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We are hosting two community drop-in sessions for elders who remember the estuary prior to 1950:
On February 24th from 1-5 PM at the Comox Mall, and on
On February 25th from 1-4:30 PM at the CVRD Board Room (550 Comox Road)
We invite elders of the Comox Valley to meet with Project Watershed volunteers and staff to add to a map of the estuary the areas that they recall once had active and vibrant eelgrass meadows, kelp beds and salt marsh shoreline areas. Your input will be invaluable to our restoration strategies. Should you require transportation, please call us at 250-+703-2871 before Feb 22.
By Ralph Shaw – Comox Valley Record
Published: February 03, 2012 7:00 AM
Baynes Sound is a huge sea garden area that has produced food for Comox Valley residents for thousands of years. The picture with this column features natural produce from the waters of the sound and land-based agriculture from our garden which is on the uplands above the sound.
A COMBINATION OF Baynes Sound aquaculture and Comox Valley agriculture. PHOTO BY RALPH SHAW
In their book Oysters – A Connoisseur's Guide and Cookbook, Lonnie Williams and Karen Warner list 64 species of oysters in North America. One of note is Crassostrea gigas: "Fanny Bay, British Columbia. A firm oyster that is very salty and sweet with a pronounced cucumber flavor finish. The fluted shells are thick, which makes them easy to open." As long as we pay attention to the purity of the water it will produce this unique species of shellfish into the foreseeable future and continue to be a source of jobs for hundreds of local Valley residents.
Over the past few years we have had a series of industrial accidents that have led to the destruction of rich seafood producing coastal regions. The oil spill of the Exxon Valdez is still affecting the coastal waters of Alaska. Last year we had the terrible tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico with the British Petroleum offshore drilling rig that has decimated much of the marine and shellfish industries of the area. Acid mine drainage has created sterile rivers and lakes in the coal mining regions of the Eastern United States. Meanwhile in the Comox Valley we have paid a high price for the acid mine drainage into the Tsolum River.
To celebrate the bounty of Baynes Sound, the Ocean of Plenty II Shellfish Gala Dinner will be held Feb. 11 at the Fanny Bay Community Hall. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. dinner at 7 p.m. This year's event is donating all profits from the dinner, silent and live auctions to the CoalWatch Comox Valley group who are gravely concerned and alarmed about the possibility of a coal mine on the drainage basin of Baynes Sound.
I share their concerns. At the time of this writing there are still a few tickets left for this gala seafood dinner. The tickets are $50 each and may I be so bold as to suggest that they would make a great Valentine gift for your significant other – after all, oysters are reputed to be exceptionally healthy food for Valentine celebrations.
If you wish to see copies of the menu go to www.coalwatch.ca. Tickets are available from Laughing Oyster Books and the Freaking Coffee Shop in Courtenay, Blue Heron Books in Comox, Fanny Bay Oysters in Buckley Bay, and Abraxas Books and Gifts on Denman Island. For more information phone John Snyder at 250 335-2246.
On Saturday, January 21 around 11 PM to catch the lowest tide of the month, a team of Project Watershed volunteers and a group of Chemical and Biological engineering students from the University of British Columbia walked out onto the mud flats to obtain some samples of estuary sediment and eelgrass rhizomes. This is part of a joint effort to measure carbon dioxide uptake by eelgrass first in simulated tanks at the UBC campus and then actual measurements of uptake in photosynthesis in the intertidal areas of our estuary. Dr. Royann Petrell and five students from her advanced class in chemical and biological engineering laboratory techniques, as part of their program for students’ hands-on learning about community realities are working with a Comox Valley Stewardship group on these efforts. The team was led out onto the estuary by Project Watershed’s Michele Jones, Dan Bowen and Dave Davies from DFO.
A major question facing residents of communities like the Comox Valley is how we can reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. One approach is to establish strategies of conservation or use of renewable energy (solar, wind, etc.). Another is to eliminate carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere through living carbon storage. Living carbon is more commonly known as the long-term storage of carbon in the tissues of trees and plants in forests.
A special opportunity exists for those of us who live in coastal communities. Blue carbon is a form of living carbon that occurs in aquatic environments where aquatic plants such as eelgrass act to store carbon in the soils and sediments. Greenhouse gas reductions (of carbon dioxide) can be achieved through uptake by estuarine “Blue Forests” moving these greenhouse gases to estuaries and Deep Ocean (sediments).
Photograph Left to right Back row: Dave Davies (DFO), Dr Royann Petrell, Sylvain Alie, Dan Bowen, Ting-Ching Jerry Chou Front row: Tsung Han (Henry) Kue, Yan Zhang, David Eng, Heather Kempthorne, and Qing-Yuan Hebe He
Loss of, and damage to, eelgrass has affected whole populations of fish, including threatened salmon and herring, water fowl, shellfish, and other animals. Many animals use eelgrass meadows for nursery areas, others swim or walk among the leaves, or burrow in the sediments. Within eelgrass meadows, there is food and shelter for a wide variety of creatures. Therefore eelgrass restoration efforts automatically improve habitat and biodiversity in addition to their potential to positively affect climate change.
