Raincoast Conservation Foundation » Reports

What’s at stake? The cost of oil on British Columbia’s priceless coast

Raincoast — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 18:08:47 +0000

New report details how tankers and oil spills could reverse years of recovery efforts for BC’s marine mammals

The report, ‘What’s at Stake – The cost of oil on British Columbia’s priceless coast’, conveys the ecological implications of oil tankers and oil spills to wildlife on the BC coast. The report stems from five years of at-sea surveys by Raincoast scientists, but places the future of BC’s unique coastline in a broader ecological context. The surveys were undertaken to fill information gaps around the abundance and distribution of marine mammals and marine birds on the BC coast and inform discussion’s about proposed oil tankers and associated activities.

“BC has a dark history of marine mammal exploitation. Since we stopped hunting whales, sea lions, and sea otters to the verge of extinction, we are witnessing their recovery in our coastal waters” said Misty MacDuffee, Raincoast biologist and a report author. “Now there is talk of putting tanker routes in their feeding grounds and risking their habitats to a catastrophic spill. More sea otters died in the Exxon Valdez oil spill than exist on the entire central and north coast of BC.”

Lessons from the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska have shown that even after two decades, some species and fisheries still have not recovered. This includes killer whale populations, some seabird populations, shellfish harvesting and the commercial herring fishery. If the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline is constructed from Alberta’s tar sands to Kitimat, we could see supertakers like the Exxon Valdez in BC waters transporting oil to Asian and American offshore markets

“Our findings show that a spill the size of the Exxon Valdez, which is not even in the top 50 largest oil spills, would have a profound impact on marine mammal and marine bird populations on the BC coast,” said Dr. Paul Paquet, Raincoast senior scientist and an author of the report.

“Terrestrial wildlife also face great danger from an oiled coast. Coastal grizzly bears and wolves, which rely on marine foods, would suffer in an Exxon-like catastrophe. Do British Columbians want to give up the last carnivore stronghold in North America in exchange for the last few bucks in a twilight oil economy?” said Dr. Chris Darimont, Raincoast large carnivore scientist and an author of the report.

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The work behind the report and its supplemental material can be found here Defining and Defending Marine Mammal Habitat.

Related Media: Giles Slade Oil spill moves north Huffington Post

Abstract

Raincoast — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 05:21:31 +0000

A two-day workshop was convened October 8-9, 2008 to review and synthesize sediment core studies conducted in sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) nursery lakes in British Columbia, Alaska, and the northwest United States. The objective of the workshop was to advance our understanding of paleolimnological applications and what these techniques can tell us about long-term changes in salmon escapements and lake ecology relative to salmon harvesting and climate change. Seven talks were presented on topics including a background to paleolimnology techniques for salmon nursery lakes, the roles of salmon-derived nutrients in lake ecosystems, the utility and pitfalls of salmon escapement data for referencing sediment core time-series data, and the influence of watershed processes and nitrogen budgets on salmon-derived nutrient signals in lake sediments. Eight talks presented case studies of paleolimnological data from British Columbia and Alaska sockeye salmon nursery lakes and a coastal riparian forest. The workshop concluded with a panel discussion to critically evaluate the potential application of paleolimnological techniques to the management of sockeye salmon. Recommendations were made that define how and where paleolimnological techniques are most likely to contribute to a practical understanding of sockeye salmon ecology and management. These recommendations include the need to formulate questions about sockeye salmon ecology that a paleoecology study of a nursery lake can realistically answer. Preliminary lake nitrogen budgets and consideration of the limitations of historic salmon population data will help determine whether salmon likely leave a detectable d15N signal in the sediments. Multi-proxy suites of paleoindicators and an understanding of how sediment deposition and filtering processes alter the sediment record in a given lake are required to interpret variations in sediment signals. A reference lake system and the fitting of nitrogen mixing models are also needed to interpret the d15N paleorecord for salmon escapements. Managers need to weigh paleoecological approaches against the costs and constraints of long-term fish population monitoring to be convinced that paleotechniques are worth the investment.

