NEWS/ MEDIA Reports 2000- current


NEWS and MEDIA REPORTS

 


Plastic band removed from neck of Greater Victoria sea lion Goldstream Gazette Sept 10, 2020

 

 

Superpod of Orcas congregate near Vancouver Island. Victoria News Sept 7, 2020

 

 

Sooke Whale Watching spots a huge gathering of whales Oak Bay News Nov 5, 2019

 

 

 

Sea lion caught in plastic rescued off Race Rocks. CHEK News  Sept 21, 2019 ( VIDEO) 

 

 

 

Steller Sea Lion with plastic around neck rescued.. Goldsteream Gazette Sept 22, 2019

 

 

Oil cleanup near Island impossible much of the year TC May 2019

From The Times Colonist -Island Voices: May 26 2017 

 


Sailor gets big-time rescue after running aground south of Victoria.  Dec 7 2017

 

Navy and Whale watcher problems TC Sept.2017

 

 

 
Dangers of a humpback comeback- Times Colonist August 2017

 

 

 

Humpback whale struck by boat spotted on a roll TC August 13 2017

 

 

‘Rare’ humpback collisions more likely as population rebounds: expert-august 11 2017

 

 

Whale watching boat Collides with humpback whale near Race Rocks August 8  2017

 

 

JUNE 2017 Feds plan extra protection to critical Island Ocean Sites

 

Our History: British Seapower helped build the island  Times Colonist February 5 2017

“As shipping in Juan de Fuca Strait increased with colonial development, particularly at the time of the Fraser gold rush, many marine tragedies occurred on the south end of Vancouver Island. Already in 1846, Captain Kellett, on survey in the Herald, warned about Race Rocks as “this dangerous group … for the tide makes a perfect race around it.” Many merchant vessels came to grief nearby, with heavy loss of life.”

Rescue Society Always there to help: 

 

 

Victoria dive club members rescued after boat capsizes

 

 

 

 

Missing Divers found safe near Race Rocks Times Colonist June 6, 2015

 

 

 

 

Race Rocks Advisers Push For Protection

Victoria Times Colonist, Aug 18,2011

 

 

Ryan and Raisa
On Guard at Race Rocks
Goldstream News Gazette Published: January 14,

 

 

Race Rocks weather makes the CBC Weather Network, January 18, 2015

 

 

British Columbia Rare Bird Alert, Dec 29 2014

 

 

 

 

The Tidal Current Turbine Energy Project in the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve Erika Lee Brown March 2013 Memorial University of Newfoundland St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada

 

Lighthouse

Lighthouse team disputes right to sell
 Race Rocks operators say beacons not owned by federal government TIMES COLONIST Dec 24, 2010
Also carried in the Regina Leader Post and as “Feds’ lighthouse sell-off program hits dark patch” in the Vancouver Sun , The Province , The Montreal Gazette, Global TV, The Calgary Herald ,and the Saskatoon Star Phoenix.and The Windsor Star.

Also see this file on Lighthouse disposal: Feds’ lighthouse sell-off program hits dark patch
The Province: December 23, 2010

 

 

 

Opinion Column : Goldstream Gazette: Lighthouses Part of Canada’s Culture : November 11, 2010

 

 

 

Senators Want Just The Facts: Times Colonist November 12, 2010

 

 

 

Groups Struggle to Save Light houses : Victoria News, November 12/15/2010

 

 

 

 

Island Tides

Senate Committee Probes Lighthouses: Patrick Brown in Island Tides Nov 25-Dec.8, 2010

 

 

 

 

Keep Lighthouse keepers , Senate urges:
Ryan Murphy is more than a lighthouse keeper, he’s also the guardian of the marine protected area on Race Rocks, B.C., experienced in search-and-rescue operations, and a curator of data about the area’s infrastructure, climate and ecosystem.

 

 

 

Goldstream Gazette articleFor sale: one 150-year-old lighthouse
Race Rocks 150-year-old lighthouse had a facelift and paint job last year.
The colonial-era stone building is on the list of surplus properties the federal government wants to sell.
By Edward Hill – Goldstream News Gazette
Published: June 11, 2010 2:00 PM

 

 

 


Newspaper Version Wednesday, June 16, 2010
sea lion rescueDec 21,09 Times Colonist Coverage of the rescue:
Rescue frees Steller sea lion tethered for days to Race Rocks, unable to feed

 

Dec 21,09 CBC News Coverage of the rescue Sea lion rescued off Vancouver Island Entangled in rope

 

Dec 26,09 article in Goldstream Gazette based on R.Murphy interview :Daring Sealion Rescue at Race Rocks

wind buoy in Times Colonist

 

Sidney firm deploys world’s first wind buoy :

 

 

 

Times Colonist,October 28, 2009injured sea lion

Linked in article in T C about research on study about saving sea lions.

