Pearson College students Annabelle, Chloé, Hanne, Malou, Michael and spend time on their project week at Race Rocks in March of 2015. They produced this PowerPoint presentation to document their time there:
A sampling of their photographs below:
Author Archives: Garry Fletcher
Students from Pearson College stay at Race Rocks Ecological Reserve. March 2015
A slide show made by Lester Pearson College students who spent their project week at Race Rocks Ecological Reserve in March 2015
Annabelle, Chloé, Hanne, Malou, Michael and Sibia
and Thanks to Chris and Anne
New DFO Report highly critical of Kinder Morgan /TMX environmental assessment on Whales
The recentlly released DFO report:
(See Full PDF) SUFFICIENCY REVIEW OF THE INFORMATION ON EFFECTS OF UNDERWATER NOISE AND THE POTENTIAL FOR SHIP STRIKES FROM MARINE SHIPPING ON MARINE MAMMALS IN THE FACILITIES APPLICATION FOR THE TRANS MOUNTAIN EXPANSION PROJECT was very critical of the Trans Mountain Expansion Project Application documents. The Conclusion of the report is concerned with Vessel strikes on Whales and the overall impact of noise from increased Project-related traffic. Included below are the conclusions of the report.
Conclusions
There are deficiencies in both the assessment of potential effects resulting from ships strikes and exposure to underwater noise in the Trans Mountain Expansion Project Application documents.
There is insufficient information and analysis provided with which to assess ship strike risk in the Marine RSA from either existing or Project-related traffic. Ship strike is a threat of conservation concern, particularly for baleen whales such as Fin Whales, Humpback Whales and other baleen whales (Gregr et al. 2006). If shipping intensity increases as projected in Section 4.4 in the Marine RSA and the Strait of Georgia and Juan de Fuca Strait as a whole, the significance of this threat to cetacean populations that occupy the region will increase.
Incidence of recovered whale carcasses is not considered to be an adequate measure of the frequency of ship strikes. No information is provided about the speed and maneuverability of Project-related ships or the distribution of whales in relation to the shipping lanes. Analyses that consider the statistical probability of ship-whale encounters and the risk of collisions are considered appropriate methodologies to assess this potential effect.
The JASCO MONM model, as it has been applied by the Proponent, is not adequate to assess the overall impact of noise from increased Project-related traffic. Although state-of-the-art acoustic modelling has been used to model the noise propagation associated with a single Project-related tanker in the Marine RSA, only four locations were chosen to represent the Marine RSA; therefore, the assessment does not adequately represent the noise exposure for the entire time a marine mammal would be in the RSA. The assessment represents only Project-related tanker traffic and not the current noise environment or the potential increase due to Project-related traffic. Finally, the method used to assess the significance of impacts from the modelled noise level contours resulting from a single Project-related tanker and tug on indicator cetacean and pinniped species is qualitative and the lack of an appropriate assessment framework reduces DFO’s ability to evaluate the assessment.
See other posts on Oil Spill Risk for the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve
Marine Mammal Regulations. The Fisheries Act.
These regulations may be viewed at:
http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-93-56/FullText.html
Note: We cannot find any reference to the “amendments about marine mammal viewing ” introduced in 2003 and 2013. See https://www.racerocks.ca/2013/01/31/dfo-marine-mammal-viewing-regulations/
Race Rocks Sea Otter pictures via England
Our regular viewer on the remote cameras from England, Pam Birley sent this set of images she had taken today on camera 1 of a Sea Otter at Race Rocks.
Click the sea otter tag below for other observations of sea otters here.
