Category Archives: Admin

Boats in The Ecological reserve to Dec 2002

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Partial records from the old Race Rocks Log transferred to this log. GF Includes boat section and infractions section from the database,

(16, ‘2002-08-14’, ‘Pleasure’, 0, ‘HUMAN INTERACTION: There were 27 Ecotour boats, 8 pleasure craft and Second Nature through the reserve today.\r\nposted by Carol or Mike S at 7:05 PM\r\n’, ‘Mike’, ’15:33:14′),
(2, ‘2002-08-14’, ‘Pleasure’, 8, ”, ‘Mike’, ’10:52:33′),
(3, ‘2002-08-13’, ‘Pleasure’, 9, ”, ‘Mike’, ’10:55:47′),
(4, ‘2002-08-13’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 33, ”, ‘Mike’, ’10:56:18′),
(5, ‘2002-08-13’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 33, ”, ‘Mike’, ’10:58:47′),
(6, ‘2002-08-12’, ‘Pleasure’, 13, ”, ‘Mike’, ’11:06:32′),
(7, ‘2002-08-12’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 50, ”, ‘Mike’, ’06:46:55′),
(8, ‘2002-08-11’, ‘Pleasure’, 9, ”, ‘Mike’, ’11:13:16′),
(9, ‘2002-08-11’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 6, ”, ‘Mike’, ’11:13:51′),
(10, ‘2002-08-11’, ‘Diving’, 1, ”, ‘Mike’, ’11:14:14′),
(11, ‘2002-08-03’, ‘Pleasure’, 9, ”, ‘Mike’, ’11:20:37′),
(12, ‘2002-08-03’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 21, ”, ‘Mike’, ’11:20:57′),
(13, ‘2002-08-11’, ‘Other’, 1, ‘Chris in Hyaku’, ‘Mike’, ’11:42:45′),
(14, ‘2002-08-09’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 34, ’34 tour boats through the reserve today, many boats toured the reserve early today in the thick fog. With visibility severely limited, many pushed too close to the islands under current regulations. As well, with so many boats and so little visibility, so’, ‘Ryan’, ’11:56:02′),
(15, ‘2002-08-15’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 23, ”, ‘Mike’, ’14:02:16′),
(17, ‘2002-08-16’, ‘Fishing’, 1, ‘3 on board fishing No. ( WN 5065 LN )’, ‘Mike-Carol’, ’15:33:53′),
(18, ‘2002-08-16’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 2, ‘light day’, ‘Mike-Carol’, ’21:27:49′),
(21, ‘2002-08-23’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 25, ”, ‘Mike’, ’22:56:53′),
(22, ‘2002-08-23’, ‘Diving’, 1, ”, ‘Mike’, ’22:57:34′),
(23, ‘2002-08-23’, ‘Pleasure’, 1, ”, ‘Mike’, ’22:57:58′),
(24, ‘2002-08-23’, ‘Other’, 1, ‘Station Boat to Pedder Bay’, ‘Mike’, ’22:58:38′),
(25, ‘2002-08-25’, ‘Pleasure’, 3, ”, ‘Mike’, ’23:06:30′),
(26, ‘2002-08-25’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 28, ”, ‘Mike’, ’23:07:07′),
