Grey Whale Washes Ashore Near Tofino, BC. Cause of Death Unknown
Parks Canada says the whale was spotted floating offshore on May 6, then it landed the next day on Long Beach in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve near Tofino.
The federal agency is warning visitors to the popular beach not to touch the whale and to keep dogs on leash.
The Fisheries Department says in a statement its marine mammal response team is working with Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation and Parks Canada to secure the animal and perform a necropsy.
It says the cause of death won't be confirmed until after the necropsy reports are complete, which usually takes two to three months.
The department says the whale is part of the Eastern North Pacific population, which was assessed in 2005 as being of special concern under the federal Species at Risk Act.
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Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'Full box of emotions': Rebuild progress slow in Jasper one year after wildfire
After 45 years in their Jasper home, it took mere minutes for Wes Bradford's quaint mountain abode to burn to a pile of ash. A year later, he and his wife are itching to rebuild. They've hired a contractor and designer, and their insurance will cover the expected $1-million price tag. But they can't start yet — not until their empty lot, currently a flat mound of dirt, has been declared contaminant-free. "We're up against the wall," says Bradford, after meeting their builder in Jasper the day before. "This contaminant issue could stall our build by — who knows — is it four months? Six months? A year? Our builder wants to start building our house by mid-September, but he can't. It's dead in the water." On July 24, 2024, a devastating wildfire swept through the remote mountain town in Jasper National Park in Alberta's Rockies, incinerating a third of its structures. The Bradfords were told by firefighters that their home — built in 1954 with a light-grey exterior, brown fence and large metal star above a front window — was likely destroyed in less than 10 minutes. In the rubble, they recovered old national park boundary markers, Wes Bradford's Parks Canada belt buckles from his days as a warden, and his wedding ring, which he got in the habit of not wearing over the years to avoid it catching on something while he was in the field. The couple are living in Hinton, Alta., about an hour's drive east of Jasper — its nearest community. A lot has happened since residents were able to return late last August. Hollow plots through the Cabin Creek neighbourhood in the town's west end have been filled with soil. The rusted orange shells of cars and broken glass have been cleaned off the streets. Jasper now faces the great challenge: rebuilding itself. "Jasper has never experienced the level of construction activity that's going to take place over the next several years," says Doug Olthof, acting director of the Jasper Recovery Coordination Centre. Only the lilac bushes in front of his house were singed by the fire. Across the street, an entire row of houses was destroyed. "Some days what you're looking at is progress towards recovery," he says of the daily view from his doorstep. "Other days, it's just very sad." He says he expects the full residential rebuild will take five to 10 years. So far, 114 properties have been cleared for construction while 71 remain held up by soil-testing requirements for contaminants, says the town's latest update to council. Development permits have been issued to 40 fire-impacted homes, along with a handful of multiplexes, hotels, commercial properties and others, says the report from July 8. With tourism season in full swing, much of the town is trying to cash in on summer money. Jasper lost 20 per cent of its accommodations in the fire, and its tourism agency says Jasper hotels and residences have been almost full since the May long weekend. The lingering emotional impacts of the fire have varied in the year since the fire, says Dave Smith, a former vegetation specialist for Parks Canada in Jasper. "It's just a full box of emotions, both negative and positive," Smith says. His home survived the fire along with all the houses on the east side of Jasper. From his front porch, it's as if the fire never happened. Lawns along his street are mowed and a neighbour recently held a wedding in front of their house. Smith says there's still confusion among locals about what happened. "I feel sorry for some of the firefighters who put their heart and soul into protecting this town who aren't getting the praise they should get, because nobody's telling the story of what really happened," said Smith. "When people don't get information, they make up information." Parks Canada is conducting its own formal review of the fire and response, which is not yet public. Last week, the town published its own review based on surveys and interviews with more than 300 firefighters and other emergency personnel. The town's report said the overall response to the wildfire was a success, but noted