Seawater Temperature and Salinity January, 2015
Station: Race Rocks Lightstation, Observer Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific
| Date | Time | Sea | Jar | Hydro- meter No. | Observed Density | YSI Salinity | YSI Temp °C |
| Temp. | Temp. | ||||||
| °C | °C | ||||||
| 1 | 10:40 | 8 | 8 | 10802 | 232 | 30.3 | 8.5 |
| 2 | 11:00 | 30.0 | 8.7 | ||||
| 3 | 11:30 | 30.1 | 8.7 | ||||
| 4 | 11:45 | 30.0 | 8.9 | ||||
| 5 | 11:00 | 30.2 | 8.9 | ||||
| 6 | 12:45 | 30.2 | 9.0 | ||||
| 7 | 14:00 | 28.4 | 8.9 | ||||
| 8 | 14:00 | 29.9 | 8.9 | ||||
| 9 | 8:00 | 30.1 | 8.9 | ||||
| 10 | 8:00 | 30.3 | 8.9 | ||||
| 11 | 8:00 | ||||||
| 12 | 8:00 | 30.3 | 8.8 | ||||
| 13 | 9:00 | 30.0 | 8.8 | ||||
| 14 | 8:50 | 30.2 | 8.6 | ||||
| 15 | 9:10 | 29.8 | 8.5 | ||||
| 16 | 10:00 | 29.7 | 8.8 | ||||
| 17 | 10:00 | 29.8 | 8.8 | ||||
| 18 | 10:30 | 30.0 | 8.7 | ||||
| 19 | 11:20 | 30.3 | 8.8 | ||||
| 20 | 13:00 | 8.6 | 8.75 | 238 | |||
| 21 | 13:00 | 30.4 | 8.7 | ||||
| 22 | 14:30 | 30.4 | 8.9 | ||||
| 23 | 17:20 | 30.6 | 8.9 | ||||
| 24 | 17:00 | 30.4 | 9.0 | ||||
| 25 | 17:30 | 9.1 | 9.5 | 242 | |||
| 26 | 7:30 | 29.8 | 8.9 | ||||
| 27 | 10:00 | 28.5 | 8.8 | ||||
| 28 | 9:00 | 29.8 | 9.0 | ||||
| 29 | 9:30 | 30.4 | 8.8 | ||||
| 30 | 10:00 | 30.4 | 8.7 | ||||
| 31 | 11:00 | 30.6 | 8.8 | ||||
| mean |
|||||||
| Recorded by Race Rocks Ecological Reserve Guardian for Lester B. Pearson College | |||||||
Race Rocks weather makes the CBC Weather Network
This morning around 0700 hours we got some exceptional peak wind gusts that even got hilighted on the CBC Weather Network: 96 km /hr ( = 52 Knots)_
New archival image of Race Rocks tower.
This picture shows the tower (circa 1900) with the original light and tall cage installed . It also shows the stone residence attached at the base of the tower which the Coastguard “removed” in the 1960s.
The photo was taken by Major James Skitt Matthews,(1878-1970).
J.S. Matthews’ notes with print or negative are located in the Vancouver archives. Reference code AM54-S4-: SGN 1103.
Original untouched full size image: 
(note stepladder in light room??)
Fauchea laciniata: blue-branching seaweed–The Race Rocks Taxonomy
Divers at Race Rocks often see this species standing out with its bright blue colouration when underwater. Exposed above water, it looses the bright blue colour, and has a rather drab reddish colour.
Fauchea laciniata photo by Ryan Murphy
Fauchea laciniata, blue-branching seaweed with a white anemone–photo by Ryan Murphy
See other photos by Ryan Murphy on this Flickr site.
Other Members of the Phylum Rhodophyta at Race Rock
 Return to the Race Rocks Taxonomyand Image File |
 The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams. |
Christmas Bird Count -Dec 28, 2014
We want to thank Lester Pearson College for providing transportation to the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve for the 2014 Christmas Bird Count. Ecoguardian Alex Fletcher picked up Garry Fletcher and Val George with the Race Rocks boat from the Pearson College docks at 9:30 AM. We were able to do a Pedder Bay count as well.
The following is the spreadsheet for the 2014 Christmas Bird Count prepared by Val and Garry. Link to the Index for the past Race Rocks records for the Christmas Bird Counts
2014 Christmas Bird Count –
Summary for Race Rocks and Race Passage