Category Archives: Marine Vessels

Hustle and Bustle / Pleasure Craft Violation / Census

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Weather: 

  • Sky overcast, hazy, steady rain this afternoon
  • Visibility 15 miles this morning, < 2 miles this afternoon
  • Wind 0-10 knots NE
  • Water calm

Boats/Visitors: 

    • A whole boat load of visitors this morning! VP of Pearson College Tyrone, Alum in residence Norbert and friends to advise on our solar panel system, a desalinator consultant (in preparation for the new desalinator!), and an insurance appraiser.
    • Fewer whale watching boats this week, but we have been concerned about the frequent use of flash photography and its possible effects on the wildlife.
    • Greg also made another trip to bring us some water this afternoon.
    • Yesterday we watched a pleasure craft approach the sea lions near our jetty and throw some kind of food at them (some of it hit the sea lions). We were able to capture them scaring the animals, who stampeded into the water. They hovered to take photos and unfortunately pose with their open alcohol. Even more unfortunate, the bait that we saw being thrown at the sea lions previously and perhaps this time as well is not suitable for consumption, as many times it has been treated with formaldehyde.

Ecological: 

  • Many sea lions now, and unfortunately a few that are injured. Aside from the two that we have mentioned previously, we have been finding more fishing hooks scattered around and a sea lion appearing to have a nasty wound possibly caused by an embedded fishing hook.
  • This afternoon we also noticed a sea lion with a propeller inflicted gash on his head. He seemed to be dazed or perhaps concussed due to the injury. Normally the sea lions are skittish and make a ruckus if we get too close, but this one didn’t react to our presence and seemed notably lethargic. We were concerned that he might fall victim to the injury, but approximately an hour later he seemed more alert, reacted to our presence, and seemed to be doing okay.
  • We reported the tagged sea lion to the researchers in California and were excited to hear that they have some information about him and his early life. We hope to be able to share more soon! This little guy has already swum almost 1500 km from his birth place, Ana Nuevo CA.
  • Yesterday there was quite a bit of smoke caused by controlled burning taking place on the nearby DND land. They burned 20 hectares of Gary Oak habitat to protect the species (from invading conifers) and and prevent spread of invasive plants.

Census:

  • 350 sea lions
  • 50 harbour seals
  • 1 elephant seal
  • 40 cormorants
  • 60 adult gulls, and some chicks (they are too hard to see from the lighthouse)
  • 4 geese
  • 20 turnstones

 

Coast Guard Visit, The Entangled Sea Lion Is Still Here

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Weather: 

  • Sky partly cloudy, intermittent fog
  • Visibility varying between 0-15 miles
  • Wind 20-30 knots W
  • Water rough, waves to half a metre with some whitecaps

Boats/Visitors: 

  • No visitors today
  • The whale watching boats continue to decrease in volume, this month looks to be a turning point in their season.

Ecological: 

  • We spotted the sea lion with plastic around its neck on the jetty last night, and today it was hauled out onto land between the helicopter pad and the guest house. We contacted DFO, and the entanglement response team will assess if it’s a job that they can do.
  • This afternoon we saw a blue heron, which we haven’t seen before out here.

Maintenance:

  • The Coast Guard visited briefly a few days ago. They stayed on RR for about an hour and did some maintenance on the fog horn system. Two people came on to land, and a third stayed in the Coast Guard zodiac.

More Sea Lion Injuries Due to Fishing

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Weather: 

  • Sky partly cloudy, some periods of fog
  • Visibility 1-15 miles intermittently
  • Wind 20-30 knots W – NW
  • Water rough, whitecaps, swells around 1m

Boats/Visitors: 

  • No visitors today, but on Sunday Corey drove us back to Race Rocks with some more water as we were having troubles getting our boat to start.
  • There have not been many whale watching boats but when they are here they often get quite close to the sea lions (within 10m). We can tell when there is a boat present in the reserve by the increase in “barking” and distressed sounds that the sea lions make.

Ecological: 

  • Over the weekend a sea lion was spotted with some fishing line wrapped around its neck. We believe that it could be the same one spotted last year. As it grows it will likely die due to slow suffocation caused by the line. Unfortunately it’s virtually impossible to have someone come to tranquilize and remove the line as the sea lions move on before they can get here. However, if we see it again we will report the injury.
  • Today we found a large fishing hook which must have come loose off of a sea lion. We’ve previously observed sea lions trying to remove fishing hooks from their skin by rubbing against the jetty.
  • There are quite a few sea lions all over the island now. We have been delaying our water sample that we normally take from the jetty to avoid having to chase them off, since when they are startled they climb over each other or rush off of the side of the jetty where the water isn’t very deep. The few that have come near the house don’t seem to be moving around much, just resting and getting away from the crowds.
  • With the return of the sea lions we’ve been getting bitten by little black fleas that we also saw in late spring. They were not a problem while the sea lions were not here, so we’re wondering if the two are connected.
  • Many of the young seagulls have left or are flying very well. A few of the latest hatched are still here, but the mothers are starting to leave them to fend for themselves.
  • We have been spotting the odd young elephant seal hauling out for a few hours before continuing on.
  • We’ve been noticing eagle feathers and dead adult seagulls around the island. Oddly, we haven’t seen the eagles hunting.