(27, ‘2002-08-25’, ‘Diving’, 1, ”, ‘Mike’, ’23:07:24′),
(29, ‘2002-08-02’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 6, ”, ‘Carol or Mike’, ’15:46:13′),
(30, ‘2002-08-02’, ‘Pleasure’, 7, ”, ‘Carol or Mike’, ’15:46:41′),
(31, ‘2002-01-03’, ‘Pleasure’, 2, ”, ‘Carol or Mike S’, ’15:56:08′),
(32, ‘2002-08-04’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 53, ”, ‘Carol or Mike’, ’15:51:25′),
(33, ‘2002-03-05’, ‘Pleasure’, 1, ‘1 Pleasure craft through the M.P.A. today.’, ‘Carol or Mike S’, ’15:51:41′),
(34, ‘2002-08-04’, ‘Pleasure’, 13, ”, ‘Carol or Mike’, ’15:51:45′),
(35, ‘2002-01-03’, ‘Diving’, 1, ‘ 1- 4 metre boat with 3 divers between Gr. Race and West Race.\r\n’, ‘Garry’, ’15:52:22′),
(36, ‘2002-03-05’, ‘Other’, 1, ‘Race Rocks boat over to Parry Bay to Bring Garry over to work on the data system.’, ‘Carol or Mike S’, ’15:52:28′),
(37, ‘2002-01-03’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 1, ”, ‘Garry’, ’15:54:01′),
(38, ‘2002-01-04’, ‘Other’, 1, ”, ‘Mike or Carol’, ’15:59:02′),
(39, ‘2001-12-24’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 1, ’11:30 am 1 Whale Watcher Boat’, ‘Carol or Mike S’, ’16:01:36′),
(40, ‘2002-08-08’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 23, ”, ‘Carol or Mike’, ’16:07:20′),
(41, ‘2002-08-08’, ‘Pleasure’, 4, ”, ‘Carol or Mike’, ’16:07:36′),
(42, ‘2002-08-10’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 25, ”, ‘Garry’, ’16:12:51′),
(43, ‘2002-08-10’, ‘Pleasure’, 1, ”, ‘Carol or Mike’, ’16:13:06′),
(44, ‘2002-08-10’, ‘Other’, 1, ‘Marine Mammal Monitor boat in the reserve today. The station boat made a return trip to Pedder Bay and a trip to the Campus in the afternoon to return Ryan back to civilization – Thank you Ryan!\n’, ‘Carol or Mike’, ’16:14:15′),
(45, ‘2002-11-30’, ‘Pleasure’, 2, ”, ‘Mike’, ’14:04:11′),
(46, ‘2002-11-30’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 3, ”, ‘Mike’, ’14:04:34′),
(47, ‘2002-11-30’, ‘Diving’, 1, ‘The Juan de Fuca Warrior made morning dive along the north shore of Gr. Race and an afternoon dive off West Race. Did not observe any  interference with the wildlife.’, ‘Mike’, ’14:07:33′),
(48, ‘2002-12-01’, ‘Pleasure’, 2, ”, ‘Mike’, ’14:09:07′),
(49, ‘2002-12-01’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 3, ”, ‘Mike’, ’14:09:39′),
(50, ‘2002-12-15’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 2, ‘with the storm warnings up was surprised to see 2 tour boats come through about 11:30 -both from Springtide.’, ‘Mike’, ’11:23:11′),