Applications of Paleolimnology

Raincoast — Wed, 27 May 2009 07:49:03 +0000

Applications of Paleolimnology: A workshop of the salmon nutrient research community

This 2 day workshop was hosted by Raincoast and its partners (Pacific Salmon Commission, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Watershed Watch) in the fall of 2008 at the Institute of Ocean Sciences in Sidney, BC.

Leading scientists and researchers reviewed sediment core studies conducted in sockeye salmon nursery lakes in BC and Alaska. The goal was to examine the use of paleolimnological techniques to inform our understanding of long-term changes in salmon abundance and lake ecology relative to salmon harvesting and climate change.

Abstract / Full proceedings /

Invited Talks:

Dr. Irene Gregory-Eaves

Raincoast — Mon, 25 May 2009 07:51:43 +0000

Department of Biology, McGill University
Introduction to Paleolimnological techniques: What can lake sediments can tell us about past salmon abundance?

Dr. Daniel Schindler

Raincoast — Sun, 24 May 2009 07:52:09 +0000

School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington
Translating variation in sediment 15N into pre-historical salmon population dynamics.

Dr. Bruce Finney

Raincoast — Sat, 23 May 2009 07:52:48 +0000

Department of Biological Sciences, Idaho State University
The fate of salmon-derived nutrients: Insights from lake studies in Alaska.

Dr. Peter Leavitt

Raincoast — Fri, 22 May 2009 07:53:11 +0000

Department of Biology, University of Regina
The importance of salmon-derived nutients on lake ecosystems

Dr. Kim Hyatt

Raincoast — Thu, 21 May 2009 07:53:43 +0000

Pacific Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Escapement data pitfalls and time series reconstructions for paleoindicators

Review of British Columbia’s Wildlife Act

Raincoast — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 06:25:20 +0000

This is a response to the Ministry of Environment’s review of the Wildlife Act in 2007. It was submitted by the Sierra Legal Defense Fund (now EcoJustice) and University of Victoria’s Environmental Law Clinic on behalf of Raincoast Conservation Foundation and a coalition of BC ENGO’s.

Download the pdf

The Last Wild Wolves (2007)

Raincoast — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 19:52:01 +0000

The last wild Wolves: Ghosts of the Great Bear Rainforest (2007)

By Ian McAllister and Raincoast’s Dr. Chris Darimont, with foreword by Raincoast’s Dr. Paul Paquet.

Published by Greystone Books (Canada), University of California – Berkeley Press (USA), Frederking & Thaler (Germany).

100% of Darimont and Paquet’s revenues were donated to the Qqs Society in support of science and cultural youth camps at Koeye. Qqs is a registered Heiltsuk First Nations charity.

Juvenile Salmon Migration Mapping Report (2007)

Raincoast — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 23:20:57 +0000

Raincoast investigated juvenile salmon habitat use along BC’s central coast in order to identify primary migration routes. This is a year-one report.

Juvenile Salmon Migration Mapping Report

Special Committee on Sustainable Aquaculture – Final Report Volume 1 (2007)

Raincoast — Wed, 16 May 2007 09:01:55 +0000

Report to the Government of British Columbia from the Government-appointed Special Committee on Sustainable Aquaculture, volume 1. The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. ISBN 978-0-7726-5787-9

SPSA Final Report Vol 1

Special Committe on Sustainable Aquaculture – Final Report – Volume 2 (2007)

Raincoast — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 09:02:49 +0000

Report to the Government of British Columbia from the Government-appointed Special Committee on Sustainable Aquaculture, volume 2. The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. ISBN 978-0-7726-5787-9 Appendix – Economic Impact Study

SPSA Final Vol 2

Small Streams Survey Report (2006)

Raincoast — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 23:35:16 +0000

This report documents 127 previously undocumented salmon-bearing streams surveyed on BC’s central coast between 2003-2006 in Heiltsuk Traditional Territory.

View the report in .PDF