Category Archives: Admin

37 ecotour boats through the reserve

Posted on by
Friday, July 19, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 17.1 C  Min. 11.2 C  Reset 13.5
MARINE LIFE: There are a fair number of gull chicks surviving inspite of the relentless attempts to hunt by the eagles during the day and the otter which continues to make the nightly tour of the island.The young geese are doing a lot of wing flapping, building the muscles they will need to fly off, soon we hope, as the food situation is not the best for them now.The Orcas were in the area again today but did not come through the reserve, they were heading west and spent some time in the mouth of Pedder Bay, feeding in the kelp beds there although it was hard to tell as the wind was blowing 20-25 knts. and the sea quite choppy. There was the usual flotilla following along, included in the group was the inflatable from the Marine Mammal Monitoring program which had to stop one pleasure craft and advise them of the whale watching guidelines.The pleasure craft was traveling in the path of the whales either unaware or in spite of the presence of the mammals.
HUMAN INTERACTION: there were 37 ecotour boats through the reserve and 5 pleasure craft. The station boat made a trip to Pedder Bay and back.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 10:02 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy Vis. 15 Miles  Wind West 19 Knots  Sea 2 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:25 AM

Kayakers approach so quietly they can startle the wildlife-

Posted on by
Thursday, July 18, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 16.1 C  10.7 C  Reset 14.3 C
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:15 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Overcast  Vis. 15 Miles Wind South West 10 Knots  Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:03 AM
Wednesday, July 17, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 16.0 C  Min. 11.0 C Reset 12.1 C  Rain tr
MARINE LIFE: Was nice for a change not to have the wind today,don’t mind the clouds, certainly good weather for the chicks- not too hot.The food supply seems to be holding out see lots of nice fresh fish being brought back by the gulls and everywhere you look Pigeon Guillemots returning with blennies. Some of the gulls are going quite a distance at times judging by the clam shells rolling off the roof ! They drop the clams onto roof and the sidewalks to break them open,quite noisey and very messy.
HUMAN INTERACTION: The Hyaku was in this morning,Ryan brought some mail and supplies from the college Ryan brought a group through the reserve in 2nd Nature in the afternoon but did not come ashore. This morning there were a couple of kayakers through and unfortunately they ignored the guidelines with respect to staying the proper distance from shore. This time of the year it is particularly important to follow the guidelines so as not to interfere with feeding birds and harbour seals with pups and those about to give birth.The noise from power boats at least give fair warning but kayakers approach so quietly they can startle the wildlife-please remember maintain at least 100 metres from any marine animal or bird and back off at the first sign of disturbance or agitation.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:35 PM
Good Mornng
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy  Vis 15 Miles  Wind West South West 15 Knots Sea 1 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:01 AM

There are 6 females with pups in the east bay area, 4 with red umbilical cords so very new but swimming like pros,

Posted on by
Sunday, July 07, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 20.0 C Min. 10.5 C  Reset 12.0 C  Rain 0.4 mm
MARINE LIFE: There are 6 females with pups in the east bay area, 4 with red umbilical cords so very new but swimming like pros, they do have some awkwardness while trying to pull themselves up onto the rocks, several tries and they make it to be rewarded with a good feed! The dead pup is still by the boat ramp, the mother has not left it’s side and continues to be very protective.There were three bald eagles this afternoon ( 1 mature ) which managed to land on the southeast rocks in spite of the gulls. The 2 juvenile eagles were fighting over some very bright red matter that looked like seal placenta,the adult raptor watched for about 10 minutes from about 20 metres then made it’s move towards the two juveniles which backed off immediately and surrendered the prize scraps.The gulls were just too bothersome so the big bird took off flying low over the water with the ‘food’ clutched tightly in it’s talons, the gulls did not give up the chase until they were well past North Rocks.
HUMAN INTERACTION: A fairly quiet day considering the water was so calm and a weekend. There were 5 pleasure craft and 9 ecotour boats, 2 dive charters -one that came through at 16:30 full speed and too close, left at about 17:40 again full speed, both times leaving a large wake! Will pass the boat registration number along to fisheries.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:11 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Cloudy  Vis. 15 Miles Wind West 5 Knots  Sea Rippled
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:09 AM

