glasssponge Archives - CPAWS British Columbia

March 6 2019

CPAWS welcomes protection of Howe Sound glass sponge reefs

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CPAWS welcomes protection of Howe Sound glass sponge reefs

March 6th, 2019

Vancouver, BC – The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society is very pleased to see the eight new marine refuges announced today, protecting nine of Howe Sounds newly discovered Glass Sponge Reefs from all bottom-contact fishing, by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard.

“The Howe Sound glass sponge reefs are an ecological treasure on the door step of one of Canada’s largest cities. They are a very important ecological feature in Howe Sound, that provide both habitat for many species and ecological services including filtering of ocean water,” said Sabine Jessen, National Director of the Ocean Program for CPAWS.

Nine Howe Sound glass sponge reefs are now protected from bottom-contact fishing with eight marine refuges. The reefs are located near Vancouver, BC. Photo credit: Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).

“CPAWS has been involved in the protection of glass sponge reefs on the BC coast for almost two decades, since the first reefs were discovered in Hecate Strait in the late 1980s,” said Jessen. “Living glass sponge reefs date back to the Jurassic era, and are living dinosaurs on our Pacific Coast. We have a global responsibility to ensure their long-term survival.”

“In order to ensure their survival, we are pleased to see that the Minister has announced a number of protection measures, including a 150 metre buffer zone to prevent bottom trawling from both destroying the reefs and from smothering them with sediment, as well as prohibitions on all bottom contact fishing, which can have a severe impact on fragile glass sponges,” noted Ross Jameson, Ocean Conservation Manager, CPAWS-BC.

“We remain concerned that anchoring has still not been addressed in the protection measures for these reefs, and the previous nine glass sponge reefs in the Strait of Georgia that were previously protected,” noted Jessen. “CPAWS will continue to work with DFO and other agencies to ensure that all threats to the reefs are addressed.”

“CPAWS would also like to take this opportunity to recognize the efforts of local groups in Howe Sound who have worked tirelessly to document the Howe Sound glass sponge reefs and to advocate for their long-term protection,” noted Jessen. “We would especially like to recognize Glen Dennison for his many years of work, and to commit to him to assisting with the protection of the additional glass sponge reefs that he has identified in Howe Sound.”

“While we are pleased to see the glass sponge reefs in Howe Sound, like those before them in the Strait of Georgia, being designated as marine refuges, we hope that in future they will form the backbone for a network of MPAs in this region,” added Jameson.

A diver floats above a glass sponge reef in Howe Sound. Photo credit: Neil McDaniel

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January 25 2019

How sound are the protections for Howe Sound’s glass sponge reefs?

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How sound are the protections for Howe Sound’s glass sponge reefs?

By Sonia Singh Jind, 25 January 2019

When scientists stumbled upon an assembly of strange, blanched formations growing overtop of one another and stretching out for hundreds of kilometers across the seafloor, they had no idea they were looking at living glass sponge reefs.

Until then, these reefs were thought to have been extinct since the Jurassic, which ended over 200 million years ago. Scientists are not quite sure why glass sponge reefs seem to have only survived off the west coast of BC, but the answers may give us insight into why these ghostly reef-builders are so rare.

Individual glass sponges – simple animals that use silica (or glass) to build their skeleton – are found in several locations throughout the world, such as the west coast of the United States and Antarctica. However, glass sponge reefs are extremely rare, and seem to only occur in certain environmental conditions. These complex structures form when individual glass sponges grow on top of one another, eventually forming towering structures that can reach up to 20m high.

Glass sponges in Howe Sound. Photo credit: Vancouver Aquarium via squamishchief.com

The most extensive glass sponge reefs have been found in Hecate Strait, where they cover hundreds of kilometers of sea floor. Smaller reefs have since been discovered in the Strait of Georgia, Chatham Sound, and the Broughton Archipelago, with 14 of those in Howe Sound. It appears that the unusually high silica and oxygen in the water, an optimal level of water flow, food supply, and temperature, make the coast of BC and Alaska the only known coastline to support glass sponge reefs in the entire world.

The foundation of ocean ecosystems

Glass sponge reefs aren’t just pretty to look at, they are also ecologically important in a variety of ways. The 3D structures these reefs provide on an otherwise almost barren seafloor create habitat and areas of refuge for seastars, prawns, lobster, and a variety of fish, including halibut, cod, herring, and the threatened rockfish.

Sponges have the amazing ability to filter 95% of bacteria in the water. You can think of a field of glass sponges as the ocean’s natural filtration system, filtering huge amounts of ocean water every second and producing ammonia that other organisms need for life processes, thereby supporting ecosystem health.

Just as their name suggests, these sponges are fragile. Their texture is similar to meringue, so they break easily. Despite their fragility, they can live thousands of years: some reefs on BC’s coast have been aged at 9,000 years old. They likely survived, in part, because they live so far from the surface of the ocean and away from human contact. But recently humans have begun to exploit the ocean at depths which were previously unreachable, and the threats to this fragile species have intensified.

Human activities such as bottom-trawl fishing and down-rigging can easily destroy these ancient 9,000 year old reefs in seconds. Prawn and crab traps hitting the bottom, the laying of submarine cables and damage from anchors can all cause physical damage and stir up sediment in the water, smothering the sponges. Sponges stop feeding when covered in sediment, eventually leading to starvation and death. Glass sponges take over 200 years to grow just 1 metre in height, so when they are damaged, they could take hundreds of years to recover, if ever.

Protecting glass sponge reefs

A rockfish on a glass sponge reef in the Broughton Archipelago. Photo credit: Tavish Campbell, Wild First

CPAWS-BC has been working on glass sponge reef protection for over 25 years, drawing global attention, educating the public, and urging the government to protect these sites of international importance. In 2002 Oceans and Fisheries Canada (DFO) created fishing closures prohibiting bottom-trawling over the glass sponge reefs. But this was not enough. The reefs needed permanent protection. It took another 8 years before DFO announced Hecate Strait (the site where the reefs were first discovered in 1987) as an Area of Interest under consideration to become a Marine Protected Area (MPA).

Finally, in 2017, after a strong push for higher protection standards, CPAWS-BC rejoiced as the Hecate Strait & Queen Charlotte Sound Glass Sponge Reefs MPA was established. The reefs in Hecate Strait are currently protected within 150m around them.

While this MPA and the preceding fishing closures over the Strait of Georgia reefs were major wins towards protecting our glass sponge reefs, there are over 20 glass sponge reefs in Howe Sound, Chatham Sound and the Broughton Archipelago that still need protection.

CPAWS-BC is currently leading the charge to ensure the ancient reef-building animals in Howe Sound are protected from bottom-contact fishing and undersea pipelines, both of which pose an immediate threat to their survival.

To learn more about glass sponge reefs and how you can protect them, check out https://cpawsbc.org/glass-sponge-reefs/