some issues were caused by the Alberta government trying to get more involved in a decision-making capacity. The report prompted Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to demand an apology and retraction of the report, saying her government is not to blame and that Ottawa should've asked for help sooner. Back in Jasper, no two assessments of the town are the same. Oliver Andrew, manager of the century-old Astoria Hotel on Jasper's main drag, says the town is stronger than ever. But the lifelong Jasperite says some friends have decided to leave for good. Big changes are coming for the 35-room boutique hotel. Andrew has decided the hotel's cedar shake roof — a highly flammable material featured on several of the homes lost in the fire — is soon to be replaced with a fireproof material. He estimates the job will cost about $50,000. Though progress is slow, Andrew said the fire has encouraged the town to embrace a rebuild that will help fireproof the community and address long-standing issues, including its zero per cent vacancy rate. "Jasper's been reinvigorated by this — which, in a funny sense, the purpose of a fire is to regenerate itself," Andrew said. "The 12-month goal is onwards and upwards." This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 20, 2025. Matthew Scace, The Canadian Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Hamilton Spectator
08-07-2025
- Hamilton Spectator
Salmon group says aquaculture companies stashing garbage along Newfoundland coast
ST. JOHN'S - An eastern Canadian conservation group is calling for a moratorium on aquaculture expansion in Newfoundland and Labrador, alleging fish-farming companies are stashing plastic garbage along the province's remote southern coastline. In a report summary released Tuesday, the Atlantic Salmon Federation said satellite images suggest aquaculture companies appear to have left broken cages, rope and other debris in six sites along Newfoundland's south coast. The New Brunswick-based group is demanding the federal fisheries minister halt aquaculture expansion in the province until the companies get their waste under control, said spokesperson Neville Crabbe. Under the Fisheries Act, the federal government can investigate or prosecute anyone who disrupts or causes harm to fish habitat. 'Fix your problems, utilize your existing sites, optimize what you have,' Crabbe said in an interview. 'The industry is not going anywhere right now in Newfoundland and Labrador, but nor should it go anywhere else.' The federal Fisheries Department said the Newfoundland and Labrador government is in charge of regulating the aquaculture in the province, and it respects that authority. The department 'recognizes the concerns regarding wild and farmed salmon interbreeding in Newfoundland and Labrador, specifically along the south coast of Newfoundland, and remains committed to collaborating with partners to mitigate associated risks to wild Atlantic salmon populations,' said an email from the department Tuesday. Newfoundland's south coast is known for its towering fiords and small communities dotting its shores, some of which are only accessible by boat or plane. The aquaculture industry is a valued source of jobs in the area. The Atlantic Salmon Federation has been monitoring aquaculture waste in the region for more than a year. Crabbe said the federation is not calling for the companies to shut down or cut jobs. In its latest investigation, the federation worked with Planetixx, a U.K.-based climate data and analytics firm. The team used more than 60,000 satellite images of the area, spanning more than a decade, to train an artificial intelligence model to recognize sea cage rings — the frames that support large nets inside which salmon is farmed. The AI model could then identify sites with abnormalities, such as misshapen rings or haphazard arrangements. When the AI identified a site with anomalies, the researchers viewed high-definition images of the area from Maxar Technologies' satellite constellations. Through this process, they identified six sites they allege were dumping grounds for 'broken, degraded salmon farm equipment,' the report said. They found no equipment at any time between March 2020 to May 2025 in half of the 106 licensed sites analyzed, indicating the areas were inactive. For Crabbe, that suggests the companies don't need to expand into other areas. Last year, members of the federation visited a cove known locally as The Locker, near Gaultois, N.L., and captured images of discarded plastic bags, blue barrels, rope, buoys and old sea cages. Crabbe said the province ordered companies operating in the area to clean it up earlier this year, though the provincial Fisheries Department did not respond to a request for information about the order. He flew over the site in a helicopter in February and saw the debris had been cleared. But when he returned last month by boat, it was once again full of trash, he said. A remotely operated vehicle took images of a sea cage and netting sunken beneath the water. 