Category Archives: Admin

More boater problems

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Human Interaction
At 0845hrs PDT an OBMG vessel was spotted speeding along the outside of the kelp bed east of Great Race.
At 0906hrs PDT a red vessel was spotted speeding out of the west side of the main channel.
At 0932hrs PDT an aluminum vessel with blue trim was spotted speeding out of the west side of the main channel.
At ~1000hrs PDT the eco-tour vessel Serengeti from Seafun Safaris was spotted speeding out of the Reserve around the kelp bed east of Great Race.
At ~1000hrs PDT a white vessel was spotted speeding into the Reserve from the east side of the main channel.
At 1016hrs PDT a blue aluminum vessel with ~3 POB was spotted speeding into the Reserve beside West Race. The vessel slowed once it actually entered the kelp bed near Middle Race. The vessel proceeded to transit the main passage W to E, then turn around and transit E to W before throttling up at the western edge of Great Race.

At 1025hrs PDT a white vessel was spotted speeding into Rosedale Reef via the edge of the kelp bed east of Great Race. The vessel approached less than 100 metres to the South Rocks before turning around and proceeding around the kelp bed to the main channel, eastern boundary. The vessel proceeded to the NE sea lion haul out and approached within 20 metres of sea lions on the jetty. Three persons were on board the vessel with license number BC1668350.
At 1040hrs PDT a white Bayliner with three persons on board proceeded to approach within 100 metres of sea lions hauled out on the jetty and on the NE rocks. The vessel license number was BC1668350. This incident was reported to DFO.
At 1130hrs PDT a white Bayliner with blue trim and four persons on board proceeded to approach within 100 metres of sea lions hauled out on the jetty and NE rocks. The vessel also made a point of circling and maneuvering unnecessarily in front of the jetty while sea lions were in the water. The vessel name was Sea Sprite and the license number is 2J 3444. This incident was reported to DFO.
At 1145hrs PDT an aluminum vessel with blue trim was spotted fishing around the east side of the kelp bed east of Great Race. The vessel continued to fish as it trolled towards Great Race, crossed the main channel and exited via the North-Middle Race channel. The vessel license number was BC1589784. Three persons on board. This incident was reported to DFO.
At 1215hrs PDT a small fibreglass vessel was spotted speeding out of the Reserve near North Race.

At 1327hrs PDT an aluminum vessel with a canvas canopy sped around and into the Reserve via the kelp bed east of Great Race.
At 1235hrs PDT a grey RHIB sped into the Middle-North Race channel while producing significant wake.
At 1343hrs PDT a fibreglass vessel was spotted speeding into the Reserve on the south side of Great Race. The vessel slowed eventually.
At 1347hrs PDT the aluminum vessel spotted at 1327hrs was found to be speeding out of the Reserve heading east.
At 1347hrs PDT a small fibreglass vessel with two persons on board was found to approaching closer than 100 metres to sea lions near the jetty. THis vessel sped westward out of the Reserve at 1352hrs PDT.
At 1416hrs PDT the grey RHIB previously found to be speeding into the Reserve was spotted speeding out towards the east.
At 1439hrs PDT Ocean Magic entered the Reserve at a speed greater than 7 knots producing a very large wake.
At 1440hrs PDT an OBMG vessel was found to be within 100 metres of sealions on the jetty.
At 1440hrs PDT a small white fibreglass vessel was found to be speeding into the Reserve from the east.
At 1442hrs PDT a white fibreglass vessel was found to be speeding out of the Reserve heading east.
At 1512hrs PDT a white fibreglass vessel was spotted speeding out of the Reserve heading eastbound.

Marine vessel activity

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Human Interaction
At 0800hrs PDT a vessel was spotted trolling along the N side of North Rock.
At 0800hrs PDT a second vessel was spotted trolling along the N side of North Rock.
At 0800hrs PDT a third vessel was spotted trolling along the N side of North Rock.
At 0825hrs PDT a fourth vessel was spotted trolling along the N side of North Rock.
At 0825hrs PDT an OBMG vessel was spotted trolling along the N side of North Rock.
At 0833hrs PDT the OBMG vessel previously found to be fishing was spotted speeding through the Reserve on the N side of North Rock.
At 0936hrs PDT a small aluminum vessel was spotted fishing near the kelp bed on the east side of the south rocks. By the time the station vessel was launched the vessel had departed.
At 1014hrs PDT large fibreglass boat was spotted trolling through the RCA north of North Rock.
At 1250hrs PDT an OBMG vessel was spotted fishing east of Rosedale Reef. The station boat was deployed to deal with the issue.
At 1545hrs PDT a large displacement hull vessel passed through the narrow, small channel between Great Race and the south rocks and was thus in close proximity to sea lions swimming around East Bay

News Coverage : Race Rocks Advisers push for Protection

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Murray Sager photo. Murray Sager is the relief caretaker of the Race Rocks lighthouse facilities. House, tower and generator building.

