Outer Shores Expeditions

It is officially spring! Our favourite sign that the seasons are changing is when our coastal waters light up in a brilliant turquoise hue, due to a massive spawning event from the Pacific Herring. Millions of these little fish migrate to inshore waters to lay their eggs on eel grass and other seaweeds. This event attracts thousands of birds, seals, seal lions, and whale species to the underwater buffet each year. The grey whale in particular, migrates all the way up from the Baja coast to attend this spectacular event and they remain in the Northern waters to feed until the fall. Photo: Matahil Lawson

New Blog Post!! If you want to learn more about the results of our MDRI project and a couple easy ways you can help reduce marine plastic, follow this link to our latest blog post written by Russell Markel https://outershores.ca/mdri-part-6-final-report/

This weeks fact is focused on the Pacific White-sided Dolphin, or "lags". They are the acrobats of our sea, and it is not uncommon to see them riding the bow of Passing Cloud. Although we see them regularly on our expeditions now in pods of 5-200, they were not commonly seen in the inside coastal passages of BC until around the 1980s. But, since then, the frequency of their sightings has significantly increased, with pods of over 1000 individuals being spotted on the BC coast today.

We have decided to start doing fun fact Fridays! Check in every Friday for an interesting fact about the wildlife you may encounter on our expeditions, or some history of our favourite places to travel to. This week we decided to start with the Pacific Harbour Seal, which is one of the most common marine mammals we see here on the west coast. They are found in all coastal areas of BC and their population stretches from Baja, California, all the way up to Alaska. Did you know that although they are mostly found in marine environments, there is also a population of harbour seals that live year round in freshwater lakes and rivers. They have been found in at least 20 rivers around BC, including Hells gate in the Fraser River, which is 500km away from the ocean!

Mola Mola are the most widespread sunfish in the Northern Hemisphere and we commonly come across them on our expeditions here on the west coast of Canada. However, researchers have now identified a second type of sunfish on our coast called the Hoodwinker Sunfish or Mola Tecta, that we have been mistaking as the same species. Mola Tecta was originally thought to only live in the southern hemisphere, but now they are being spotted as far north as Alaska. The Hoodwinkers have a smaller, and flatter head but the differences are quite subtle and researches require a photo of the whole body in order to properly identify it. Learn more about these sunfish in the CBC link posted below. https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.5898039

Another step in the right direction with plastic use. As consumers, we can all make informed decisions about the products we purchase and the services we use before bans are required.

A wonderful short video from one the Marine Debris Removal crew, Jeff Reynolds. And some additional photos on his website here: https://www.jeffkreynolds.com/mdri #BCCoastalCleanup... Maple Leaf Adventures Bluewater Adventures Ocean Adventures Charter Co. & Great Bear II Mothership Adventures Wilderness Tourism Association

Weighing, measuring, and lashing on debris was all part of the process for the #BCCoastalCleanup. Many items were tied together and secured onto the outside of lift bags and measured by volume as lift bag equivalents. The helicopter pilot, however, would call these attachments tied on to bags as hitchhikers as they were lifted off the shoreline and onto the barge. These plastic floats from the fishing industry were a regular discovery and we’d find dozens daily. We were p...leased to discover that the Heiltsuk Horizon tug and barge crew were able to repurpose a majority of these floats for the Heiltsuk herring spawn-on-kelp fishery. Mothership Adventures Ocean Adventures Charter Co. & Great Bear II Maple Leaf Adventures Bluewater Adventures Wilderness Tourism Association Heiltsuk Horizon Airspan Helicopters Ltd

After weeks of scouring the shoreline, marking coordinates of lift bag locations, and linking up helicopter ground operations, the tug and barge return to port with approximately 66,000 kg of marine debris from the second of two expeditions (to add to the ~61,000 kg from the first), wrapping up the Marine Debris Removal Initiative Excellent work everyone! #BCCoastalCleanup @Wilderness Tourism Association Bluewater Adventures @Mothership Adventures Maple Leaf Adventures @Ocean Adventures Charter Co. & Great Bear II Heiltsuk Horizon Airspan Helicopters Ltd