Should you be interested in making a contribution to this project or to become involved as a volunteer in the future, please contact Project Watershed at 250-703-2871 or Email at
Paul Horgen (left) of the Comox Valley Project Watershed Society recieives a cheque for $1,500 from Creekside Commons Community Services Society (represented by left to right: Pam Munroe, Tim Crossin and Don Munroe) for the Eel Grass project to sequester carbon in the Comox Estuary. This project while removing carbon from the atmosphere also restores our estuary and povides local employment. And, Project Watershed Society as a registered charity can issue income tax receipts for donations. http://projectwatershed.ca/ For more information on the Blue Carbon initiative by Project Watershed, contact p.horgen@utoronto.ca.
Comox Valley Echo Tuesday, January 10, 2012
UBC Students -gathering sediment and Eelgrass. Photo by M. Jones
It's a dirty job, but we got to do it!
Happy New Year to all. I look forward to a very successful 2012 and thank staff and Board members for their dedication and hard work. Although we continue to struggle with finding appropriate sources of financing, we have had some recent successes with a number of funding initiatives still pending. Michele Jones continues as our bookkeeper but otherwise there has been a major turn over in staff and each new person is forging ahead learning and developing their new responsibilities. These new staff members include:
- Lauren LaBossiere – is our Estuary Coordinator and primarily involved with the Estuary Working Group. Lauren will be coordinating the 2012 Estuary Awareness Campaign which we hope will involve some partnerships with the K'ómoks First Nations. Keep abreast of this largest and most active committee of Project Watershed by visiting the Keeping it Living website at www.keepingitliving.ca or our social media page http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Courtenay-River-Estuary-Keeping-It-Living/334041740236.
- Kathryn Clouston – whose role is as volunteer coordinator, and fundraising assistant, working with me and other Board members in writing grant proposals. Kathryn is also responsible for keeping our website up to date. She is doing an excellent job. Check it out at http://projectwatershed.ca/ especially the News and Events link to our blog. If you missed some events from the past year you can view them through the older entries link at the bottom of the page. If you have some stories or pictures of the estuary or other watersheds you would like to share send them to us at projectwatershed@gmail.com.
- Steve Morgan – is the Business Manager of our social enterprise, the Mapping Centre. See web site at http://maps.projectwatershed.ca/ for more info on their capabilities and products. Already he has instituted some great changes in operations and will be marketing the Centre and attempting to generate new business and profits to benefit Project Watershed.
We also have a new Board member, Bill Heidrick who is involved with the Comox Valley Conservation Strategy and the Estuary Working Group.
The Board of Directors will have a meeting on March 4 to specifically discuss bylaw revisions and then after our AGM we will hold a retreat to deal with a number of important planning issues.
Project Watershed and its four major components, the Estuary Working Group, the Education and Outreach Committee, the Technical Committee and the Mapping Centre are all active and vibrant entities with developing programs and events. Stay tuned for reports on the Estuary Survey, the Blue Carbon initiative, research activities in the Puntledge River watershed and the Estuary, land acquisition along the estuary, a report on petroleum storage tanks bordering the estuary, mapping initiatives including sensitive habitat atlas updates, and news on our evolving walking map for the Comox Valley!!
Submitted by Celina on Wed, 2011-11-30 15:26
Keeping It Living is guided by the phrase “return of abundance,” which comes from the name “Comox” (“K’ómoks”), which means “land of plenty or abundance.” With a mission to bring about the return of abundance, the Keeping It Living project is dedicated to the “preservation of marshes, sloughs, mud flats, gravel beds, shore grasses, shrubs, forest, streams, rivers, and watersheds that provide nutrients to nourish estuary life.”
Estuaries are the meeting places of rivers and oceans, where stream flows meet ocean tides. As ever-changing transition zones between fresh water and marine ecosystems, estuaries are both fragile and highly productive. In BC, estuaries occupy only three percent of the coastline, although they are used by eighty percent of marine life at some point in their life cycles. The Courtenay River Estuary is no different; containing a wealth of biodiversity, it is a haven for numerous plant and animal species on the east coast of Vancouver Island. Unfortunately, dredging, channelling, rip-rapping, and industrial activity have taken their toll, threatening the biodiversity of the Courtenay River Estuary. The good news is Project Watershed is working to make a difference.
Formed in 1993 by a group of citizens concerned about declining fish stocks, water quality, and urban development in local watersheds, the Comox Valley Project Watershed Society’s mission involves information, education, and action. In 2008, Project Watershed organized the Heart of the Watershed Estuary Symposium in an effort to preserve the valuable Courtenay River Estuary. With over 300 attendees, the symposium was a success in highlighting the issues affecting the estuary and raising its profile.
