Province Wide Support for PNCIMA (pin-SEE-ma) Plan
BC’s largest local government voting body, the Union of BC Municipalities, voted last month at their convention in favor of a resolution that supports an integrated oceans management plan for the Pacific North Coast Integrated Management Area (PNCIMA), pronounced pin-SEE-ma.
The resolution calls on the Governments of Canada and British Columbia to immediately commit to increased engagement and collaboration in PNCIMA. The passage of this resolution demonstrates widespread community-level support and demand for improved management of this productive and valuable living ecosystem.
Attending the convention, Kate Willis Ladell, Living Oceans Society’s Marine Planning and Protected Areas Campaign Manager said, “There was a real recognition by local government representatives from coastal communities that the current way our oceans are being managed is inadequate.” She continued, “I probably spoke with over 100 regional directors and councilors, and I was really pleased by how much support there was for the PNCIMA planning process.”
Now that local communities and NGOs are formal and active supporters of an integrated marine planning process for PNCIMA it is time for the Federal, Provincial and First Nations governments to get the show on the road.
To read the complete resolution, click here.
Sneaky Whales Stealing Fish
What happens when sneaky whales steal commercial fisherman's catch and scientists investigate to help?
Sperm whales stealing fish off the hook ... fishermen willingly working with scientists? Living Oceans Society (LOS) showed that this can happen with the recent screenings of SEASWAP, a 30 minute film that tells the story of a study spawned when the crafty whales began snatching black cod off longline gear in the Gulf of Alaska. The fishermen got worried and asked scientists for help curbing the sperm whales’ dining habits - before it cost them their livelihoods!
LOS presented the film in five coastal communities last month, as well as bringing along one the lead scientists in the study, Ms. Victoria 
O’Connell, from Sitka, Alaska.
“The kind of collaboration we saw in this film is something that ought to happen more often, especially when it relates to how our oceans are managed,” says LOS Local Marine Planner Lara Renehan.
After viewing SEASWAP, guest speaker Ms. Victoria O’Connell gave an update on the SEASWAP project and discussed how the fishermen and whale researchers collaborated. Ms. O’Connell also shared spectacular underwater footage of sperm whales taking black cod directly off a longline. She said that in June of next year fishermen in Alaska will begin testing acoustic deterrents in the final and most practical part of the study.
Both commercial and sports fishers who attended the presentation had firsthand experience of whale depredation. There are many examples in BC of sperm whales stealing halibut off of commercial longline gear. However, because BC’s sablefish and black cod are fished using pots, sperm whales don’t prey on this fishery. Nonetheless, Killer whale depredation of fishing gear is an emerging problem in BC, and unluckily for us apparently killer whales are much more efficient at this than sperm whales.
To find out more about this issue, click here.
Declining Salmon Stocks Cause for Concern
Vern Sampson, our Local Ecological Knowledge Coordinator informs about the the work that he is doing interviewing people who work on the water up and down the coast of BC. Recently, he was on the Central Coast and learned about the importance of salmon are on many levels. His report follows.
In my interviews and discussions with people in the Central Coast, one recurring theme is that salmon are not only iconic, but also key to the whole coastal ecology. A DFO salmon contractor said, “Most salmon streams in the Central Coast are experiencing seriously diminished returns this year.” The effect is far reaching. For example, the grizzly bears are still raiding farmer’s orchards when they should be on the rivers fattening up on salmon for the winter. As well, many young people are leaving town to look for work elsewhere.
People who have depended on healthy salmon stocks for generations are worried and taking steps to keep their salmon runs strong and sustainable. For example, the sport fish sector helps support salmon enhancement projects in the Central Coast. And, to support conservation in the past decade, commercial salmon fishers have developed new selective harvesting methods. For example, trollers now use barbless hooks, seines have to brail their catches and return non target species, while gillnetters use short set times and resuscitation boxes to mitigate harm to salmon species in need of protection.