Murray Sager photo. Murray Sager is the relief caretaker of the Race Rocks lighthouse facilities. House, tower and generator building.

This column appeared originally in the Times Colonist
at: http://www.timescolonist.com/travel/Race+Rocks+advisers+push+protection/5275593/story.html

RACE ROCKS ADVISERS PUSH FOR PROTECTION: The Victoria Times Colonist August 18, 2011
After more than a decade of talks, the water around Race Rocks remains without federal protection. Now a push has begun to persuade Fisheries and Oceans to step back and allow Parks Canada to manage the Salish Sea from Race Rocks to Gabriola Passage.

The Race Rocks Advisory Board, a reincarnation of a board which sat between 1999 and 2002, was disbanded in March (2011) and some members have little faith that DFO can push an agreement to create and fund a marine protected area.

Angus Matthews, executive director of Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre in Sidney, who sat on both advisory boards, is fed up with fragmented jurisdictions and the lack of progress. He fears that, if agreement is reached, the proposal could derail when it reaches Ottawa, as happened in 2000.

“Most people are shocked that Race Rocks is not protected,” said Matthews, who is about to look for support from the Discovery Centre’s 17,000 members. “The public expects more from government and the ocean needs more. Race Rocks is the porch-light of the Salish Sea.”

Concerns include negotiations with First Nations, which, unlike the first round, are in secret, and questions about what benefits DFO is willing to bring to the table.

Dan Kukat, president of the Pacific Whale Watch Association, who has sat on both boards, said DFO is doing nothing to better protect Race Rocks. “It will only create more confusion and paperwork and red tape, and it could be detrimental to the area,” he said. “The Canadian taxpayer has paid $273,000 for consultations that have produced very little.”

The hodge-podge of protection now in place for the rocky islets and lighthouse, one nautical mile off the southern tip of Vancouver Island, includes a provincial ecological reserve designation, which covers the land, ***federal ownership of the lighthouse building,*** some fishing closures and a resident eco-guardian paid for by Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific.

It is vital to have a physical presence on the rock, but DFO is not offering to pay for the eco-guardian, said Matthews. He added that DFO seems unwilling to take on other federal department issues, such as Department of National Defense explosions and dumping of ballast water by freighters.

Glen Rasmussen, DFO oceans co-ordinator, said consultations with First Nations have not finished and, once completed, regulations have to be developed. “We are still targeting to have those published and in place by the end of March,” he said. “But we still have some hurdles to go and I’m not saying it’s a done deal at all.”

The advisory group was disbanded because consultations were complete, but a public advisory board will be re-established once the marine protected area becomes a reality, he said.

So far, on the Pacific coast, Endeavour Hydrothermal Vents and Bowie Seamount are designated marine protected areas and Parks Canada, in partnership with the Haida Nation, has designated water around Gwaii Haanas as a national marine conservation area.

Hecate Strait sponge reefs are going through the process to make them marine protected areas and Parks Canada is working on the southern Strait of Georgia as a national marine conservation area. Parks Canada would be interested in expanding to Race Rocks but, for the moment, such a move is probably not practical, said Richard Carson, Parks Canada’s national marine conservation area director.

“The notion of going bigger is appealing and it’s sorely tempting to dream that dream, but we need to be realistic about what we can achieve. “We have to be realistic about how big a bite we can chew,” Carson said.

Once the southern Strait of Georgia national marine conservation area is established, it is possible that expansion around the southern tip of the Island would be considered, Carson said.

Both marine protected areas and national marine conservation areas have the same objectives of marine protection while allowing multiple uses, but have different management styles.

jlavoie@timescolonist.com
© Copyright (c) The Victoria Times Colonist
*** There is some misunderstanding in regards this statement above , since the island and its contents are more likely provincially owned since the Colonial Government transferred ownership to the province when BC entered confederation. Further clarification on this issue is being sought;
Also see DFO announcement on selling off its lighthouses:

GF 2011.

Orcas in area

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A transient bull passed through Rosedale Reef this afternoon. I was informed by Straitwatch that 6 more transients passed by earlier.
California Sea Lion: 35
Northern Sea Lion: 5

Human Interaction:
At 1202hrs PDT a red eco-tour RHIB was spotted pulling up kelp on the W side of the South Rocks kelp bed. No kelp was cut although kelp was certainly pulled onboard the vessel for examination before being released. The license number of the vessel was CO2242BC with the name \”Kodiak\”. Photos are on file.

