Ocean Protection

Burnaby vet technician Jocelyn Marsh shows off part of her pill bottle return program. (Jane Skrypnek/Black Press Media)

B.C. veterinarian has plan to eliminate millions of pieces of plastic from Canadian clinics

Very simple changes can have a large impact if adopted broadly, Jocelyn Marsh says

 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a news conference on Bowen Island, B.C., on Tuesday, July 19, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Trudeau launches expanded oceans protection plan, with aim to reach more regions

Government pledged to add $2 billion over 9 years to $1.5 billion already set aside for program

 

The Canadian Coast Guard ship called John P. Tully has been used to bring scientists to the Explorer Seamount — Canada’s largest underwater mountain. (Devon Bidal/News Staff)

West Coast expedition off B.C. explores never-before-seen deep-sea habitat

‘We are going to habitats that nobody’s mapped before, that nobody’s seen before’

 

(Photo Description: UBC Professor and Director of the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, Dr. William Cheung)

Heat waves are expected to continue, and B.C. needs to act in order to protect its fish: prof

UBC Professor leading charge in solutions to combat extreme heat to protect fish and marine species

(Photo Description: UBC Professor and Director of the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, Dr. William Cheung)
Surfrider Pacific Rim core crew hold the ‘Dart Board’, a surfboard made with cigarette butts by Ucluelet shaper Jesse Jones. (Submitted photo)

WORLD OCEANS DAY: Canada’s first cigarette surfboard brings awareness to tobacco pollution

Surfrider Pacific Rim would like to see a federal ban on cellulose acetate cigarette filters

Surfrider Pacific Rim core crew hold the ‘Dart Board’, a surfboard made with cigarette butts by Ucluelet shaper Jesse Jones. (Submitted photo)
Bioform’s Rami Younes (right) and Jordan MacKenzie (left) showing a sheet of the bioplastic. (Credit: Kai Jacobson/UBC Applied Science)

UBC scientists aim to put plastic in the past with 2 new inventions

Biodegradable product could replace plastic, unique coating could extend its life

Bioform’s Rami Younes (right) and Jordan MacKenzie (left) showing a sheet of the bioplastic. (Credit: Kai Jacobson/UBC Applied Science)
The Seamor Chinook ROV claw approaching a submerged pot, as seen from the navigation controller on the vessel. (Photo submitted)

Vancouver Island submersible craft grapples ‘ghost’ fishing gear from B.C.’s ocean floor

Seamor Marine involved in project to remove abandoned traps on northern coast

The Seamor Chinook ROV claw approaching a submerged pot, as seen from the navigation controller on the vessel. (Photo submitted)
Department of Fisheries and Oceans Marine Mammal Response Team members remove baleen from a dead fin whale as they perform a necropsy at Pender Harbour, B.C., in a March 20, 2022, handout photo. The head veterinarian at the Ocean Wise Marine Mammal Centre and the Vancouver Aquarium says it is concerning when such rare animals die because it affects the population. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-DFO, Paul Cottrell,

Rare fin whale found dead on remote beach in British Columbia

Exams suggest two-year-old whale was killed by blunt force trauma from a possible vessel strike

Department of Fisheries and Oceans Marine Mammal Response Team members remove baleen from a dead fin whale as they perform a necropsy at Pender Harbour, B.C., in a March 20, 2022, handout photo. The head veterinarian at the Ocean Wise Marine Mammal Centre and the Vancouver Aquarium says it is concerning when such rare animals die because it affects the population. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-DFO, Paul Cottrell,
Zim Kingston. (Black Press file photo)

Islanders’ ocean protection concerns communicated to Transport Minister

MP Rachel Blaney shared concerns of constituents in wake of MV Zim Kingston incident

Zim Kingston. (Black Press file photo)
Bill Coltart, president of Campbell River Association of Tour Operators (CRATO), as debris the organization has collected from local shorelines and sorted is loaded onto a transport truck for recycling. Photo by Sean Feagan / Campbell River Mirror. Bill Coltart, president of Campbell River Association of Tour Operators (CRATO), as debris the organization has collected from local shorelines and then sorted is loaded onto a truck to be transported for recycling. Photo by Sean Feagan / Campbell River Mirror.