One of the commercial fishers I talked to, echoed the feelings of many others when he said, “While there is a lot of work being done toward conservation and enhancement of salmon stocks, there is much more we could be doing, such as further protecting marine habitat, getting the salmon farms into closed containment systems and keeping large oil tankers out of the inshore waters – we can’t afford the risk of a spill.”
The depth of ecological knowledge and commitment to keeping our valued marine resources sustainable is very much evident in the smaller coastal communities I have visited. Many people are happy that Living Oceans Society (LOS) is coming into these communities and engaging people in discussion about our marine environmental projects. People have a lot of good ideas grounded in experience but very few opportunities to give meaningful input about the resources they depend on. This is one reason LOS is advocating that the Federal Government initiate integrated management planning in PNCIMA (pin-SEE-ma).
If you are interested in setting up an interview, or want some more information about Living Oceans Society’s Local Ecological Knowledge project, you can contact me at 250-973-6580 or vsampson@livingoceans.org.
Coastal Voice - Mike Willie
Our coastal voice for this edition is Mike Willie of Kingcome Inlet. We caught up to him on a beautiful fall afternoon in the village. Mike conveys how essential the land, waters and his ancestors are to his sense of place.
Coastal Voices: Tell us about yourself.
Mike Willie: My name is Mike Willie and I’m from Kingcome Inlet. I come from the four tribes of Kingcome that encompasses Guildford Island, Wakeman Sound, Hopetown, Drury Inlet and Kingcome. I’m thirty-one years old and I’m the language and culture teacher and coordinator here in Kingcome.
CV: Why is this place important to you?
MW: Kingcome Inlet is very important to me because it’s the place of our origin. My grandfathers, great grandfathers, and ancestors came from this valley. This is a valley full of history, songs and dances. That’s why it’s so important for us to occupy this territory where we plan to live for thousands of more years and why it’s very important for our people. We have been fortunate to have stayed here for this long.
CV: What is your biggest concern for this place?
MW: Kingcome is a very remote place and one of the biggest concerns that I have for Kingcome is the lack of funding that we get from government that flows into our village. We are short of funds in a lot of areas: housing, education, and health. Like many Canadians, health is a big one, as we don’t have any health services here and in terms of access to physicians, dentists, and eye doctors. It costs hundreds of dollars to travel out to access the basic heath services. This is a challenge as basically the only way we can get travel assistance is when our health has deteriorated to a point where we need to see the doctor.
The other concern is the impacts on our environment. In every area we see the decline of our salmon due to salmon farming in the Broughton Archipelago. The wild fry have a huge challenge and don’t even make it to the ocean because of the heavy impacts from sea lice. So that’s a very big concern that we share as Kingcome people because we live off of our environment: we hunt, we fish, and we preserve foods. This is probably one of only a few places where you can live off the land. There are a lot of places that are still pristine in our valley and we want to keep it that way for our future generations.
CV: What is your hope for the future?
MW: My hope for the future of Kingcome Inlet is for us to remain here for thousands of more years: it’s a beautiful place. Our origin stories and our oral histories tell us where we came from. Our oral history tells us that our ancestors began at the glacier. There’s an archaeological site right at the glacier that proves that we were there. I see a lot of development outside of Kingcome happening, and for us, a lot of development would mean a lot of impacts on our environment. I hope that this place stays the same and protected from impacts industry creates while extracting resources from all environments.
CV: If you were a decision-maker, what kinds of decisions would you make?
MW: If I was a decision-maker, I would look into the valid concerns that the hereditary chiefs, the elders, and our children here in Kingcome have. I’m talking specifically about the salmon farming and the tourism companies that fly in here and run the risk of impacting our archaeological sites up our valley. I would make them do archaeological impact assessments to ensure safety and protection for archaeological resources and I would go to closed containment of salmon farming so that none of the major impacts happen anymore. I know that if those were addressed our village would be thriving. We need our salmon, we depend on the salmon, and we need our archaeological resources.
Gilakasla (Thank-you and Welcome)