‘2002-08-11′, ’18:14:00’, ‘Fishing’, ‘Boat’, ’14K 29105′, ‘Unfortuately there are still sports fishers who have either not familiarized themselves with the fishing regulations or are just ignoring them but today, because the tide was too low to launch the station boat we had to call Chris to come out in the Hyaku’, ‘Mike’, ’11:33:21′),
‘2002-08-09′, ’19:19:00’, ‘Speed’, ‘Boat’, ”, ‘At a quarter to 4 one tour zodiac decided to disregard the no-wake regulation and sped past Great Race, an unfortunate incident not repeated by other tour boats today.\r\n’, ‘Ryan’, ’11:57:19′),
‘2002-08-15′, ’09:20:19’, ‘Landing’, ‘Other’, ”, ‘Coast Guard Helicopter landed near tower leading to a great disturbance of the gulls. Escaping youngsters were attacked by groups of parents . ‘, ‘Mike-Carol’, ’14:14:13′),
‘2002-08-15′, ’15:23:28’, ‘Fishing’, ‘Boat’, ”, ‘hi Garry just looking at precipitation could we get it to read.\r\n”Precipitation Rain ____mm Snow ___cm  Total ____mm’, ‘Mike’, ’15:29:15′)

 

‘2002-08-14’, ‘Pleasure’, 0, ‘HUMAN INTERACTION: There were 27 Ecotour boats, 8 pleasure craft and Second Nature through the reserve today.\r\nposted by Carol or Mike S at 7:05 PM\r\n’, ‘Mike’, ’15:33:14′),
‘2002-08-14’, ‘Pleasure’, 8, ”, ‘Mike’, ’10:52:33′),
‘2002-08-13’, ‘Pleasure’, 9, ”, ‘Mike’, ’10:55:47′),
‘2002-08-13’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 33, ”, ‘Mike’, ’10:56:18′),
‘2002-08-13’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 33, ”, ‘Mike’, ’10:58:47′),
‘2002-08-12’, ‘Pleasure’, 13, ”, ‘Mike’, ’11:06:32′),
‘2002-08-12’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 50, ”, ‘Mike’, ’06:46:55′),
‘2002-08-11’, ‘Pleasure’, 9, ”, ‘Mike’, ’11:13:16′),
‘2002-08-11’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 6, ”, ‘Mike’, ’11:13:51′),
‘2002-08-11’, ‘Diving’, 1, ”, ‘Mike’, ’11:14:14′),
‘2002-08-03’, ‘Pleasure’, 9, ”, ‘Mike’, ’11:20:37′),(16, ‘2002-08-14’, ‘Pleasure’, 0, ‘HUMAN INTERACTION: There were 27 Ecotour boats, 8 pleasure craft and Second Nature through the reserve today.\r\nposted by Carol or Mike S at 7:05 PM\r\n’, ‘Mike’, ’15:33:14′),
‘2002-08-14’, ‘Pleasure’, 8, ”, ‘Mike’, ’10:52:33′),
‘2002-08-03’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 21, ”, ‘Mike’, ’11:20:57′),
‘2002-08-11’, ‘Other’, 1, ‘Chris in Hyaku’, ‘Mike’, ’11:42:45′),
‘2002-08-09’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 34, ’34 tour boats through the reserve today, many boats toured the reserve early today in the thick fog. With visibility severely limited, many pushed too close to the islands under current regulations. As well, with so many boats and so little visibility, so’, ‘Ryan’, ’11:56:02′),(1, ‘2002-08-11′, ’18:14:00’, ‘Fishing’, ‘Boat’, ’14K 29105′, ‘Unfortuately there are still sports fishers who have either not familiarized themselves with the fishing regulations or are just ignoring them but today, because the tide was too low to launch the station boat we had to call Chris to come out in the Hyaku’, ‘Mike’, ’11:33:21′),
‘2002-08-09′, ’19:19:00’, ‘Speed’, ‘Boat’, ”, ‘At a quarter to 4 one tour zodiac decided to disregard the no-wake regulation and sped past Great Race, an unfortunate incident not repeated by other tour boats today.\r\n’, ‘Ryan’, ’11:57:19′),
‘2002-08-15′, ’09:20:19’, ‘Landing’, ‘Other’, ”, ‘Coast Guard Helicopter landed near tower leading to a great disturbance of the gulls. Escaping youngsters were attacked by groups of parents . ‘, ‘Mike-Carol’, ’14:14:13′),
