Dog Mermaid Eco Excursions, Kayak Rentals & Retreats
2311 Mackinnon Rd Otter Bay Marina V0N 2M0 Pender Island, BC, Canada

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Just found out some very good news from Misty MacDuffee . My hero's @ Raincoast Conservation Foundation have $20k left to raise of 400k to protect 13 acres of ...threatened Old Growth, Douglas- Fir ecosystem on Pender Island! Love when scientists talk about miracles.!!! This is the best news. Some of my friends here may be able to help. https://www.raincoast.org//pender-island-sdayes-flycatche/ See more

#JOBALERT Gulf Islands National Park Reserve is hiring Interpretation Students for the 2021 season! As part of the Visitor Experience team, you may start your... day at the Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea engaging with staff, visitors and an octopus or begin your day at the Gulf Islands office then head out to help deliver an interpretive program or event in the park reserve or to an outreach event in the community to share the amazing stories of the park reserve . Hurry and get your application in! Deadline: January 24, 2021 http://ow.ly/74sj50D6RMX

It's official and so important to know. The iconic, world's largest sea star species, the Sunflower Star, has now been added to the International Union for Cons...ervation of Nature (IUCN) list as Critically Endangered. This is no surprise to those of us who have been monitoring their health but to many, Sea Star Wasting Disease is unknown, even though it is one of the biggest known wildlife die offs in recorded history. It has happened largely out of sight, beneath the Ocean's surface. Further, there are many of us who do not have enough understanding / appreciation of (1) the connection between land and sea and; (2) the different sea star species and their ecological importance. Seeing sea stars of other species does not mean that all species are okay. Sunflower Stars (Pycnopodia helianthoides) definitely are not. It is positive that they have been officially "listed". With this recognition of how at risk they are, there is better potential for resources and action to find out what has caused the die off and what this might be indicating about changing environmental conditions. There is the hope that more people will care. This is an international designation. The species also needs to be assessed in Canada to determine "status" and potential protection / action under the federal Species at Risk Act. The December 10th The Nature Conservancy media release includes: "Populations . . . experienced dramatic crashes in response to a marine wildlife epidemic event referred to as sea star wasting syndrome that began in 2013. Using over 61,000 surveys from 31 datasets, The Nature Conservancy and expert ecologists at Oregon State University calculated a 90.6% decline in the global population of sunflower sea stars due to the outbreak and estimated that as many as 5.75 billion animals died from the disease . . . The rapid decline of this giant sea star, and of the sea kelp forests that it helps preserve, highlights the importance of every single species on the IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM. Its entry into the IUCN Red List in the highest threatened category emphasizes the need for urgent action to understand and combat the wasting disease that is sweeping through the population. We hope that this listing leads to positive action and recovery for this species and its ecosystem, said Caroline Pollock, Programme Officer for the IUCN Red List Unit. Sunflower sea stars are now nearly absent in the contiguous United States and Mexico. No stars have been observed in Mexico since 2016, none in California since 2018, and only a handful in the outer coasts of Oregon and Washington since 2018. They are still present in Puget Sound, British Columbia, and Alaska, but only at a fraction of their former population in most places." See the full media release with a highly informative video from the Hakai Institute at www.nature.org/en-/newsroom/california-sea-star-endangered/. I've been maintaining a record of the research here https://themarinedetective.com//wasted-what-is-happening-/ Photo is of a healthy Sunflower Star, June 15th, 2020 near Port McNeill Jackie Hildering; The Marine Detective

This holiday season we are putting part proceeds of our sales into our Turtle Island Water Fund. These monies will be sent to indigenous communities across Canada to help bring clean drinking water to their lands. Let's take care of each other ...

Just picked up out newest project. Mwahaha, oh the things I shall do with these! Keep posted for their make over ;) And Bill, get your indigenous genes to wake up, cuz there be some canoeing to be done, cuzzie.

I so want to paddle under this! Johnny?

Johnny, winter is here!

Can you guess the name of this goat-like animal? Clue: They can climb up the side of the Cingino Dam in the Italian Alps to lick salt. Let's meet at 6 pm for the right answer #YourSpace #MondayThoughts #LearningNeverStops #Wildlife

For you moon lovers The many different colors of the moon.

The Irrawaddy Dolphin. Only 92 are estimated to exist.

