Month: November 2018

November 2018 – Herring Stand Up Successfully!

Herring have a decided disadvantage when it comes to standing up for themselves in government and industry offices where decisions about their continued survival are being made – they can’t stand! Or travel there. Or speak for themselves for that matter. So Terry and Jude have been standing up, speaking up, and communicating for them for many years. Why talk about herring in a whale’s blog? Well humpback whales are returning to our area because their population is increasing and they’re finding their old herring feeding grounds once again. A key component in Welcoming Whales is keeping enough herring around for them.

Recently our work as principal drafters of a resolution to protect herring resulted in astonishing success!! Powell River City Council championed this resolution at two provincial municipality meetings in 2018, both of which endorsed it! As a result all the municipalities in BC agreed to call upon Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to direct the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to protect herring by:

  1. Developing a west coast herring recovery plan through a process involving First Nations, independent scientists, naturalists, other levels of government and relevant non-government organizations
  2. Enacting a moratorium on all commercial fishing of herring in British Columbia to be instituted immediately until populations recover to the level decided upon by the herring recovery plan.

This resolution was endorsed by the Association of Vancouver Island Coastal Communities and the Union of BC Municipalities in 2018! Now, we’re not naive enough to assume that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) will jump on board this initiative to protect herring, since that arm of government is notoriously ‘hard of herring ‘ when it comes to listening to anyone other than their Corporate masters such as Jimmy Pattison who controls most of the BC fishing fleet. What DFO really stands for is Department of Fish Obituaries! Many species they have ‘managed’ they have managed to bring to commercial, if not outright, collapse! But this resolution provides the basis for organizations and individuals to organize around protecting herring in their own areas. We’ll continue to organize people in the Powell River region to protect herring here and along the whole coast of BC. March is the height of the spawning season and we hope to see more local spawning activity this year and keep the herring roe fishing boats from fishing this area.

Why talk about herring in a whale’s blog? Well humpback whales are returning to our area because their population is increasing and they’re finding their old herring feeding grounds once again. A key component in Welcoming Whales is keeping enough herring around for them.

Now, herring are a keystone species, which so many others eat, but aside from that they are fantastic beings in their own right! They’re so cool to swim with, their metallic silver sides flashing rainbow colours. More beautiful than all the chrome on any classic car, they are living molten silver insinuating through the emerald green sea in vast numbers! Being surrounded by these gorgeous fish as far as you can see underwater is mesmerizing and hypnotizing. We’re transported into an alternate reality of hive mind, individuals acting as one organism. Swim on Herring! On into future seas where you can seize the day to spawn, swerve, flash, flip, leap and love.

For the Wee Fish and Whopping Whales

 

 

October 2018 – Fog

Here we are floating around in Sutil Channel. We finally got here after after months of dreaming about this place as reports streamed in of dozens of humpback whales gathering to frolic and feed. Well – we’re here after a day of motoring – but where are the whales? We did notice one humpback blow off Francisco Point when we came around Marina Island. Then Terry sighted 2 blows at the SW tip of Read Island but nobody has come close or even lingered to feed in any of their reported favourite sites. So much for Humpback Heaven!

We circle the Subtle Islands. A flotilla of stellar sea lions is hauled out on the NW side. A couple of baby seals check us out. No whales. We have permission to tie up to another private buoy in one of the bays, courtesy of one of Martha’s friends. The folks on Cortes Island love the whales and have been very generous in helping us out with places for our ship to moor.

Tonight Terry and I lie awake meditating and mentally sending invitations to the whales to come and meet us if they aren’t too busy. The fog rolls in during the morning. We are floating around Hill Island. I am working below as Terry watches a fog bank roll up the channel. “Try phoning Martha” Terry calls down to me. “Ask her whether they’ve got fog over that side of the Island.”  I phone Martha. “She says it was clear this morning but the fog came in thick. It’s supposed to clear near noon but local knowledge says maybe late afternoon or evening”  Oh Joy! The fog is steadily moving toward us so we head back to our mooring buoy to wait it out.

And that’s the saga of Sutil Channel; floating around in the sun – monitoring the fog banks – waiting  for whales – and spotting them – in the distance. Meanwhile, we have some  fun observing raucous arguments between eagle mates. We watch a loon try to swallow a big-headed sculpin. We ponder on why the shore pines in the Bay are dying like the red cedars are dying in Trevenen Bay. But no whales. After a few days we decide to head back to the other side of Cortes. 2 humpbacks appear about 1 knot ahead of Blue Parrot to lead the way.