‘2002-08-15′, ’15:23:28’, ‘Fishing’, ‘Boat’, ”, ‘hi Garry just looking at precipitation could we get it to read.\r\n”Precipitation Rain ____mm Snow ___cm  Total ____mm’, ‘Mike’, ’15:29:15′),
‘2002-08-15’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 23, ”, ‘Mike’, ’14:02:16′),
‘2002-08-16’, ‘Fishing’, 1, ‘3 on board fishing No. ( WN 5065 LN )’, ‘Mike-Carol’, ’15:33:53′),
‘2002-08-16’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 2, ‘light day’, ‘Mike-Carol’, ’21:27:49′),
‘2002-08-23’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 25, ”, ‘Mike’, ’22:56:53′),
‘2002-08-23’, ‘Diving’, 1, ”, ‘Mike’, ’22:57:34′),
2002-08-23′, ‘Pleasure’, 1, ”, ‘Mike’, ’22:57:58′),
‘2002-08-23’, ‘Other’, 1, ‘Station Boat to Pedder Bay’, ‘Mike’, ’22:58:38′),
‘2002-08-25’, ‘Pleasure’, 3, ”, ‘Mike’, ’23:06:30′),
‘2002-08-25’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 28, ”, ‘Mike’, ’23:07:07′),
‘2002-08-25’, ‘Diving’, 1, ”, ‘Mike’, ’23:07:24′),
‘2002-08-02’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 6, ”, ‘Carol or Mike’, ’15:46:13′),
‘2002-08-02’, ‘Pleasure’, 7, ”, ‘Carol or Mike’, ’15:46:41′),
‘2002-01-03’, ‘Pleasure’, 2, ”, ‘Carol or Mike S’, ’15:56:08′),
‘2002-08-04’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 53, ”, ‘Carol or Mike’, ’15:51:25′),
‘2002-03-05’, ‘Pleasure’, 1, ‘1 Pleasure craft through the M.P.A. today.’, ‘Carol or Mike S’, ’15:51:41′),
‘2002-08-04’, ‘Pleasure’, 13, ”, ‘Carol or Mike’, ’15:51:45′),
‘2002-01-03’, ‘Diving’, 1, ‘ 1- 4 metre boat with 3 divers between Gr. Race and West Race.\r\n’, ‘Garry’, ’15:52:22′),
‘2002-03-05’, ‘Other’, 1, ‘Race Rocks boat over to Parry Bay to Bring Garry over to work on the data system.’, ‘Carol or Mike S’, ’15:52:28′),
‘2002-01-03’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 1, ”, ‘Garry’, ’15:54:01′),
‘2002-01-04’, ‘Other’, 1, ”, ‘Mike or Carol’, ’15:59:02′),
‘2001-12-24’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 1, ’11:30 am 1 Whale Watcher Boat’, ‘Carol or Mike S’, ’16:01:36′),
‘2002-08-08’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 23, ”, ‘Carol or Mike’, ’16:07:20′),
‘2002-08-08’, ‘Pleasure’, 4, ”, ‘Carol or Mike’, ’16:07:36′),
‘2002-08-10’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 25, ”, ‘Garry’, ’16:12:51′),
‘2002-08-10’, ‘Pleasure’, 1, ”, ‘Carol or Mike’, ’16:13:06′),
‘2002-08-10’, ‘Other’, 1, ‘Marine Mammal Monitor boat in the reserve today. The station boat made a return trip to Pedder Bay and a trip to the Campus in the afternoon to return Ryan back to civilization – Thank you Ryan!\n’, ‘Carol or Mike’, ’16:14:15′),
‘2002-11-30’, ‘Pleasure’, 2, ”, ‘Mike’, ’14:04:11′),
‘2002-11-30’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 3, ”, ‘Mike’, ’14:04:34′),
‘2002-11-30’, ‘Diving’, 1, ‘The Juan de Fuca Warrior made morning dive along the north shore of Gr. Race and an afternoon dive off West Race. Did not observe any  interference with the wildlife.’, ‘Mike’, ’14:07:33′),
‘2002-12-01’, ‘Pleasure’, 2, ”, ‘Mike’, ’14:09:07′),
‘2002-12-01’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 3, ”, ‘Mike’, ’14:09:39′),
‘2002-12-15’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 2, ‘with the storm warnings up was surprised to see 2 tour boats come through about 11:30 -both from Springtide.’, ‘Mike’, ’11:23:11′),

