Plywood ‘cards’ in the ocean help eco-groups map potential oil spills

Sandra McCulloch / Times Colonist
February 16, 2014

A tiny piece of plywood dropped into the sea off the Saanich Peninsula in late October has been retrieved from a beach on Haida Gwaii, providing another small piece in two environmental groups’ case against shipping oil off the B.C. coast.

Thousands of yellow plywood pieces have been dropped at different points from Vancouver harbour to areas off Victoria, along the path of a regular tanker route. The objective is to get an “indication of the potential spill trajectories,” said Ross Dixon, policy and program manager with Raincoast Conservation Foundation. His group is involved in the project along with the Georgia Strait Alliance.

The plywood “cards” ask those who find them to report the location. Those locations are being logged on an online map at salishseaspillmap.org…

To read the full article please visit the Victoria Times Colonist website.

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