 

 

 

neck ring on sea lionOctober 29,2009 Linked in article of Times Colonist on Sea Lions injured by debris,boats

 

 

 

 

.tower restoration news Saving an Aging West Coast Icon

Goldstream Gazette, 06/09/2009tcelseal

 

 

 

First elephant seal born at Race Rocks, Times Colonist, Feb 1, 2009 and Vancouver Sun Feb 1, 2009 see this pdf of the story: tcelsealNEWS RELEASE

 

 

 


After Nearly 10 Years – Heritage Lighthouse Bill Passes
May 7, 2008.

 

 

A beacon of hope for Race Rocks
Carney tries again to win protection for prize lighthouses now withering away

 

 

 

 

Race Rocks The Ecology of Eden , In Flight Review March-2008

 

 

 

 

Prime Minister Stephen Harper visits Race Rocks and Pearson College for an “ecoenergy announcement”. January 19, 2007

 

 

 

The Times Colonist acknowledges the high wind speed in a devastating storm that struck Vancouver Island .. Dec 15, 2006..

This link has images of the atmospheric data as well

 

 

.Bringing MPAs Online: The Use Of Webcams For Education, Monitoring, And Other Purposes
… MPA NEWS  Vol. 8, No. 5  November 2006

 

 

 

“Web Cams Gone Wild “by Sandy Bauers for the Philadelphia Inquirer.Mon April 24, 2006

 

 

Below is a quote from this story which was picked up by other newspapers listed below in the following weeks..
.
“Other places – like the Race Rocks islands in British Columbia, north of Washington state – are too environmentally sensitive for hordes of humans, trampling the flora and scaring the fauna. Its cameras provide minimal-impact tourism.”WFAA.com
Dallas Fort Worth, Channel 8
“Webcams offer instant fix for wildlife voyeurs “(carried the same article as above)San Jose

 


“Witness wildlife flourishing
WEBCAMS FOSTER TOURISM MINUS HUMAN IMPACT”
Monday,May 15 by Sandy Bauers (carried the same article as above)
Calgary Herald Monday, May 15, 2006 (carried the same article as above)

 

 

Pam Birley of Leicester England was interviewed by the Province newspaper about her wildlife viewing on racerocks.ca
ref: Anderson, Charlie, “Live Wildlife for your Living Room “,
The Province, Vancouver, B.C. ( Sunday, Nov.21, 2004

 

Racerocks.com
The Danish language version of this article is published in the Journal “Geografisk Orientering” Included here is also an English Version:

 

 

 

February 25, 2005 .. Television and Newspaper Coverage of The Pearson College, ENCANA, CLEAN CURRENT Tidal Power Demonstration Project at Race Rocks...Tide Turns for Power, and for Young Minds: Pearson College, Partners Apply Current Thinking. (Times Colonist)

 

 

cameras.jpgWatching over Race Rocks: An article on Race Rocks by Kerry McArthur in the Winter 2004 edition of Energy magazine

 

 

 


racerocks.com Wins Prestigious Educational Award--Originally published in the Pearson College Newsletter, THE LINK September 17, 2004. Link no.66. 

 

 

July 21, 2004: The Goldstream Gazette carries the announcement of the Commonwealth of Learning Award for Educational Excellence in Distance Education Materials

 

 

 

In June of 2002, The APPLE LEARNING INTERCHANGE OPENED THE NEW GALLERY OF FEATURED EXHIBITS . Race Rocks has been included on the ALI website as one of their exhibits. (link no longer available)

 

 

 

Paul Kennedy, host of the CBC program “Ideas” produced a special series on The OCEANS for the CBC program “IDEAS” that was aired in February, 2002. This is the excerpt recorded on Race Rocks

 

 

 

 

USANDO Internet para Proteccion Ecologica (en Espanol)Usando internet para protección ecológica
Por MARTHA BURKL
GRUPO REFORMA

 

 

 

EDUCATION CANADA —

 

Education & Technology
Case Study –racerocks.com:Education and Research in Real Time
Fall/Automne 2001: GarryFletcher

 


QUICKTIME CONSERVATION– MACS AT WORK– May 2001, David Ferris

 

Race Rocks Reserve Expanded , Times Colonist 13.02.2001 –Race Rocks was officially announced as provincial territory, with an expanded ecological reserve.