‘2002-08-26’, ‘Pleasure’, 4, ”, ‘Carol or Mike S’, ’15:56:52′),
‘2002-08-26’, ‘Eco-Tour’, 27, ”, ‘Carol or Mike S’, ’15:57:07′),

Ardea herodias: Great Blue Heron–The Race Rocks taxonomy

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Images for this slide show video were taken on the remote camera 5 by PB.

 

The great blue heron is a very widely spread bird throughout the American continent. During the breeding season it can be found in places such as Alaska and as far south as Mexico or the West Indies. In Winter, most blue herons leave Canada and go to the United States, or even places as Panama, Colombia and Venezuela. However, British Columbia seems to be an exception to this, and blue herons live there during the whole year. On the southern part of Vancouver Island, they are frequent residents in Pedder Bay and are often seen sitting out on the kelp at Rocky Point. Kelp provides shelter for a number of small fish such as herring and anchovie. Occasionally on calm days, we will see a heron standing and spearing fish from the Nereocystis (kelp) beds out at Race Rocks, so they become part of the top of the food web in the ecosystem.
Blue herons are the biggest type of heron. Adults can be over 1 meter tall, and they can have a 2 meter wing span. Their head is white with a black stripe on each side extending back from the eyes. Their back is blue and the breast is white streaked with black. In flight, the neck is doubled back and the head rests against the shoulders. Herons in their first year have grey crowns and grey wings.
Great blue herons feed mainly on very small fish, with no more then 7cm of length. Occasionally, they can feed on shellfish, insects, amphibians, reptiles, small birds and rodents.

Blue herons usually nest in forest areas, within a few kilometres from their main feeding area, in treetops. This is done in order to prevent the nest from being reached by land predators. During the spring, when both males and females arrive for nesting, males occupy old nests or branches and prepare to defend their territory. In the presence of females, they emit very loud shrieks. Two year old males are the most likely to mate immediately. The closest possible nesting area to Race Rocks is Rocky Point.
After mating, males gather construction materials to build a new nest, and together with the female, they build it in about one week. By April, each female then lays three to five eggs, which she incubates during the night, while the male incubates them during the day.

After hatching, young herons are fed by their parents, who regurgitate predigested food. If supplies are not enough. Only the strongest will survive. The weaker offspring end up being pushed out of the nest by the strongest, and they eventually starve. The survivors grow very quickly. Eight weeks after they’re born they can already fly clumsily, and at the age of ten weeks they leave the nest and become independent. An average of two or three chicks results from each breeding cycle of the blue heron
Great blue herons are a very sociable species. They organize in colonies for breeding, feeding and protection from predators.
These birds live as long as 17 years. They have very few natural predators. Draining marshes and destroying common food sites are the greatest threat to the population of great blue herons. However, the mortality among young birds is high. The eggs are often preyed upon by crows, ravens, eagles and raccoons. In ictoria, nesting colonies have moved due to continula predation by bald eagles. Shortage of food is also a common death factor among youngsters. Although contamination by chemicals seems to interfere with the reproductive system, it is not yet proven that it has a direct impact on overall population levels.
Reference: Hinterland Who’s Who?
Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
SubphylumVertebrata
Class Aves
Order Ciconiiformes
Family Ardeidae
Genus Ardea
Species herodias
Common Name: Great Blue Heron

 

 

Other Members of the Class Aves at Race Rocks.
taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy
and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The 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. March 8 2009- Pam Birley

RRAB Meeting Dec 9, 2002

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RACE ROCKS ADVISORY BOARD MEETING # 9
Minutes of Race Rocks Advisory Board Meeting
December 11, 2002 13:00hrs
Oak Bay Beach Hotel (thanks to Kevin Walker)

• Jim Morris from BC Parks provided an outline of the agreements, permits and Management Plan that BC Parks has approved and implemented for the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve and MPA. Jim also outlined the streamlined BC Parks regional management structure. It was acknowledged that BC Parks have fulfilled their commitments to the MPA project and a good operating relationship exists. BC Parks has contributed modestly to infrastructure maintenance costs as their budget permits.

