Features within PNCIMA

Here are more of the many unique features within PNCIMA:

Endangered Species
•There are 32 species listed as Endangered, Threatened, and Special Concern by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) that live in or migrate through the PNCIMA.

North Pacific Right Whales
•They are the most endangered whale in the world and most endangered species in PNCIMA.
•They had virtually disappeared from the PNCIMA region by 1850.
•Recent sightings of a mother and calf in Alaska indicate that the species could come back if the right conditions are in place.

Blue Whale
•The blue whale was hunted to near extinction between 1905 and 1967.
•Today, there are fewer than 250 animals in the Canadian Pacific.
•Blue whales still inhabit the PNCIMA region on a seasonal basis.

Basking Shark
•At up to five tons in weight and 15 metres in length, the basking shark is the second-largest fish in the world.
•It is believed that they migrate through the PNCIMA region to Alaska. The last sighting of a basking shark in B.C. was near the Queen Charlotte Islands.
•Their numbers declined in the 1950s when they were slaughtered as “pests” when caught in commercial gillnets.

Northern Abalone
•By 1984, abalone populations had declined by 75 per cent and the commercial fishery was shut down in 2000.
•Abalone populations today continue to decline because of illegal harvesting.
•Within PNCIMA there are two stewardship programs in the Haida Gwaii and Kitasoo/Xaisais, which designed to improve reproduction.

People
•There are 34,504 residents in communities in the region. 36 per cent of the residents are First Nations.
•There are at least 25 communities in the PNCIMA, including Campbell River, Port McNeill, Port Hardy, Alert Bay, Sointula, Rivers Inlet, Bella Bella, Bella Coola, Prince Rupert, Queen Charlotte City, Skidegate, and Masset.
•Major industries include commercial fishing, aquaculture, shipping, forestry, and tourism.

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Special Features at Risk in PNCIMA

Kelp Forests
• The numerous bays, shores, and current-swept ocean passages within PNCIMA are rich with kelp forests and eelgrass beds.
• Kelp and eelgrass areas provide habitat and are foraging, breeding, and nursery grounds for many fish and invertebrates.
• Kelp forests and eelgrass beds are particularly vulnerable to oil spills, discharge from ships, pollutants, and shoreline alteration.

Glass Sponge Reefs
• There are four Hexactinellid or glass sponge reefs located within the PNCIMA. These reefs are over 9,000 years old and provide habitat for rockfish, crab, shrimp, prawns, sea stars, and urchins.
• Research conducted by the Geological Survey of Canada has revealed that large areas of these ancient reefs have been destroyed by bottom trawling gear. Recovery can take 50 to 200 years.
• These reefs have received some interim protection from bottom trawling through fisheries management plans. However, they must be permanently protected through designation as marine protected areas.

Cold Water Corals
• Cold water coral is composed of tiny, fragile animals called coral polyps. The polyps are typically joined together in colonies of hundreds or thousands, which surround a skeleton.
• Research shows that corals provide habitat for rockfish, Atka mackerel, shortspine thornyhead, juvenile Pacific halibut, rock sole, and several species of shrimp.
• There are four coral areas within PNCIMA that have been identified as requiring immediate protection from bottom trawling. If destroyed, deep water corals could take 80 years to grow back, if they come back at all.

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Examples of Industrial Threats
 

Credit: Chad Graham

Shipping
• The threats from shipping include contamination from ships’ discharge and oil spills from accidents/collisions.
• Over the next 15 years, the volume of containers being shipped through these waters is expected to increase 300 per cent, bulk cargo ships are expected to increase by 25 per cent, and cruse-ship traffic is expected to increase 20 to 25 per cent.


Bottom Trawling
• There are approximately 70 bottom-trawl vessels operating in BC.
• Scientific research has shown that the impact of bottom-trawling gear is equivalent to clear-cutting the ocean floor.
• From 1996 to 2002, 2.3 million kilograms of non-fish species were harvested and destroyed, including habitat-forming corals and sponges. There are no measures in place to protect deep-water corals from the impacts of bottom trawling.

Fish Farms
• Fifty-five per cent of B.C.’s finfish aquaculture sites are located within PNCIMA. There are at least 70 open net-cage salmon farm tenures in the region.
• Scientific evidence shows that sea lice from fish farms are infecting juvenile wild salmon, leading to the decline of pink salmon.
• There are no effective regulations in place to protect wild salmon from the impacts of salmon farms.

Marine Protected Areas
• Less than one percent of Canada’s marine environments are protected from industrial uses.
• PNCIMA has a very small proportion of its environment protected. Yet more than 14 per cent of B.C.’s land base is formally designated as protected area, where industrial activities are restricted.