Oil and chemical spill tracking

Spills of oil and chemicals into freshwater and ocean environments have killed fish, degraded habitat, and led to closures of commercial, recreational, and Indigenous fisheries. Raincoast’s Healthy Waters Program is positioned to collect data at the scene of a spill and collaborate with various organizations and First Nations to understand the impact of a spill. 

Tracker will host a number of rugged analytical instruments, and enable the measurement of several contaminants in the field, including coliform bacteria, nutrients, metals, pesticides, and tracers of wastewater effluent.
Photo by Peter Ross.
Two sockeye salmon swimming in a river.
Photo by Fernando Lessa.

Spills happen

Spills originate from all manner of accidents. The 2005 train derailment that spilled caustic soda into the Cheakamus River that killed 500,000 fish, The 2015 spill of 3,000 L of Bunker C oil from the MV Marathassa into English Bay. The 2020 fire aboard the MV ZIM Kingston in Juan de Fuca Strait that resulted in the loss of 104 mixed cargo shipping containers into the ocean. Each and every accident is bad news, and threatens the health of fish and whales, and contributes to the degradation of their habitats.

Being prepared is key

Given the sudden and unpredictable nature of oil and chemical spills, our oil and chemical spill response work entails being agile and available for support to First Nations, government agencies, and industry during a major spill. We are developing science protocols, and acquiring sampling kits, field equipment, and safety gear, and are poised to deploy our team to the scene of a spill. 

Being prepared on all fronts is key to limiting the damage from a spill. We recognize that with spills, it’s not a matter of if, but when. Research and monitoring to confirm the origin of the spill, track the fate of the spilled product, and monitor the recovery of ecosystem components routinely fails to be a priority. We will deploy expert capacity where and when needed, and work to prevent harm to valued ecosystem components.

Two people working together to collect water samples in a farm field with the mountains in the background.
Photo by Alex Harris.
https://www.raincoast.org/reports/flood

Semá:th X̱ó:tsa (Sumas Lake) Floods of 2021

The catastrophic floods of late 2021 in southern British Columbia (Canada) and neighbouring Washington State (USA) destroyed homes, farms and businesses, with excess water spilling debris, animal carcasses and diesel fuel into historically productive fish habitat. 

We assembled a team to assess water quality in the former Semá:th X̱ó:tsa (Sumas Lake) area of the Fraser Valley over a seven-week period after the floods. We collected water samples from 11 surface water sites and four groundwater sites for comprehensive contaminant analysis and a subsequent risk-based evaluation. We measured 379 analytes (chemical components and bacteria), including 262 anthropogenic contaminants. We examined excess nutrients, metals, fecal coliform, hydrocarbons, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products, perfluorinated compounds, sucralose, and tire-related chemicals.

Read the report

Recent articles

A fish farm in the middle of a body of water.

Sea lice study called misleading

Sea lice from fish farms appear to have spread to wild salmon in a much wider area of coastal B.C. than previously believed, shows a newly published paper by the Raincoast Conservation Foundation…
A tree in the middle of a wooded area.

Scientists Urge Canada to Protect Its Rainforests

Raincoast senior scientist Dr. Paul Paquet is a co-author of new book highlighting the urgent need for Canada to protect its rainforests as climate change insurance…
Fish farms on the BC coast threaten wild salmon.

Lice affect more salmon than thought, study says

By Judith Lavoie, Times Colonist November 11, 2010 Sea lice from fish farms appear to have spread to wild salmon in a much wider area of coastal B.C. than previously believed, a newly published study concludes…
A group of people standing on the deck of a sailboat.

Message In A Bottle

Island Tides, November 11, 2010 As part of an effort to understand ocean currents, and how they would influence the movement of a potential oil spill, scientists from IOS recently teamed up with the Gitga’at and Raincoast to drop ‘drift’ bottles…
Fish farms on the BC coast threaten wild salmon.

Raincoast responds to industry criticism of sea lice paper

Raincoast biologist Michael Price responds to criticism from the fish farm industry leveled against his peer-reviewed paper recently published in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences…
Three small fish sitting on a white surface.

Evidence of farm-induced parasite infestations on wild juvenile salmon in multiple regions of coastal BC, Canada

M.H.H. Price, A. Morton, and J.D. Reynolds. 2010. Evidence of farm-induced parasite infestations on wild juvenile salmon in multiple regions of coastal British Columbia, Canada. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 67: 1925–1932 Download the paper   Price etal 2010 Farm-induced lice infestations CJFAS 2010
Fish farms on the BC coast threaten wild salmon.

Sea lice from fish farms infect wild juvenile salmon in multiple regions

Today, the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences published findings by Raincoast and other researchers on sea lice infestations of wild juvenile salmon near salmon farms…
A woman wearing a t - shirt that says don't spoil our coast.

Enbridge faces strong opposition from Heiltsuk

Representatives for Enbridge were in Bella Bella to present their case for the Northern Gateway pipeline. Raincoast’s Doug Brown, a member of the Heiltsuk First Nation, was at the event…