Fisheries

Aug 17, 2020

Even a low-ball prediction for the number of sockeye returning to B.C. river was too high and First Nations and conservationists say government mismanagement and lice infestations are partly to blame

Scientists at the Pacific Salmon Commission knew 2020 wouldn’t be a great year for Fraser River sockeye salmon — but they didn’t know it would be this bad.

13 August 2020

The amount of oil spilled from the Japanese-owned ship nearby the lagoons and coastal areas of south-east Mauritius is relatively low compared to the big oil spills the world has seen in the past, but the damage it will do is going to be huge and long-lasting, experts say.

Unlike most previous offshore spills, this has taken place near two environmentally protected marine ecosystems and the Blue Bay Marine Park reserve, which is a wetland of international importance.

Sharks, tuna, marlin and other large fish at risk from spread of ‘dead zones’, say scientists

 7 Dec 2019

Oxygen in the oceans is being lost at an unprecedented rate, with “dead zones” proliferating and hundreds more areas showing oxygen dangerously depleted, as a result of the climate emergency and intensive farming, experts have warned.

Nov. 1, 2019

This summer, Fisheries and Oceans Canada released a beautiful-looking report “State of Canadian Pacific Salmon: Responses to Changing Climate and Habitats” which your intrepid editor, asked me to “process into layman terms” for TAKE 5. She didn’t actually say, “Your mission, should you choose to accept it,” but … you remember that music?

I definitely heard it.

Dear Rebecca Reid,

September 25th 2019

The world’s scientists are urging countries to harness Indigenous knowledge and deploy more renewable energy technology after concluding that carbon pollution levels are leading to unprecedented sea-level rise and loss of glaciers, ice sheets and permafrost.

Jul. 10, 2019

Streamflows remain low despite rainfall

Despite rainy weather, ongoing drought conditions on the North Island may reduce trout and coho numbers as low streamflows leave fish stranded and higher water temperatures snuff out insects that provide them with food.

“It is fairly unusual for the North Island to be this dry,” said Jaroslaw Szczot, senior aquatic ecologist with the provincial Ministry of Forests. “I think the fires last year proved that.”