Artificial reefs are nothing new to those of us in BC, we practically have the entire Canadian Navy sitting on the ocean floor off our coast. The first, the G.B. Church, was way back in 1991 and since then seven Canadian Naval vessels have found their way to the ocean floor serving as artificial reefs: HMCS Chuadière, HMCS Mackenzie, HMCS Columbia, HMCS, Saskatchewan, HMCS Yukon, HMCS Cape Breton, and the HMCS Annapolis. On top of the fleet of ships, there is also a Boeing 737 resting on the ocean floor just off Chemainus.

With both boats and planes being used as artificial reefs off our coast, it should really come as little surprise that New Jersey is now tossing trains overboard in hope they too can create a giant rail yard artificial reef. Though according to the Environmental Protection Agency (or as Grampa Simpson screams it EPA!), 46 of the 48 retired and drowned subway cars sit destroyed on the sea bed. Initially the decaying trains were estimated to last some 25-30 years as artificial reefs. However, with only two of the cars actually offering sea life some shelter, one has to question if New Jersey is simply using the Atlantic Ocean as their giant scrap yard. With that said don’t be surprised when the B line washes up in the middle of a Snooki guido beach make session out on Jersey Shore!

| Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia |

http://www.vimeo.com/12113203

Best watched at 1080P

 A short video of my recent five days of over cast west coast, including Tofino, Ucluelet, Pacific Rim National Park, and everywhere in between. For some crazy reason the weather in August was worse than February! Although there isn’t any footage included in the video, we stopped at Sproat Lake – just past Port Alberni, and visited the Martin Mars water bombers. These planes are insanely huge, and for $10 you get an awesome guided tour of the entire plane, getting to go right inside!! We also went whale watching with Subtital Adventures in Ucluelet. Heading out in the choppy waters of Barkley Sound and catching a glimpse of a few grey whales, humpbacks, and many steller sea lions.

Although this has zero to do with the ocean, environment, or nature in general, but it is without question the best news of the year… or at least next year – three words!

Star Wars Blu-ray

…or is Blu-ray a compond word?
Anyway, good ol’ Mr. George Lucas personally made the announced while on stage at the Celebration V event, and showed off a deleted scene from Return of the Jedi. All six star wars movies will be released on blu-ray fall 2011.

this can be watched in 720P

If you live in Vancouver and haven’t heard of Ocean Wise it’s time to replaced the batteries in your hearing aid, or make a shrek candle, or … just pay attention! Ocean Wise is an awesome program started by the Vancouver Aquarium about five years ago now, it works directly with restaurants, markets, and sea food suppliers and provides the public with information to make “ocean-friendly buying decisions” and has grown to become the large sustainable sea food program in North America.
Ocean Wise

 With all that positive news, recently while reading an article detailing supplies and markets who needed to smarten up I was saddened to see my dearest Vector cereal supplier, Costco had made the naughty list.
CBC.ca

On the same topic, the Pacific Salmon Commission just released a great report on the state of the Fraser River sockeye. You can grab it here. The Pacific Salmon Commission is the body formed by the governments of Canada and the United States to implement the Pacific Salmon Treaty. Interception of Pacific salmon bound for rivers of one country in fisheries of the other has been the subject of discussion between the Governments of Canada and the United States of America since the early part of the last century. In 1985, after many years of negotiation, the Pacific Salmon Treaty was signed, setting long-term goals for the benefit of the salmon and the two countries.
Pacific Salmon Commission

Again another older story, goes back to July 2009. I’ve heard of blue and red lobsters, but never yellow. The Huntsman Marine Science Centre in St. Andrews, N.B. is now home to ‘Fiona’ the yellow lobster. The lobster is considered one in 30 million, and would take for ever to find on plentyoffish.com. Fiona was found on the coast of Prince Edward Island and eventually made her way to a restaurant kitchen, where someone noticed her unusual colour. Fiona is now kept all by her lonesome at the marine centre, staff are concerned her yellow colour may incite a fight.

“Once we had the discussion [with the restaurant owner] that she was so rare that she really should be on display and also that she might be in danger once she went back into the ocean in a release … they decided they would give her to an aquarium and fortunately they chose one back in her home and native land,” Cornall said.

CBC.ca

This is a rather old article, but the whole virgin birth in Virginia was too good to pass up. For the second time biologists have confirmed through the use of DNA that a blacktip shark pup has no genetic material from a male. The blacktip shark located in the Virginia aquarium may have been inspired by its home state, or as biologist are theorizing; females of many shark species are capable of asexual reproduction.

Virgin birth has been proven in some bony fish, amphibians, reptiles and birds, and has been suspected among sharks in the wild. The scientists who studied the Virginia and Nebraska sharks said the newly formed pups acquired one set of chromosomes when the mother’s chromosomes split during egg development, then united anew.

CBC.ca

On August 1st not far from Tofino just off of Vargas Island a humpback whale was spotted entangled in the floats of crab traps. Members of the Strawberry Isle Research Society, which is recognized by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, caught up with the whale and were able to cut the lines wrapped around the whale’s flukes.
| Vancouver Sun |

http://www.vimeo.com/14038219

I created this video several years ago as a subtle indictment of over-fishing and gill nets. It was captured exclusively on HDCAM with a Sony 900 camera. Original music is by Alan Williams.

Best watched in 720P