sea to sky Archives - CPAWS British Columbia

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June 16 2021

Conversation on the Coast | Townhall on the Environment | June 29 2021

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Climate change and biodiversity loss are among the most pressing challenges facing the natural world and global society. Polling consistently shows that Canadians and British Columbians worry about biodiversity loss and support protected areas and Indigenous stewardship as solutions to these twin crises.

To address the concerns of British Columbians, CPAWS-BC, in partnership with GreenPAC and Everyday Advocates, hosted a virtual Town Hall on the Environment on June 29, 2021, featuring elected representatives from neighbouring ridings from Burnaby to Bowen Island. The Conversation on the Coast panelists included:

Patrick Weiler, Member of Parliament – West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country
Terry Beech, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages, Member of Parliament – Burnaby North-Seymour
The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Member of Parliament – North Vancouver

Here is a recording of the town hall so you can hear from your MPs about progress made in addressing Canada’s biodiversity crisis, wilderness conservation, species protection as well as conservation of ocean and coastal ecosystems.

To join us in protecting lands and waters, visit cpawsbc.org/support
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Have a question on the environment for your MP? Submit your question for the Q&A when you register.

When: Monday, June 29 at 6 PM (PT)
Where: Register for exclusive access on Zoom where we’ll pose your questions to the MPs.
Who: You and your network! This is a no-cost public event. Please share with your friends and neighbours in Burnaby North-Seymour, North Vancouver, and West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country.

RSVP to join the webinar and pose your questions on the environment. A livestream will be available to at: facebook.com/CPAWSbc More

ID: Yellow quillback rockfish on white glass sponge reef

September 1 2020

Oceans Wise report recommends implementation of full protection for all of Howe Sound’s glass sponge reefs

cpawsadmin News conservation, cpaws-bc, dfo bc, glass sponge, howe sound, prawn, rockfish, ross jameson, sea to sky

For interview, please contact:
Ross Jameson, Ocean Conservation Manager
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society-British Columbia
778-953-2372
ross@cpawsbc.org

Oceans Wise report recommends implementation of full protection for all of Howe Sound’s glass sponge reefs

September 1, 2020

Unceded Coast Salish Territory/Vancouver, BC — A new report from Ocean Wise has updated the health status of Howe Sound for 2020. While there is cautious optimism with some health ratings improving, the Ocean Wise report still has many labelled as critical or cautious, including glass sponge reefs which “remain vulnerable to mechanical damage and climate change.” The report recommends implementing full protection of glass sponge reefs throughout all of Howe Sound.

Long thought extinct, glass sponge reefs mainly grow off BC’s coast. Not only do these reefs provide important habitat for ocean life such as prawns and rockfish, they also filter ocean water, provide fertilizer for plankton, and store carbon.

Glass sponge reefs are particularly vulnerable to shattering from bottom contact fishing such as prawn traps as they are composed of the same material that makes glass. A DFO survey, in cooperation with the Marine Life Sanctuaries Society, not only discovered a dead reef near Ellesmere Creek at the north end of Howe Sound, but found historical damage from fishing activities in all of the surveyed reefs.

Climate change poses an urgent and even larger problem. A study cited by the Ocean Wise report included observation of glass sponge reef mortalities associated with the El Niño climate events of 2009/2010 and 2015/2016. Additionally, a study from UBC found that warming ocean temperatures and acidification drastically reduce the skeletal strength and filter-feeding capacity of glass sponges.

In March 2019, DFO announced the closure of the nine documented glass sponge reef complexes to bottom-contact fishing. A DFO report published earlier this year confirmed five more living glass sponge reefs in Howe Sound. However, these reefs are still open to bottom-contact fishing such as prawn trapping. Even if reefs are damaged, there are no threats of fines or legal recourse for the harmful activity.

Glass sponges are under siege from multiple threats. Without the chance to grow and expand, glass sponges will lock away less carbon, exacerbating the effects of climate change. “By removing the threat of bottom-contact fishing, glass sponges will be better able to adapt to a changing ocean,” says Ross Jameson, Ocean Conservation Manager for Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society British Columbia Chapter. We need the immediate designation of fishing closures for all of Howe Sound’s glass sponge reefs to protect these rare creatures for generations.

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For interview, please contact:

Ross Jameson, Ocean Conservation Manager
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society-British Columbia
778-953-2372
ross@cpawsbc.org

Resources
Miller A, Chapman J, Dearden A, Ross P (Editor). 2020. Ocean Watch Átl’ḵa7tsem/Txwnéwu7ts/Howe Sound Edition 2020. Ocean Wise Research Institute, Ocean Wise Conservation Association, Vancouver, B.C., Canada. 388 pp. ISBN: 978-1-7772408-2-0 available online at:https://ocean.org/wp-content/uploads/OceanWatch-HoweSoundReport2020-online.pdf

Help Protect Howe Sound's Glass Sponge Reefs