Pigeon Guillemots diving for blennies today

Posted on by
Tuesday, July 02, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 15.1 C  Min. 9.2 C Reset 11.9 C
MARINE LIFE:There were more Pigeon Gillemots diving for blennies today ,before long there will be a constant stream of adults to sea and back with food for the chicks.No Eagles until near 20:00 then one mature made several attempts at low flights over Gr. Race but was kept away by the gulls and Oyster Catchers.The gulls have the advantage in numbers but the oyster catchers are tenacious and to my eye sometimes get too close to the eagle when they dip and dive at it’s head, they are so agile and fast.We should be seeing Harbour seal pups any day now, as of yet the 7 or 8 females that usually haul out on the boat ramp to give birth have not turned up .A fantastic sunset tonight -maybe a good omen ‘ red sky at night’………? Would be nice to be rid of the wind ! but shouldn’t complain, better than sweltering in the heat wave back east.
HUMAN INTERACTION: 4 ecotour boats, 7 pleasure craft some on their way to the halibut grounds just outside the M.P.A. boundaries 1 white inflatable # 2H79606 with divers, too fast and too close to shore,disturbed feeding birds.
posted by Carol or Mike S at 7:05 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Part Cloudy  Vis. 15 Miles Wind West 13 Knots Sea Rippled to 1 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:29 AM
Monday, July 01, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 13.3 C  Min. 9.9 C Reset 13.3 C
posted by Carol or Mike S at 6:02 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Part Clouldy   Vis. 15 Miles  Wind West 16 Knots  Sea 1 Foot Chop
posted by Carol or Mike S at 5:17 AM

It takes a lot of energy to feed three chicks with both adults taking turns.

Posted on by
Friday, June 21, 2002
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 18.0 C Min. 9.9 C  Reset 13.3 C
THE DAY: Clear Vis. 15 Miles  Wind North West Light 15:35 West 27 Knots Sea Rippled 16:00 2′ to 3 foot Chop
MARINE LIFE: Another good weather day! although the wind did pick up in the late afternoon. The Oyster Catchers are busy gathering food for the chicks some of which are as big as the adults but not very nimble just yet and do a lot more falling off rocks than hopping from one to another. The oldest chicks from the nest in the east bay area are starting to pick at snails etc. at the low tides but most of their success is mostly good luck – problem with attention span and anyway the mainstay of their diet is still being provided by the parents.Chicks beaks are still dark coloured at the tips and much paler orange on the rest so are easily distinguished from the adults.It takes a lot of energy to feed three chicks with both adults taking turns.When the tide is low the food is relatively close by but as the tide rises the adults have to fly farther to find chitons, mussels, snails and the like.Watched for 1 hour after the tide had covered the accessible food areas near the chicks and the adult was foraging several hundred metres away on the southeast rocks -in that hour the adult made 13 return trips –sometimes it took only 30-40 seconds to find food and return but often it took over a minute to come up with the appropriate food item.That’s a lot of trips a day one limpet, snail,mussel, etc. at a time and also a lot of energy prying the aforesaid creatures off the rocks!
HUMAN INTERACTION: Second Nature out with group for tour and dropped Ryan off to relieve while we did some errands in town.Ryan reported that a group in a rental boat breached the guildlines by landing 2 people on middle rock and they were harassing the elephant seals that were hauled out. There is a policy of no landing on the islands except by obtaining a permit from B.C. Parks – fortunately most people would not think of disturbing the marine animals like this but there is always 1( in this case 2) in every crowd!!
posted by at 7:42 PM
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Clear Vis. 15 Miles  Wind North West 4 Knots Sea Rippled
posted by at 5:19 AM

The divers observed a new species of Nudibranch

Posted on by

Saturday, June 08, 2002

TEMPERATURE: Max. 13.7C  Min. 8 C  Reset 11.5 C
MARINE LIFE: The Gulls have had a calm day with no visits by bald eagles. One Sea lion appeared on the boat ramp this afternoon. The divers observed a new species of Nudibranch at around 10m.
HUMAN IMPACT: The divers finished the repairs to the conduit in the afternoon. Three ecotourist boats were spotted in the reserve and one pleasure craft was spotted speeding right through the reserve.
posted by at 10:48 PM

Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Partly Cloudy  Vis. 8miles Wind From West 15knots  Sea 1 foot chop
posted by at 5:39 AM

A Turkey Vulture was flying about in the strong winds,

Posted on by
Thursday, June 06, 2002
TEMPERATURE: Max. 12.0 C  Min. 11.0 C  Reset 11.0
MARINE LIFE: Early this morning one Bald Eagle flew around the Gulls nests, spending around 10 minutes looking for prey, despite the constant harassment by the Gulls. The eagle flew of to the west, and was out of site. Perhaps an hour later two Bald Eagles were spotted hunting together, they brought down a Glaucous-winged Gull and one eagle was seen carrying a Gull wing away. There was also other interesting bird action mid-morning. A Turkey Vulture was flying about in the strong winds, attempting to find food. The winds were a challenge for the vulture, with the bird struggling in the gusts. It was particularly noteworthy that the Black Oyster Catchers made a great effort to harass the vulture. This was caught on video just before the divers entered the water and can be seen at http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/archives/vidbenmovie.htm The divers reported an abundance of sperm and eggs in the nutrient rich water off the docks.
HUMAN IMPACT: No whale watching activity within the reserve today. Indeed the strongs winds, 25-35 knots, kept most vessels away. Hyaku docked twice, bringing equipment and materials for the web-cast and conduit repairs. One major disturbance was the Defence Forces Blasting on Bentinck Island which clearly frightened the Sea lions into the water, Around 10 of the 12 Sea lions disappeared within the first two blasts, approximately 10:30am, and have not yet returned. (Note: As of June 18- they have not returned- will not be back until August now. ) .The three blasts with only a few minutes spacing sent shock waves that rattled the house and were not at all pleasant.
posted by at 9:45 PM
Good MorningWEATHER: Sky Partly Cloudy  Vis. 12miles  Wind West 25-30knots Sea 2-3 foot chop and rising posted by at 6:42 AM

Webcasting Crew at Race Rocks for the Johan Ashvud RR’02 Project

Posted on by

MEET THE CREW:

kiptower

Michael Kiprop Kenya (PC-2003)

joe

Joe Downham UK (PC-2003)

ben

Ben Dougall Australia (PC-2003)

ryan

Ryan Murphy Newfoundland & Labrador (PC-2001)

 —

“We had a great time webcasting live from Race Rocks on Camera 4 during the first two weeks of June for the Johan Ashuvud Race Rocks02 Project”
Three current first year students from Pearson College and Ryan Murphy, who graduated last year stayed at the Marine Science Centre. Ryan is returning to Race Rocks this month to do research for Mt.Allison Univ. on the macroalgal community.

See one video on Pterygophora which was one part of his project here: They conducted daily live and prerecorded webcasts with Garry Fletcher from the intertidal and from underwater using camera 4.

Garry

Garry Fletcher Biology/Diving faculty

For one of the webcasts we were joined by Sean LeRoy, Graduate Researcher, Georgia Basin Futures Project Sustainable Development Research Institute, University of British Columbia and Dr.James Tansey also of UBC. They came to participate in the webcast with Garry and Ryan on Marine Protected Areas in new Zealand and Canada with Tim Langlois, Leigh Marine Laboratory University of Auckland, and Anne Saloman, University of Washington, Zoology Department.

On three days we hosted small groups of students from local elementary schools who served as proxies in webcasts done for their classmates.

Support for the Race Rocks 02 Project came from the Johan Ashuvud Race Rocks Memorial Fund
Below are some of the Videos produced by the crew during the week.

benframes kids octopuss
Ben’s movie put together during the week. June 2002 field trip: for a live webcast with the crew, of the grade six students from West-Mont school . One morning we found the body of an octopus washed up in the intertidal zone. An impromptu dissection led to this video.

a pod of 5 Orcas spotted about 1-2km south of Race Rocks.