 

 

 

In this issue of Apple eNews, see item number 5,
“The Call of the Wild”
November 16, 2000 Volume 3, Issue 25
(no longer available)


MPA Update: Race Rocks to become Canadas first MPA-Oct 2000

MPA Enforcement Strategies:  (cameras at Race Rocks)

 

Mapping and MPAs: Practitioners Work to Define Resources, Boundaries – May 2000 (Marc Pakenham quoted)

( see copy here)

 

Islands in the Video Stream :
A feature article on Apple’s Hotnews page
– Oct. 2000 ( no longer available)


But see Witnessing the Wonders of the Race Rock Eco-system in “Teach”

 

 

The racerocks.com Project featured on the Apple Education-Canada web-site Sept. 12/2000 (article no longer available)

 

 

 

 

Interview by CBC reporter Loreen Pindera (PC year 3) with Garry Fletcher on the use of the internet and technology for conservation of a fragile ecosystem –Sept 16/2000

 

 

 

From the Victoria Times Colonist, March 5, 2000, an article by Gil Parker on Lester Pearson College and Race Rocks

 

 

 

Race Rocks, A Legacy for the Future. From the Metchosin Muse, March, 2000, the cover story by Joan Gilbert on the MPA and the opening of racerocks.com

 

 

 

 

Race Rocks hits the Internet -Times Colonist , March 12 2000

 

 

 

 

BBC interviewNOVEMBER 1997 – An interview with the BBC on the Future of an Internet network for Race Rocks

 

 

 

Recent Posts

The Myth of the Oil Spill Clean-Up

The Myth of the Oil Spill Clean-Up: Why Our Winds Leave Us Defenseless Nearly Half the Year

By Shamseddin Alsesheikh and Garry Fletcher, with research assistance by Gemini AI

Given the new political push to increase tanker traffic past Race Rocks in may be appropriate to visit an inconvenient truth. 

As oil tankers carrying heavy crude transit the narrow corridor of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, coastal communities along southern Vancouver Island are routinely assured that a “world-class” marine spill response regime stands ready to protect our shores. With the Trans Mountain expansion elevating tanker traffic to as many as 34 vessels per month, these assurances form the foundation of public safety promises.

However, five years of meteorological data from Environment and Climate Change Canada’s weather station at Race Rocks reveal a major flaw in this safety net: the mechanical equipment meant to contain and skim spilled oil is rendered unusable nearly half the time.

Under Transport Canada’s TP 14909 Environmental Response Standards, standard mechanical recovery equipment—such as oil containment booms and floating skimmers—loses effectiveness when sustained winds reach 28 km/h (15 knots). Beyond this threshold, wind-driven waves shear oil underneath containment skirts, splash slicks over barriers, and create dangerous working conditions for small response vessels.

An analysis of hourly climate records from 2021 through 2025 demonstrates that wind speeds at Race Rocks reached or exceeded 28 km/h for 43.1% of all recorded hours across the five-year period.

Far from being an occasional winter storm issue, this operational blackout is actually most severe during the summer. Driven by intense thermal pressure gradients between the hot interior and the cool ocean, gap winds funneling through the Strait cause cleanup equipment to be inoperable for an astonishing 79.1% of all hours in July.

Annual Response Inoperability at Race Rocks (2021–2025)

(Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada, Race Rocks Station 10943, 2021–2025)

When mechanical containment fails, surface oil spreads rapidly with wind and tidal currents, threatening ecological reserves, migratory bird habitats, kelp forests, and endangered marine life like the Southern Resident killer whales.

If cleaning up an oil spill on the water is physically unfeasible 43% of the year—and nearly 80% of the time in mid-summer—policy makers cannot rely on post-spill skimming as a primary line of defense. Transport Canada and the Pacific Pilotage Authority must prioritize strict preventive measures. This includes establishing mandatory transit pauses for laden tankers during high-wind events and enforcing high-capacity tethered escort tug requirements along the entire transit corridor.

We cannot control the weather in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, but regulators can—and must—control when and how crude oil tankers navigate it.

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