Oceans

Powell River Salmon Society: C’mon DFO – Fund us!

qathet Living, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Powell River Salmon Society has recieved zero increase in funding from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the federal government over the past 40 years. 

With the federal announcement of the $647.1 million investment towards saving Pacific wild salmon last year, the Powell River Salmon Society had heard nothing about receiving any of this, despite North Island-Powell River MP Rachel Blaney writing a letter to the Department of Fisheries Oceans (DFO) minister last July. After no response to the letter, Rachel and the Salmon Society worked together to create a petition.

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Rivers & Oceans

Powell River’s Big 3 fish debates

qathet Living, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Sitting outside Powell River Outdoors, owner Sam Sansalone fiddles with a fish hook on the picnic table.

“Look out on the water, and tell me how many boats you see,” Sam says. 

On a bright sunny day with calm water, there was a single sailboat that could be seen on the Salish Sea. 

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Rivers & Oceans

Before the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans: Was DFO’s ‘minimal risk’ assessment a cover-up?

(Click here to access other presentations taken from the Committee.)

At the May 12 session of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans, Stan Proboszcz, senior scientist at the Watershed Watch Salmon Society suggested that DFO covered-up some of its own research when it concluded fish farms pose ‘minimal risk’ to wild salmon. He said they appear to have reduced the number of science risk assessments from 10 to 9 because the evidence indicated sea lice harm wild sockeye.

Continue reading Before the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans: Was DFO’s ‘minimal risk’ assessment a cover-up? →