Posted on by
Sunday, June 02, 2002
Good Morning
WEATHER: Sky Clear  Vis. 15 Miles  Wind West 15 Knots Sea 1 Foot Chop
Good Evening TEMPERATURE: Max. 13.5C  Min. 8.5C  Reset 12.0
MARINE LIFE: We were treated to a brilliant spectacle today with a pod of 5 Orcas spotted about 1-2km south of Race Rocks. The Sea lions were either unconcerned or unaware of their presence. The Divers found a large bed of sea anemones, urchins and coral while diving amongst the Bull Kelp in front of the docks. The Oystercatchers were quite agressively chasing the Crows away from their nests in what looked like an aerial dogfight.
HUMAN ACTIVITY: Again, we had fishermen within the reserve, using lures just off West Race. They moved off only after a repeated radio announcement notifying their breach of MPA regulations. The Orcas brought out a large number of eco-tourism boats, 10 moved throughout the reserve during the day. 5 recreational boats also cruised through the park, often not adhering to the no wake rule through Race Passage
posted by at 5:41 AM

Recreational lingcod fishing prohibited in Strait of Juan de Fuca

Posted on by
Saturday, June 01, 2002
Good Morning WEATHER: Sky Cloudy  Vis. 12 Miles  Wind West 11 Knots Rippled
Good Evening
TEMPERATURE: Max. 13.0 C  Min. 8.1 C Reset 10.0
MARINE LIFE: Another beautiful day here, with quite a lot of marine activity. The Glaucous Winged Gulls are actively mating and nesting, being very defensive of their nests. Crows are harassing the Gulls, Oystercatchers and and Pigeon Guillemots, in search of an unattended nest and egg. One of the pairs of Canadian Geese on the Island are nursing their five young Goslings, despite the Goslings rapidly increasing size the Geese continue to be very protective of their youngsters. Divers spotted some large Ling Cod** around the docks, along with a healthy stock of smaller fish.
HUMAN INTERACTION: A lot of fishing activity around the reserve today, around 10 to 12 vesels on the reserve boarder actively fishing. Problems with both vessels motoring too quickly through the reserve and fishermen disregarding the reserve limitations and fishing around West Race rocks. Four eco-tourism vessels moved through the park today.
**Good news for the Ling Cod!! This note was just received from the Sierra Club:
June 1, 2002 Victoria, BC: Despite intense pressure from sports-fishery lobbyists, local Fisheries and Oceans managers have decided that this year’s recreational fishery for lingcod in the Strait of Georgia will not go ahead today as scheduled. In an unprecedented, last-minute move, regional Fisheries and Oceans officials decided late Friday to issue a variation order to the B.C. tidal waters recreational fishery regulations, to prevent the recreational fishery for lingcod from proceeding. In an unprecedented, last-minute move, regional Fisheries and Oceans officials decided late Friday to issue a variation order to the B.C. tidal waters recreational fishery regulations, to prevent the recreational fishery for lingcod from proceeding. The lingcod season, which would have run from today to September 30, would have allowed anglers a daily bag limit of one lingcod, a possession limit of two, and an annual limit of 10.
The commercial harvest of Strait of Georgia lingcod was banned in 1990, after commercial landings had steadily declined to 44 tonnes after a peak catch of 3,300 tonnes in the 1930s. Fisheries and Oceans scientists estimate that only five per cent of the 1950s-era lingcod biomass is left in the Strait of Georgia. Against the advice of federal fisheries scientists, the recreational lingcod fishery was allowed to continue, however, and by 2001 the sports catch was believed to result in an annual harvest of at least 30 tonnes. Friday’s decision to suspend the fishery will prohibit recreational lingcod fishing throughout Johnstone Strait, the entire Strait of Georgia area, and most of Juan de Fuca Strait.
“We believe that the vast majority of anglers will support this decision,” said Terry Glavin, fisheries adviser to the Sierra Club. “While we are encouraged by reports that there may be localized revivals in lingcod stocks, a full closure is the only hope that these precious fish will gain the time they need to recover to their former abundance.”posted by at 5:49 AM