Sunday, June 09, 2002 Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: A beautiful day, Max. 14.2C Min. 9C 11.5C
MARINE LIFE: Today’s animal pace was quite busy. Some of the Gulls are still collecting for their nests, while others are already incubating 2 or 3 eggs. The goslings are becoming very independent, frequenting the waters with their parents and exploring the little mysteries of Race Rocks. Some fly-overs by the resident Bald Eagle this morning, however it didn’t stay very long. A pod of 6 to 8 Orcas moved towards Victoria late this afternoon, one pair had a calf with them. The Sea Lion that has frequented the docks for the last couple of days did not return today, perhaps a sign of improving health.
HUMAN IMPACT: A total of 12 ecotourism vessels in and around the reserve today. Three fishing vessels on the reserves boarder for several hours. A group of canoes and kayaks paddled around the island today, unfortunately disregarding the 100m restrictions about approaching the seals. The group’s close proximity scared the seals into the water. We often have problems with kayakers. They think they are being so environmentally responsible but in this reserve they scare more marine mammals into the water than many other user groups. At approximately 10am a Victoria Coast Guard Auxillary boat, ( rigid hull inflatable, similar to the whale watchers vessels, sped straight through the reserve at excessive speed. They came within 20m. of the divers off the docks, the two groups of divers complaining of wake, despite a dive flag being in place and the no wake policy within the MPA.
posted by at 8:52 PM
MARINE LIFE: Today’s animal pace was quite busy. Some of the Gulls are still collecting for their nests, while others are already incubating 2 or 3 eggs. The goslings are becoming very independent, frequenting the waters with their parents and exploring the little mysteries of Race Rocks. Some fly-overs by the resident Bald Eagle this morning, however it didn’t stay very long. A pod of 6 to 8 Orcas moved towards Victoria late this afternoon, one pair had a calf with them. The Sea Lion that has frequented the docks for the last couple of days did not return today, perhaps a sign of improving health.
HUMAN IMPACT: A total of 12 ecotourism vessels in and around the reserve today. Three fishing vessels on the reserves boarder for several hours. A group of canoes and kayaks paddled around the island today, unfortunately disregarding the 100m restrictions about approaching the seals. The group’s close proximity scared the seals into the water. We often have problems with kayakers. They think they are being so environmentally responsible but in this reserve they scare more marine mammals into the water than many other user groups. At approximately 10am a Victoria Coast Guard Auxillary boat, ( rigid hull inflatable, similar to the whale watchers vessels, sped straight through the reserve at excessive speed. They came within 20m. of the divers off the docks, the two groups of divers complaining of wake, despite a dive flag being in place and the no wake policy within the MPA.
posted by at 8:52 PM