Tag Archives: Shellfish

New, lucrative First Nations oyster farm a sign of good things to come

quathet Living, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Tla’amin Nation has owned tenures in the Okeover and Theodosia areas for over 45 years and the business arm, Tla’amin Management Services LP, re-entered the aquaculture business in 2018. Its main operations, under Pa’aje Shellfish LP, are in the toxʷnač (Okeover) area which contains an astonishing 12 acres – one of the biggest in the area. 

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Mansons Lagoon not spared in Marine life die-off

CKTZ News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The lagoon at Mansons Landing is yet another location on Cortes, which experienced alarming rates of marine creature die-off in the wake of the recent heat wave — the sand dollar population being hit the hardest, with losses as high as 85 per cent.

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Stranded in the heat, sand, and rocks

There was a boat stranded in the sand, at Smelt Bay, on Saturday. The Woody Point’s anchor lay not too far distant, a testament to its owner’s original intention. The ocean was perhaps another hundred feet distant. 

CKTZ News came to take pictures for another story. Thousands of mussels died on the exposed rocks at the southern side of the beach. They were presumably casualties of the heatwave that ravaged shellfish populations throughout the West Coast almost two weeks ago. 

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Abnormally high number of Shellfish deaths on Cortes Island

CKTZ News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

In the midst of a heat wave that may have left as many as a billion dead marine creatures along the West Coast, there appears to have been an abnormally high number of shellfish deaths reported at a number of Cortes Island locations. 

Daily temperature highs of between 35°C and 40°C were recorded, at the Cortes Island School, during the last five days of June.  

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A billion marine creatures may have perished in the heat

CKTZ News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Close to a billion marine creatures may have perished in BC’s recent heat wave

What happened? 

“We had some of the hottest weather we’ve ever had and it happened to be on days with very low, low tides and that combination was pretty lethal for a lot of things,” explained Dr Chris Harley, a marine biologist at the University of British Columbia.

He said the one billion death estimate was obtained through calculations of mussel populations.  

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