Photo: A.S. Wright
British Columbia’s coastline is 900 kilometres as the crow flies, but includes over 27,000 kilometers of archipelago, inlets, islands and fjords. This geography fosters a spectacular diversity of life but also makes it vulnerable to a variety of threats, from oil spills to increasing industrialization. Our marine conservation program aims to protect marine mammals, marine birds and their habitats.
Initiatives in our Marine Research and Conservation Program
Protecting endangered killer whales
Defining and Defending Marine Mammal Habitat
Guide government action on Southern Resident killer whales before March 23
In the last two years, the federal government has taken initial measures to reduce noise and disturbance from vessels (to make it easier for whales to feed and communicate), and ...
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We are headed to the Supreme Court for Southern Resident killer whales
Today, Raincoast takes our work to protect Southern Resident killer whales from the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. Working with Living Oceans ...
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Trans Mountain Expansion project background
Ecojustice, Raincoast Conservation Foundation and Living Oceans Society have worked through the courts to protect Southern Resident killer whales from the threats posed by the Trans Mountain Expansion project. Timeline ...
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Increasing salmon hatcheries could do more harm than good for Chinook and Southern Resident killer whales
In both British Columbia and Washington state, fishery managers, provincial and state legislators, the sports fishing lobby, and even the whale watching industry have advocated for increased production of hatchery ...
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Interview: Why our latest court challenge to the re-approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline is critical for the Salish Sea
The Southern Resident killer whales are a small declining population. The increase in tanker traffic associated with the Trans Mountain expansion will have a significant adverse effect on these killer ...
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Saving endangered whales: Strategies from above and below the 49th parallel
On May 10, the Canadian federal government announced its first wide-ranging measures to reduce the primary threats compromising survival of the salmon-eating Southern Resident killer whales reliant on the transboundary ...
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We’re headed back to court for killer whales
Today we are returning to court with partners Ecojustice and Living Oceans Society to challenge the federal government’s re-approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. Our lawyers at Ecojustice submitted ...
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Misty MacDuffee on CFAX 1070 talking about the approval of the Trans Mountain Pipeline
The day after the federal government approved the Trans Mountain Pipeline yet again, Raincoast’s Wild Salmon Program Director, Misty MacDuffee spoke with Mark Brennae on CFAX 1070 to talk pipelines, ...
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Ecological legacy of coastal B.C. hangs in the balance
British Columbia’s north and central coast, also known as the Great Bear Rainforest, along with Haida Gwaii, hosts a uniquely biodiverse region that is becoming increasingly rare in this world ...
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No half measures for Southern Resident killer whales
For the last several months Raincoast and our partners have been working diligently to inform government about what is required for Southern Resident killer whale recovery. Right now, as we ...
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NEB recommends Trans Mountain proceed despite “significant adverse effects” to Southern Residents
The National Energy Board (NEB) has recommended that the Trans Mountain expansion project should proceed despite the “significant adverse effects” of oil tankers on the critically endangered population of Southern ...
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Panel: the future of killer whale recovery
Join us this April, either in person or on online, as we discuss the challenges ahead in the recovery of the endangered Southern Resident killer whales. With the Southern Resident ...
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The National Energy Board and killer whales, on As It Happens
While we are glad that the NEB recognizes that the project will have significant adverse effects on Southern Resident killer whales, we don’t agree that Trans Mountain’s purported benefits are ...
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No mitigation measures can protect Southern Resident killer whales from the noise of Trans Mountain’s tanker traffic
Today the National Energy Board (NEB) recommended that the Trans Mountain Expansion should proceed despite the consequence of oil tankers on the critically endangered Southern Resident killer whale population. While ...
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Raincoast’s new evidence on Southern Resident killer whales for the National Energy Board’s reconsideration of the Trans Mountain Expansion
The National Energy Board is now preparing its recommendations to cabinet on the Trans Mountain Expansion. When we won our legal case in the federal court of appeal in August ...
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