Category Archives: Rivers & Oceans

History, Indigenous Nations History, Rivers & Oceans

Quadra Island’s clam gardens

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

British Columbia’s West Coast is a hotbed of activity when it comes to ancient aquaculture. First Nations cultivated clam gardens for millennia along the Pacific coast, modifying coastal beaches to create optimal habitat for the mollusks, boost production and feed their people, research indicates. But Indigenous clam production on Quadra Island ­— located between the B.C. coast and Vancouver Island in the territories of the Laich-Kwil-Tach First Nations and northern Coast Salish — was especially intensive, said researchers Dana Lepofsky and Christine Roberts.

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Rivers & Oceans

The Chum have returned to Basil Creek

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This program was funded by a grant from the Community Radio Fund of Canada and the Government of Canada’s Local Journalism Initiative. 

The Chum have returned.

Squirrel Cove’s eagles have been announcing this to anyone listening, for weeks.

Three juveniles rose to flight, in response to the human presence at the mouth of Basil creek. They left their meal on the bank. The head of a salmon had been pecked off. Its body lay further up the bank.

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Rivers & Oceans

Quadra streamkeepers use motion-sensor fish camera

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Stream stewards no longer need to brave wild weather, winds and rain each autumn to count spawning salmon entering Village Bay Lake on B.C.’s Quadra Island. Now, volunteers can monitor returning salmon from the comfort of their kitchen table with the help of a high-tech surveillance system, said Lauren Miller of the Quadra Island Salmon Enhancement Society (QISES). The Quadra salmon conservation group has rigged up a motion-sensor fish camera system that snaps images of passing coho salmon as they head into the lake to reach their natal creeks further afield.

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Rivers & Oceans

Quadra Island Streamkeepers protect wild salmon

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Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

With just a little bit of arm flailing and much nonchalance, Frank Gleeson regains his balance after slipping on a wet rock lodged in a steep embankment along Village Bay Creek.

Gleeson and his buddy, Pete Calverley, continue to clamber over and under trees, scramble up slopes and wade through underbrush in their search for spawning salmon.

Gleeson and Calverley, aged 71 and 78, descend into a clearing at the creek’s edge and excitedly point out about 45 chum salmon milling not far from shore.

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Rivers & Oceans

Oyster Farmers taking a beating

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Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Oyster farmers know grit can make for a good pearl. But shellfish farmer Victor McLaggan’s tenacity is being tested as the pandemic continues to hobble the restaurant industry, the main source of his income. McLaggan’s niche market is selling direct to high-end restaurants across Canada, ones with tide-to-table ethics that want to know exactly where their product is coming from. But like most producers of smaller live oysters destined for the half shell, McLaggan says he’s taking a beating as COVID-19 protocols continue to force eateries to limit operations or shut their doors altogether.

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