National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The West Coast’s commercial salmon fleet is clearly in the midst of transformative change.
Ottawa has shuttered approximately 60 per cent of B.C.’s commercial fisheries since 2021 and last month launched a licence buyback program to lure fish harvesters to exit the industry to protect plummeting salmon stocks.
Continue reading Who gets to fish for B.C. salmon in the future?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 concernNational Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
As the year’s climate-related gains and catastrophes wrap, Canada’s National Observer is reviewing the top five stories to make waves in B.C.’s coastal and island communities in 2022.
First Nations, forests and fish-related news surfaced as some top issues from CNO’s Island Insider beat, and are likely to dominate headlines in the new year as well.
Continue reading From fish to forests, how 2022 played out on Canada’s West Coast
A waste education program from Powell River recently cleaned up an islet that was partially buried under tires. Cortes Currents re-published the story from qathet Living and that probably would have ended the matter, except some of you had questions. The biggest one was something between shock and disbelief that such a beautiful Islet had actually been turned into a tire dump. So Cortes Currents asked Abby McLennan of Let’s Talk Trash for an interview.
Continue reading The story behind the Tire Islet clean-up
By Kaitlyn Bailey, Prince Rupert Northern View, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The province is asking for public feedback on a document proposing solutions and policies to guide the health of marine ecosystems and coastal communities in B.C.
As the government develops the province’s first coastal marine strategy, they want people to give feedback on its goals and priorities, the Ministry of Water, Land and Water Stewardship announced on Dec. 15.
Continue reading B.C. seeks feedback on coastal marine strategy