Maintenance: 

  • We’ve been needing to do daily fence repairs on the electric fence at the back of the island as the sea lions have been trampling it and breaking the wire and insulators that hold the wire on the posts. Hopefully with some persistence on our part they will learn to leave it alone.
  • Today we also set up the electric fence that runs between our house and the jetty/north island to prevent them from coming up around the infrastructure. They are stinky and destructive if you let them get too close!
  • We are still picking up sharp bits of tin and shingles/tar paper/ misc. litter from around the island. Some of it is from the roofs being redone recently, but a lot of it is older and becoming exposed now that the grasses are dormant for the summer.  Today we filled two buckets in an hour or two of scavenging.

A Foggy Weekend

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Weather: 

  • Sky partly cloudy, some thick fog banks passing over us
  • Visibility 5-15 miles, intermittent fog
  • Wind 0-5 knots W
  • Water calm

Boats/Visitors: 

  • Yesterday we had a great team of volunteers come to help remove the rest of the shingles and accumulated rubbish from around the island. We still have some more to go but it’s looking great!
  • Greg showed us how to set up the electric fencing to keep the sea lions off some of the island. Yesterday we set up one at the back of the island and will need to set up the fence near the jetty soon.
  • Today Corey and his family will pop in for a visit
  •  Our friend is going home this afternoon

Ecological: 

  • We spotted the seagull chick that had been attacked (and lost an eye) yesterday and it’s doing well. It is missing an eye now but is learning to fly alongside the others.
  • We saw two orcas pass just outside of the reserve on Thursday
  • The sea lions have started to come further onto the island, and there are more and more each day

 

Wacky Warm Weather

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Weather: 

  • Sky blue with some clouds. Thick fog early this morning.
  • Visibility 15+ miles
  • Wind 20-30 knots W
  • Over the past two days we had wind blowing less than 5 knots NE, which meant very warm, still conditions.

Boats/Visitors: 

  • On the 27th Guy and Corey delivered more water
  • Not too many eco-tourism boats despite the beautiful weather
  • One of our friends is visiting for a few days. Great to see a new face out here!

Maintenance: 

  • Corey and Guy also helped haul away an entire boat full of trash/recycling/unneeded items that we had gathered for removal earlier in the season.
  • We spent a handful of hours over the past few days collecting approx. 50 lbs of smaller bits of shingles and tar paper from the roofing project as well as other trash that has been exposed now that the tall grass is dry and pressed down from the animals.
  • Yesterday we washed the windows with a big brush and squeegee to get rid of all of the seagull poop that had blown onto them- much better!
  • We noticed some bricks protecting a cable by the crane shed were missing, but upon further investigation it turned out that they were simply knocked out of place and buried in the tall grass. We were able to unearth them and get everything back in place.

Continued Documentation of Vessel Activity

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Over the past few days we have been keeping an eye on eco-tourism vessels, and have been documenting their presence and their proximity to wildlife. The somewhat isolated nature of Race Rocks, minimal to no presence of regulating authority, and many other factors lead to a high risk of animals and the delicate marine environment being disturbed and potentially exploited.

While the distance of a vessel from wildlife is important, another considerable disturbance may be vibration and noise. Eco-tourism vessels fighting against the current to get the best viewing angle of resting animals easily vibrates a glass of water in our concrete foundation dwelling, over 100m from the waters edge. Another factor to consider is the volume of traffic. Items shaking in our home is normal, and we often hear boats coming before we see them. Perhaps a handful of boats conducting themselves responsibly would not be a problem, but on some days we see approximately 35+ eco-tourism boats alone. This does not include private vessels.

The below video is from July 31st, 2019 at 1413hr. It shows two zodiacs coming close to a pod of orcas within the reserve. The orcas were visible for over 15 minutes before this video was taken, and conversation on VHF channel 68 and 79 indicated that all boats in the area knew of their presence. Based on what we observed, it seemed as though the boats did not accidentally drift into place. Visible in the background is North Rock, video taken from the jetty.

We were unable to previously post it due to its size, but discovered uploading to YouTube and embedding to be a great solution.