Heavy traffic in the reserve

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California Sea Lion: 14
Human Interaction
At ~1935hrs PDT a vessel was spotted fishing within the limits of the RCA in close proximity to the E. side of Rosedale Reef. The vessel eventually made its way out.

At 1245hrs PDT a vessel was spotted speeding into the Reserve from the E side. The station vessel was already on the water and advised the mariners to slow down.

At least 4 OBMG vessels were spotted this afternoon approaching close to mammals on Middle Rock and on Great Race and proceeding at a speed in excess of 7 knots.

Ocean Magic II produced a very large wake this afternoon while transiting the Middle-North Race channel against the current. This is the largest eco-tour vessel seen so far within the reserve

At 1945hrs PDT a CCG or CCGA rescue RHIB transited the South Passage E to W, then the main passage W to E. Once near the jetty end of the passage, the vessel throttled up and proceeded to power through the Middle-North Race Passage at high speed before exiting into Race Passage heading westbound.

At 2010hrs PDT a floatplane flew exceptionally low over the N side of the Reserve, E to W. No license/company name obtained.

Overall, yesterday and today were very traffic-heavy days due to whales in the area. At times 8 or more boats were in the Reserve at any single time.

Two techs arrived from Environment Canada to finish servicing the EC weather equipment at the top of the tower.
There were 2 visitors to the island today.
Vessels:

Pleasure: 7 Eco-Tour: 30 Total: 37

maintenance work

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At 1111hrs PDT a Prince of Whales vessel was spotted entering the Reserve at high speed in close proximity to West Race.
A CCG helicopter did a reconnaissance flight around the tower this morning.
Erik and Evgeny arrived to install the cable for the new underwater camera. Two techs from Environment Canada arrived to work on their weather equipment.
There were 4 visitors to the island today
California Sea Lion: 8

Eco tour traffic

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California Sea Lion: 7
# of sealions at the NE haul out (first of a series of daily reports).
 Saw an abalone for the first time in 3 years while on a dive today.

Human Interaction
At 0829hrs PDT a floatplane flew under 1000 ft from E to W over Rosedale Reef.
A pod of orcas passed through Race Passage (W to E) this afternoon. At one point, at least 15 whale watching vessels were in pursuit. Subsequently, heavy eco-tour traffic was experienced in the Reserve this afternoon. Most vessels respected established guidelines, but there were a few notable exceptions:
1. Birds of a Feather approached within 100 metres of California sea lions hauled out near the jetty. The sealions did not upset as there was already activity on the jetty.
2. A vessel from Seaquest based out of Sidney was observed speeding into the east side of the Reserve, well within the limits of the 7 knot speed restriction, then later observed speeding out in the same direction.
3. Several other vessel were observed speeding within the boundaries of the Reserve, either to obtain a better vantage point for viewing whales or to shorten travel time to the whales once the whales had moved well past Race Rocks.
Luke came out to RR to dive this afternoon with Adam to help take measurements of the materials testing platform and for pleasure. Erik and Hao also arrived as did a contact from \”The Big Blue Technologies\” of Victoria and his two young kids.

There were 6 visitors to the island today.

1 lonely Cal. sea lion

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California Sea Lion: 1
Human Interaction
At 0952hrs PDT a Prince of Whales vessel was spotted ripping out of the main channel heading westbound into the Strait.

At 1130hrs PDT a small, white, fibreglass vessel was spotted entering the west side of the Reserve and transiting at high speed around West Race before leaving the Reserve and heading in the direction of Pedder Bay.

Vessel infractions

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A double-crested cormorant was spotted on the rocks on the east side of Great Race at 2040hrs PDT.
Human Interaction:
At ~1400hrs PDT a vessel was spotted fishing on the E side of the South Rocks kelp bed. The station vessel was launched and the vessel was found to be in 106 ft. of water. The four older folks on board proved to be extremely friendly and stated that they had just purchased the boat the week before and it was their very first time on the water! We actually had a great 20 minute conversation about Race Rocks, fishing restrictions, how to distinguish between different types of salmon and general boating practices (how to use a VHF!). The folks were very happy to find out the area was protected and happily moved to deeper waters.
At ~1430hrs PDT a large aluminum vessel entered the W side of the main channel, slowed to look at sea lions on Middle Race, then sped through the main channel to North Race where they approached extremely close to seals hauled out on the rocks.
At ~1445hrs PDT a small aluminum vessel was spotted fishing on the W corner of the North Race kelp bed.

There was 1 visitors to the island today.