Photo credit: Mark Graves

ONE IN A BILLION PHOTO! The whale is coming up to scoop up a mouthful of herring (the small fish seen at the surface around the kayak). The kayaker is a local S...itka Dentist. He apparently didn't sustain any injuries from the terrifying experience. The whale was just around the corner from the ferry terminal, and all the kayaker could think at that moment in time was: "Paddle Man--really fast!" The whale's mouth is fully open with the bottom half under the boat. If the whale had closed his mouth before he furiously paddled away - He might have been LUNCH!!! Note that he is in the whale's MOUTH!

A surfing CAT!!!

Photo credit: Johnny Elliott

We're still playing! Come into the wild!

ITBC, we, and our guests, want to thank you from every fiber of our beings for helping Dog Mermaid get through this time of chaos Your support has made all the difference. Nia:wen! #indigenoustourismbc

For Immediate Release MORE GOOD NEWS! SECOND NEW BABY SIGHTED IN JPOD PWWA Naturalists Thrilled to Witness New Calf's First Breath... FRIDAY HARBOR, WA (September 25, 2020) Following the recent news of the birth of a new baby in Jpod, and the subsequent report that J57 is a boy, comes even more good news from the Salish Sea. Expectant mother J41, aka Eclipse, gave birth to her newest baby Thursday afternoon just miles off the Victoria, B.C. waterfront. This is J41's second calf. Her first calf, J51, is a male born in 2015. The birth of the baby was witnessed by professional naturalists Talia Goodyear and Leah Vanderwiel, along with everyone aboard the Orca Spirit Adventures vessel Pacific Explorer. The crew and guests came upon the lone female killer whale as they were returning from viewing one of the dozens of humpback whales that are regularly seen in the region all summer, and were on their way to Race Rocks to finish their tour viewing seals and sea lions when they happened upon J41. According to Goodyear, "We spotted who we soon identified to be J41 just southwest of Race Rocks. She appeared to be alone at the time and stayed very close to the surface for a few minutes. After going under for several minutes, she reappeared, and this time it looked like she was pushing something with her rostrum. She surfaced like this 3 or 4 times." "It took us a little while to really figure out what was going on," said Goodyear, "so it was a bit of an emotional roller coaster as we thought of all the possibilities. Although we thought we were certain this was an SRKW, we did question whether this was a Biggs killer whale with a seal, or if we were seeing a buoy and this was an entanglement, and then we were concerned we could be re-living the tragic situation with J35 and her deceased calf from 2018." "She was aiding the baby up for a few breaths with her rostrum," added Vanderwiel, "at which point the little one started surfacing on its own. It appeared to be a rambunctious little bundle of baby, as every surface was exaggerated and playful. We watched as they continued to head off southwest from Race Rocks." "It was an emotional time as we processed what was happening in front of us," said Vanderwiel. "It took a few minutes to realize what was actually happening, but then it was pure excitement realizing that it was a birth and the baby was very alive and boisterous." While the majority of PWWA whale watching tours are focused on the thriving Biggs mammal-eating killer whales, abundant Humpback whales and other marine wildlife, occasional chance encounters with the world-famous Southern Resident Killer whales (SRKW) do occur. During these brief encounters naturalists educate their guests about the SRKW, their matrilineal social structures, their playful nature and life histories, and explain to their guests the challenges the beloved endangered SRKW population currently face for their very survival. Following their brief encounter, and while the excitement was still coursing through their veins, Goodyear and Vanderweil alerted the PWWA and the Center for Whale Research about their observation, and provided their photos for analysis once they returned to shore. While the trained professional naturalists were certain that the new mother was J41, and believe that they witnessed the calf's first breaths, their photographs were sent to whale researchers to confirm their identities and to hopefully determine their body condition based on the photos provided. According to Ken Balcomb, founder and executive director of the Center for Whale Research, the photos of the mother are confirmed to be those of J41 and a brand new baby. "We're very pleased to see that J41 has had her baby," said Balcomb, "however, it's too soon to determine the status of the calf, and further observations are necessary before we'll make an announcement of the new baby's health." As the PWWA remains cautiously optimistic for the health and survival of yet another beautiful new addition to Jpod, survival for the endangered SRKW population directly correlates with the health of Chinook salmon. Dramatic declines over the past several decades of Chinook salmon throughout their critical habitat continues to be the biggest threat to SRKW recovery. Salmon stocks that the SRKW rely upon throughout the year primarily include Chinook salmon that spawn in the Fraser River, Columbia River, and Sacramento River systems. In contrast, Biggs mammal-eating killer whales have produced over 80 new calves in the past ten years in the shared waters of the Salish Sea due to abundant marine mammal prey resources and are thriving throughout the region.

Dog Day Afternoon.

Summer send off!