As mentioned in the last blog post, the hauled out sea lions continue to provide an opportunity to observe how closely boats approach the wildlife. Here are three more videos of boats approaching the resting sea lions, all filmed within the last few days:

Additionally, here are some photos of miscellaneous vessels taken within the last 5 days or so:

This boat is interesting, it comes through often (see matching hull numbers) with different passengers but the same operator.

Another interesting boat coming in close for a look:

 

Weather: 

  • Sky clear
  • Visibility 15+ miles
  • Wind 10 knots W
  • Water flat to rippled

Boats/Visitors: 

  • No visitors over the last few days.

Ecological: 

On the day the roofers were here a pod of orcas came through the reserve and I misplaced this photo, here it is now.

  • Census as follows:
  • 250 sea lions
  • 200-300 seagulls
  • 6 Canadian geese
  • Ruddy Turnstones and migrating birds come and go frequently

A Busy Day On The Water

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Weather: 

  • Blue skies, some clouds
  • Visibility 20+ miles
  • Wind 5-10 knots W
  • Water rippled

Boats/Visitors: 

  • Many whale watching vessels today. With the increasing number of sea lions hauling out on great race rock, these eco tourism boats contrast sharply (in relatively close quarters) against the wildlife looking to rest on the rocks.
  • The high traffic in conjunction with the sea lions provides a great opportunity to display the proximity of these vessels from the wildlife. See the videos and photos below:

 

Ecological: 

  • An increasing number of sea lions hauling out on all rocks.
  • Young seagulls can be seen strengthening their wings, flapping and hopping 3 feet in the air. They play games with sticks and other debris, aggressively keeping the objects from their siblings looks to be practice for protecting precious food in the future.
  • Mentioned in a previous post, I was able to get a picture of the sea lion with the identifying gash in its side.

Sea lion with a cut (centre of photo)

Census:

  • 350 – 400 seagulls
  • 24 harbour seals
  • 68 sea lions
  • A handful of oystercatchers and cormorants (roughly 5-10 of each)

Getting Your Feet Wet

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Weather: 

  • Sky partially overcast
  • Visibility 15+ miles in the afternoon, heavy fog in the morning
  • Wind 15 knots W
  • Calm water

Boats/Visitors: 

  • This afternoon I (Kai) dropped Mara off on land, she will be away for a few days – I have the rock to myself!
  • Pearson vessel Second Nature has been doing water tours around Race Rocks

Ecological: 

  • The sea lions double in number every day, and you smell them before you see them… Many can be seen with open wounds, 3-6″ long bloody cuts in their sides and back.
  • Beside the jetty, I spotted a young seagull getting its feet wet in the protected waters. This is the first time we’ve seen them enter the sea.

Clear Skies and Many Birds

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Weather: 

  • Sky clear and sunny- no fog!
  • Wind: 10-20 knots SW
  • Water: Rippled. Strong currents today (+4.4 knots)
  • Visibility: 10 miles

Visitors/Boats:

  • Greg came by today with some water that we pumped into the main tank. We are told that the new desalinator should be on its way soon, but is going to take a few weeks to ship.
  • A few whale watching boats today (10-15). Many came close (-50m) to the elephant seals in the jetty and the sea lions on middle rock. We often see them within 10m of the sea otter and kelp patch that it calls home.

Maintenance: 

  • A few days ago we replaced the worn Canadian flag on the flagpole. Today we noticed that the entire rope/pulley system had somehow blown loose and fallen to the ground. The pole is to high for us to reach the top with our ladder, so when it is less windy we will have to take the pole down to make repairs (this will be difficult with so many seagulls about).

Ecological: 

  • Many interesting birds in the reserve this week. Today we spotted some western sandpipers, a couple short billed dowitchers, and a ruddy turnstone all from our kitchen window!
  • Every day we see more and more sea lions. Greg said that he even spotted a stellar sea lion on his way today.

Another Sticky Situation

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Weather: 

  • Sky: partially overcast
  • Wind: 10-20 knots
  • Water: lightly rippled
  • Visibility: 15+ miles

Boats/Visitors:

  • Yesterday a small boat came through the reserve and had mechanical problems. Its engine would not start, and it drifted onto the rocks a few times. We were able to throw them a rope and secure them at the jetty where they were able to restart their motor. They decided to immediately depart, and once they got into the current their motor died again. After being pushed back into the rocks, a passing fishing boat was able to tow them back to Pedder Bay.
  • We have been seeing the the usual volume of eco-tourism boats, 20-25 per day. They consistently come within 100m of marine mammals.

Ecological:

  • We noticed one seagull attacking another’s chick today, as well as another deceased chick nearby.

Census:

  • 10 sea lions
  • 5 elephant seals
  • 52 harbour seals
  • 300 seagulls, many seagull chicks
  • 8 oyster catchers
  • 2 families of geese, another adult pair