'The buoyant structure appears to be anchored to the sea floor, unable to float up, potentially indicating a deliberate sinking,' the federation's report summary on Tuesday said. They also found garbage at a site in nearby Roti Bay, Crabbe said. 'It's very clear in their licences, and in the regulations governing the industry, that they have to have waste management plans,' he said. 'The discovery of that sunken cage in The Locker, at the very least, should compel authorities to go and survey these areas to see what else is under the water.' In a news release Monday, the Newfoundland Aquaculture Industry Association said the provincial regulator allows companies to store unused equipment, including sea cages, in leased marine areas before they are dismantled and recycled. 'Plastic sea cages may be held at leased sites until vessel and staff resources are available to safely transport them to shore-based yards and recycling facilities,' the release said. Association director Keith Sullivan said fish-farming companies in the area are dealing with significant amounts of equipment left by previous operators, who were governed by different rules. Efforts are ongoing to remove that waste from the water and have it properly recycled, Sullivan said in an interview. Companies operating under current rules must demonstrate to the provincial government that they will have the money to clean up their sites when their leases come to an end, he added. Crabbe disagreed that the waste was simply being stored, and likened it to tossing a coffee cup in a ditch and saying he was storing it there. 'This equipment was not being temporarily stored for removal and proper disposal. Some of it has been there since 2011, and possibly before,' he told reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday. Sullivan accused the salmon federation of deliberately misleading the public, and he took issue with Crabbe's coffee cup analogy. 'Actually, it's much more like when you're recycling your containers, putting your containers in the blue bag for recycling pickup,' he said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 8, 2025. Error! 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Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Yahoo
Passerby spots rare 'living fossil' species while walking along riverbank: 'Pretty cool sight to see'
A park visitor captured stunning footage of a rare species while on a routine walk through a small city in Canada. Situated near the U.S. border, Trail, British Columbia, isn't the most famous or recognizable city in Canada. With a population under 10,000 people, it's a quaint community known for its natural beauty and majestic landscape. But thanks to an area resident, one of the oldest species of fish is now known to be alive and well in the nearby Columbia River. After deciding to take a casual stroll through the Esplanade in Trail, Diane Langman managed to spot a white sturgeon that was hugging the shoreline of the Columbia River. Langman was able to snap a few photos of what many call a "living fossil." "Pretty cool sight to see on our afternoon walk along the Esplanade," Langman told the Nelson Star. White sturgeon are sometimes referred to as "living fossils" because they have existed for around 200 million years with relatively little evolutionary change. The large, prehistoric-looking fish is known for its elongated body and rows of bony plates rather than scales. These plates are called scutes and act as a suit of armor for the fish. Sturgeon are important for maintaining healthy river and lake ecosystems, acting as scavengers and predators and an important staple to nearby food chains. Despite their long history and ability to live up to 100 years, many sturgeon species, including white sturgeon, are facing threats like habitat loss, pollution, and overfishing. In 2003, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada designated the species as endangered. Over the last 30 years, efforts have been made to help improve the chances of survival for the White Sturgeon. In 1994, both the commercial and recreational fishing of sturgeon were banned in British Columbia. They are included as a protected species under the Species at Risk Act in Canada. Outside of overfishing, sturgeon have also faced increased challenges that come with the rise of the global temperature. White sturgeon are thought to struggle in warmer water temperatures. As these temperatures increase, the species' spawning success may see a decline, while disease risk and mortality rates can increase. Do you think America has a plastic waste problem? Definitely Only in some areas Not really I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. But as more conservation efforts are put in place to ensure the survival of the white sturgeon, signs of its recovery have already begun to show. As reported by the Nelson Star, environmental groups have instituted programs to help encourage a higher spawning rate in the species. Since 2007, an estimated 60,000 fish have been released into nearby waterways thanks to these initiatives. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
