Category Archives: Rivers & Oceans

Finances, Indigenous Nations, Rivers & Oceans

Sweeping reductions to BC’s commercial salmon fisheries

By Matt Simmons, The Narwhal, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

For Kevin Carpenter, a Heiltsuk gillnetter from Bella Bella, fishing has long been a way of life for him and his community.

“I started on boats when I was like five or six years old,” he told The Narwhal on a call from Prince Rupert.

In fact, he said he was preparing his boat for the fishing season a few weeks ago when he heard an announcement that would send him and the entire commercial fishing community reeling.

Continue reading Sweeping reductions to BC’s commercial salmon fisheries →
Rivers & Oceans, Weather

Oyster & Clam sectors burned during heat wave

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National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Dave Nikleva walks the shoreline of a Cortes Island beach nudging oysters with the toe of his boot.

“Dead. Dead. Dead,” Nikleva mutters as he goes along.

The shellfish farmer stoops over to pick up one bigger specimen for inspection before tossing it back on the beach.

The stench along this stretch of Gorge Harbour at low tide is tremendous. But it was even worse two weeks ago when a record-breaking heat wave cooked thousands upon thousands of oysters in their shells in the final days of June.

Continue reading Oyster & Clam sectors burned during heat wave →
Cost of Climate Change, Rivers & Oceans, Weather

Stranded in the heat, sand, and rocks

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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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Indigenous Nations, Rivers & Oceans

Asking the feds to not renew BC fish farm licenses

Twenty businesses and organizations are recommending that the federal government not renew BC fish farm licenses, when they come up for renewal next year. 

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Rivers & Oceans

PRV spreads from salmon farms to wild Chinook, study says

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“Our findings show that salmon farms are, indeed, a source of infection for wild fish. Viruses leave a genetic fingerprint. The genetic fingerprint shows that the same viruses that are on the farms are in the wild fish. All the evidence suggests that the virus is being transmitted from the farm to wild fish. I haven’t seen any evidence that says that’s not happening,” said Dr Gideon Mordecai, a viral ecologist at the University of British Columbia and the lead author of a paper published in Science Advances last month.

Continue reading PRV spreads from salmon farms to wild Chinook, study says →