• Kelly Francis and Al Gould from DFO outlined the ongoing discussions that are being held between DFO and local First Nations to reach an appropriate understanding and management structure for establishment of the Race Rocks MPA. It was pointed out by various RRAB members that DFO had made the task unnecessarily difficult by not following the Board’s original recommendations in this area. Concern was expressed that an inflexible approach by DFO would be inconsistent with the innovative vision of the MPA Strategy and the community consensus with First Nations. Ongoing meetings between DFO and First Nations are planned.

• Angus Matthews from Pearson College expressed the College’s concern that the ongoing protection and operation of Race Rocks is not financially sustainable. The RRAB agreed that long term DFO funding for protection of the area was a key recommendation and DFO should implement it as soon as an agreement could be reached with First Nations that would allow designation to proceed.

• It was agreed that a strong community commitment to the Race Rocks MPA has been the hallmark of the effectiveness of the RRAB and this energy must be sustained. A committee, including Jennie Sparkes, Dwayne Freeman and Angus Matthews will draft a Terms of Reference document that will reflect the appropriate current role for the RRAB. This draft will be circulated and discussed at a future RRAB meeting.

• It was agreed that a committee including Garry Fletcher, Marc Pakenham, Peter Arnold and Natalie Ban would be formed to examine interim and alternate measures that the RRAB could recommend that would offer protection for Race Rocks until such time as the future of the MPA designation is determined. A report will be circulated to the RRAB in advance of the next RRAB meeting.

Meeting adjourned at 14:20

Today was another day of blasting.

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Good Evening
Temperature: Max. 9.1 ºC »» Min. 7.8 ºC »» Reset 8.0 ºC
Rainfall: 3.6mm
Today was another day of blasting. The first blast occurred at around 9.30 am and sent all the animals stampeding off their respective islets. We finished two of our video projects today, which only leaves one to complete. We had a visit from some scientists who were studying the impact of the blasts. We conducted an interview which should hopefully be available with the rest of the footage on this website.http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/archives/vidlionblasts.htm
posted by Race Rocks Relief at 6:13 PM

Good morning

WEATHER: Sky Overcast »» Vis. 5 Miles »» Wind North-East 7 Knots »» Sea Choppy/Rough
The storm has not yet materialised, but the blasting continues. Today the blasting is louder, and the seals and sea lions have already deserted their islet. Today there are some scientists visiting the island to study these effects. ( LGL)  If you want to see the blasting, you can track it on the remote control camera at racerocks.com.
Yesterday’s rainfall was 4mm. We are expecting more today.
TEMPERATURE: Max. 9.1 ºC »» Min. 7.8 ºC »» Reset 8.0 ºC
posted by Race Rocks Relief at 10:38 AM

Marine Life Disturbance

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MARINE LIFE DISTURBANCE: If you are checking out camera 1 or the remote camera today, you probably noticed that the middle island was full of sea lions this morning and was completely empty by noon. The Department of National Defence is doing their blasting exercises today again over at Bentinck Island . They will be doing the same tomorrow. A rather tragic occurance that happens every fall. Eventually the Northern Sea Lions (endangered species) and the Californian Sea Lions just move out of the Race Rocks area. There is a video on the marine mammals archive page that shows the effect of the Oct 7 blast. We have recorded todays events, (so far seven blasts) and will have it up in the archives also in a few days. In the meantime, look at the before and after pictures taken from the sitezap robotic camera just before and after noon today. This will appear in a file at http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/marmam/sealion/dndblastnov7.htm 
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 10.2 ºC »» Min. 8.7 ºC »» Reset 8.7 ºC »» Rain 4.0 mm
posted by Garry Fletcher at 12:55 PM

Sea lion Behaviour after DND Blasting at Bentinck Island

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Two videos are presented here showing the effect of DND blasting on Bentinck Island on the sea lions at Race Rocks. The first is from October 7 and the second was done by student s on the project week on  November 8, 2002, (not Oct 7 as stated in this draft version of the video) . The students from Lester Pearson College who were out for a project week were able to catch the images of the impact of these blasts on the first day from the science centre window and on the second day from the top of the light tower. In the tower, they interviewed Mike Demarchi of LGL who is currently doing a $50,000 contract for the Department of National Defence to monitor the impact of these blasts and to compare them with other disturbances at Race Rocks.

