Schooling Yellowtail Rockfish at Whytecliff Park, West Vancouver BC

Hundreds of Schooling Yellowtails were an encouraging sight during a series of dives in 2020 at Whytecliff Park (an actual no take Marine Sanctuary !)

Conservation, protection and various other initiatives are proven in areas dedicated to repairing the tremendous loss in species in a once thriving Howe Sound. Over the past 20 years there has been little increase in expanding areas to further protect dwindling populations.

Rockfish are a slow growing species and can live between 50 - over 100 years of age depending on the species.

Rockfish Conservation Areas, Marine Parks and Marine Protected Areas are vital to the restoration of the species of Rockfish that are left in Howe Sound after several once thriving species were completely wiped out and are extinct in Howe Sound waters.

Groups such as the Marine Life Sanctuaries Society of British Columbia continue to advocate for further expansion of areas dedicated to preserving and cultivating Rockfish populations.

For a long time Marine Life Sanctuaries Society has actively engaged in marine reserve planning with other organizations and government processes. Unfortunately these processes have created very few actual no-take marine sanctuaries (where all fishing is restricted), since the inception of BC’s Whytecliff Park in 1993. Whytecliff Park was created by a community-led initiative along with members of the Marine Life Sanctuaries Society, the Vancouver Aquarium, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, and the West Vancouver Municipality (See The Curious Case of Whytecliff Park (2012) – North Shore News)

At the time, there was a feeling that the creation of Whytecliff Park was just the start of many more Marine Sanctuaries that would soon appear on our coast. Fast forward over 20 years later, British Columbia has only three other no-take areas; Porteau Cove, components of the SGaan Kinghlass – Bowie Seamount Marine Protected Area, and a small part of the Gwaii Haanas National Marine Conservation Area Reserve. With these areas closed to fisheries, about 1% of Canada’s Pacific Waters are protected. As of 2008, there were a total of 161 Marine Parks in BC, accounting for about 2% of Canada’s Pacific Waters – but more than half of these are predominantly terrestrial and do not necessarily restrict any fishing (See Robb et al. (2011)). There is clearly much work to be done for Canada to meet targets to protect 10% of our coastal and marine areas.

For more information:
www.mlssbc.com