Vancouver Island shorelines scrubbed cleaner thanks to tour operator-led project

Campbell River Association of Tour Operators lead removal of 37 tonnes of debris over 350 kilometres

Bill Coltart, president of Campbell River Association of Tour Operators (CRATO), as debris the organization has collected from local shorelines and sorted is loaded onto a transport truck for recycling. Photo by Sean Feagan / Campbell River Mirror. Bill Coltart, president of Campbell River Association of Tour Operators (CRATO), as debris the organization has collected from local shorelines and then sorted is loaded onto a truck to be transported for recycling. Photo by Sean Feagan / Campbell River Mirror.
A rockfish. Courtesy Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance.

Researchers uncover and map biological hotspots of B.C.’s Central Coast

Rich groups of rockfish, sponges and corals found, including in fjords and inland channels

A rockfish. Courtesy Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance.
Quillback rock fish on a marine protected area glass sponge reef. (Photo credit of CPAWS-BC, Diane Reid)

Watchdog says B.C.’s marine protected areas fall short in protecting biodiversity

Activities such as bottom trawling active in some MPAs, future threats looming

Quillback rock fish on a marine protected area glass sponge reef. (Photo credit of CPAWS-BC, Diane Reid)
Oceans Cleanup CEO and founder Bayon Slat speaks to the crowd in front of their vessel’s crew members on Wednesday, Oct. 20. (Kiernan Green/News Staff)

Ocean Cleanup returns to B.C. with its first dent out of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Victoria in the running as company looks for a base of operations to meet its 2040 goal

Oceans Cleanup CEO and founder Bayon Slat speaks to the crowd in front of their vessel’s crew members on Wednesday, Oct. 20. (Kiernan Green/News Staff)
(The Canadian Press photo)

An ocean menace: Study finds ghost gear capturing species at risk and lobster

‘We can actually make more money if we clean up our act’

(The Canadian Press photo)
Crews with the $3.5-million provincially funded Marine Debris Removal Initiative remove discarded and lost gear from B.C.’s central coast in the summer of 2020. (Photo supplied by Simon Agar)

Coastal Cleanup stages sequel of bid to rid B.C. coast of garbage

West Coast cleanup nets over 200 tonnes of marine debris

Crews with the $3.5-million provincially funded Marine Debris Removal Initiative remove discarded and lost gear from B.C.’s central coast in the summer of 2020. (Photo supplied by Simon Agar)
Pop Tart, the youngest calf of the humpback whale known by local ecotourism companies as Big Mama, feeds at the surface. The whale was one of three siblings spotted close together recently by a whale watching company, a rare occurrence for humpbacks, experts say. (Photo by April Ryan/Maya’s Legacy/Pacific Whale Watching Association)

Rare whale siblings gathering in Salish Sea has researchers excited

Scenario a rarity for humpbacks, experts say, more research needed about how whales interact

Pop Tart, the youngest calf of the humpback whale known by local ecotourism companies as Big Mama, feeds at the surface. The whale was one of three siblings spotted close together recently by a whale watching company, a rare occurrence for humpbacks, experts say. (Photo by April Ryan/Maya’s Legacy/Pacific Whale Watching Association)
A sea anemone in the Discovery Passage Aquarium on June 8, World Ocean Day.

VIDEO: Island aquarium spreads the word about World Ocean Day

Highlights importance of marine conservation and what people can do to help the ocean

A sea anemone in the Discovery Passage Aquarium on June 8, World Ocean Day.
Vessels participate in a mock oil spill exercise Wednesday, May 19, off Galiano Island. (Photo courtesy James MacDonald/Western Canada Marine Response)

Spill response team ‘cleans up’ mock oil spill in the Gulf Islands

Western Canada Marine Response says exercise part of Transport Canada certification program

Vessels participate in a mock oil spill exercise Wednesday, May 19, off Galiano Island. (Photo courtesy James MacDonald/Western Canada Marine Response)
An orca hunts salmon in east Pacific waters. The federal government has launched public consultations to inform direction on a new Blue Economy Strategy. (Photo supplied by Center for Whale Research)

British Columbians asked for input on Blue Economy

Public engagement portal will help inform government on strategy for new ocean economy

An orca hunts salmon in east Pacific waters. The federal government has launched public consultations to inform direction on a new Blue Economy Strategy. (Photo supplied by Center for Whale Research)
A derelict vessel in Ladysmith. (Black Press file photo)

Feds to pay for 80 abandoned boat assessments and removals in B.C.

Transport Canada will work with partners on Vancouver Island and central coast

A derelict vessel in Ladysmith. (Black Press file photo)