See also before and after images of effects of blasting on sea lion behaviour

 

See the index of Human Effects on Animal Behaviour at Race Rocks

The following pictures were taken on November 7,2002 from the site zap camera at Race Rocks. The top set of pictures was taken at 9:30 AM . The DND started blasting at 11:00 . The bottom set of pictures were taken at 12:00 noon, after 5 blasts when most of the sealions had jumped off the rocks, They remained off the rocks mid afternoon.

Image from before a blast
and then the Image from after the blast

DND Blasting disturbs sea lions.

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On November 7, 2002, the DND were still doing their demolition blasting exercises at Bentinck Island. (not Oct 7 as stated in this draft version of the video) The students from Lester Pearson College who were out for a project week were able to catch the images of the impact of these blasts on the first day from the science centre window and on the second day from the top of the light tower. In the tower, they interviewed Mike Demarchi of LGL who is currently doing a $50,000 contract for the Department of National Defence to monitor the impact of these blasts and to compare them with other disturbances at Race Rocks. (Click on audio icon below) Click the arrow on the left in the bar below for
THE INTERVIEW WITH MIKE DEMARCHI
by Jeremias Prassl (LBPC yr29)


Before and After images of DND Blasting effects

You may see the complete report here. Note in particular, the discussion of the results concerning the effects of blasting on the behaviour of sea lions.

whalewatchers at close range

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Monday, November 04, 2002
Good evening
Temperature: Max. 8.4 ºC »» Min. 4.0 ºC »» Reset 6.9 ºC
In the late afternoon Garry stopped by for a short
check on the RR Project Week Team (Ahmad, Rosie, Jeremias) and
camera 1. About 7 Whalewatchers came by only in the afternoon,
one of them came very close to the docks and stayed there for
about 10 minutes.
posted by Race Rocks Relief at 6:08 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Part Cloudy »» Vis. 10 Miles »» Wind North East 9 Knots »» Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:24 AM

100 metre distance from any marine animals and birds??

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TEMPERATURE: Max. 11.3 ºC »» Min. 9.1 ºC »» Reset 10.0 ºC »» Rain 2.2 mm

HUMAN INTERACTION: There were 8 Ecotour boats, 2 pleasure craft and 1 charter dive boat in the reserve today.The dive boat came too close to shore along the northeast of Gr.Race and sent about 15 sea lions scrambling.Tried unsuccessfully to reach the boat operator on the marine radio but did talk to the charter office and asked them to please respect the wildlife viewing guidelines and maintain the 100 metre distance from any marine animals and birds.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:16 PM

Boats and Planes disturb the marine life.

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Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 15.7 ºC »» Min. 8.8 ºC »» Reset 12.1 ºC
MARINE LIFE: Still quite a few birds in the area feeding, counted over 130 Cormorants, most of them on North Rks. and the rocks to the southeast.The ones on North Rks. were scared several times by boats going by but the sea lions for the most part were undisturbed.One boat that comes into the reserve about once a week, a Lifetimer 14K 38596 did approach too close and 5 or 6 Sea Lions took to the water, many others were alerted and moved towards the water but as the boat moved back they settled back down.At about 11:45 an Ultralight made several passes over Gr. Race at times too low, scaring some sea lions into the water and most of the birds took flight. The aircraft was black with orange and yellow trim-C-1FQC
HUMAN INTERACTION: The observers from LGL spent the day in the tower and departed just after 17:00. There were 11 Ecotour boats, 6 pleasurecraft and the 1 research boat (Lifetimer) in the reserve today.  Hyaku (Chris) over from campus to return the station boat-repairs completed.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:14 PM