British Columbia's coastal waters are rich with life. More than 9,000 species live there, including over 400 known species of marine fish, 4,410 species of invertebrates, 161 different types of sea and shore birds, and 29 marine mammal species. These creatures would be threatened by the oil spills and unavoidable low-level pollution associated with the offshore oil and gas industry.
The seabed beneath Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound has the greatest economic potential for offshore oil and gas drilling. This region of the B.C. coast is called the "Queen Charlotte Basin". An yspills here would circulate the oil throughout the Basin and wash onto the beaches rather than out to sea.
Fish
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Half of the fish caught in B.C. migrate through or originate in the waters of Queen Charlotte Basin.
Fish are crucial to the economy
of many coastal communities. The Basin's waters support some 400species of fish, including salmon, herring, halibut, rockfish, sablefish and oolichan. Each one plays an important role in the intricate coastal marine ecosystem, but salmon are the foundation of life on the coast. They support a diversity of life in the ocean as well as in coastal forests. Almost all of B.C.'s salmon pass through the Queen Charlotte Basin. Approximately 650 major salmon spawning streams are found along the Central and North Coast.
The second and third largest herring fisheries in B.C. occur in an area where oil leases have been granted. Shellfish like shrimp, crab, clams, scallops, mussels, oysters, geoducks and sea urchins are also abundant in the Basin's waters. They support commercial fisheries that supply important international markets and are a vital and historic food fishery for First Nations people. |
Marine Mammals
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Marine mammals are particularly sensitive to disturbances from the offshore oil and gas industry, particularly seismic testing. Humpback, orca (killer whales), fin and minke whales, Pacific white-sided dolphin, Dall’s porpoise, Steller sea lions and the northern fur seal are found on the B.C. coast. Every spring and fall, over 20,000 grey whales travel along the coast as they migrate between Mexico’s Baja and summer feeding grounds in the Bering Sea. |
Birds
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The risk to the millions of birds that live, breed and migrate through the Queen Charlotte Basin would be significant if offshore oil and gas development is allowed to proceed. Oil spills can kill adult birds, damage nesting colonies and destroy sources of food. The great blue heron, bald eagle, kingfisher, albatross, swan, duck and loon feed at all levels of the marine food web on vegetation, crustaceans, invertebrates and fish. They are vulnerable to any negative impact or decrease in their food supply.
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