One of only eight Class 1 estuaries in BC, and second in importance only to the Fraser River Estuary, the Courtenay River Estuary is highly ecologically significant, providing habitat for 145 bird species, or 70,000 birds; 218 plant species; 29 fish species, including all five Pacific salmon species; and intertidal animals and organisms.
Building on the symposium’s success and this newfound information, Project Watershed formed the Estuary Working Group to help them move forward with recommendations from the event. Environmental organizations, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, biologists, naturalists, and an archaeologist together created the Keeping It Living project.
The complexity of the estuarine system is reflected in the multi-stakeholder involvement in various aspects of the project. Building on Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s 2000 estuary management plan, and interest spurred by the 2008 symposium, Project Watershed is playing a coordinating role to meet objectives that are shared by other organizations, as well as the community at large.
As part of a steering committee convened by the Comox Valley Regional District’s Planning Department, the Keeping It Living team has drafted a long term management plan for the estuary. Once approved, it will be released to municipalities, First Nations, and federal and provincial governments for final approval and the Courtenay River Estuary Management Plan will be signed into law.
In addition to the official regulatory and management activities, the project has involved a broad range of people through estuary-focused literature, art, and sports. Day of the Estuary showcases displayed current research, volunteer opportunities, videos, and mapping. Engaging public audiences in ways that interest them—such as auctioning estuary art by local artists—has proven to be a successful strategy for education and awareness building.
Paul Horgen, Project Watershed’s Chair, said, "The Keeping It Living Campaign has brought an array of community members together showing that restoration and protection of the estuary is important to people from all walks of life. It has been very rewarding and inspiring to have this kind of community support. With this support behind us we have started many estuary focused initiatives and are confident these initiatives will make our grandchildren proud."
In 2010, the Real Estate Foundation provided Project Watershed with a $15,000 grant for Keeping It Living. This project aligns with our mandate to support research and education on sustainable real estate and land use topics.
By Alicia Olive and Celina Owen
http://www.refbc.com/node/369
Spencer Anderson, Comox Valley Echo
Published: Tuesday, December 06, 2011
North Island College is reaching for a potential $1-million grant to develop an applied research program in aquatic environmental monitoring.
NIC staff has submitted an application with the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) in a bid to secure funding from NSERC's Industrial Research Chairs for Colleges initiative, launched this past October.
The grant would allow the college to hire a researcher capable of coordinating the program with faculty and industry partners, as well as connecting students to educational opportunities related to the field.
NIC is also working with the B.C. Centre for Aquatic Health Sciences and aquaculture industry representatives to craft a research agenda suited to the north and west region of the Island.
NIC president Jan Lindsay said she was very pleased with outside support for the application, which included letters from mayors from the North Island and support from the four main fish farm companies in the region: Creative Salmon, Marine Harvest, Greig Seafood and Mainstream Canada.
She said the proposed research program is tailored for the fastgrowing aquaculture sector, and will complement programs NIC already offers, including entry-level courses on aquaculture and biology.
The environmental monitoring aspect of NIC's pitch "can very much apply to other areas of natural resource industry," Lindsay added.
If successful in achieving the grant, the program would be an initial hub in the college's vision for a Natural Resource Education and Applied Research Centre, an umbrella framework that would identify specific education and research credentials required for students to break into a variety of natural resource sectors on the North Island.
"I just think it's such an important step forward for the college to move in this direction with applied research and [be] able to provide support to the economic interests in the – North Island region through this type of activity," Lindsay said.
NIC expects to hear back from NSERC by April.
spanderson@comoxvalleyecho.com
http://www2.canada.com/comoxvalleyecho/news/story.html?id=ebe07304-5bc5-44a0-874c-dbc4189d548c
© Comox Valley Echo 2011
COLLECTING PUNTLEDGE RIVER hatchery dividend is a happy adventure for river anglers. PHOTO BY RALPH SHAW
By Ralph Shaw – Comox Valley Record
Published: November 24, 2011 4:00 PM
Updated: November 24, 2011 4:58 PM
Modern society is addicted to high returns on investments, and success is measured on a percentage-based return over costs of investment. As with all investments there are several portfolios, some will do well and others not so well. This column is directed at the enrichment we receive in recreational fishing, primarily on enhanced stocks.
Recreational fishing is about fishing – some catching.
Each year we send forth millions of little salmon from the Puntledge River Hatchery and the spawning channels of the river throughout its many side channels and feeder streams. Most of the recreational harvesting of chinook, coho and pink salmon takes place in the open ocean, much of it in Area 14 waters; I suggest most of our recreationally caught chum salmon takes place in our home river, the Puntledge.
We have creel surveys, but I am unaware of a specific count of our fish except through the return of marked heads. If you enjoyed good salmon fishing in Area 14 waters this season you can probably thank the Puntledge hatchery for a good share of it along with the many small enhancement groups who work so hard to keep our salmon stocks healthy.
Last week Darcy Miller, manager of the Puntledge hatchery, sent me the following returns of salmon to the river and hatchery as of Nov. 16, 2011:
Coho Salmon 2,459 in river and at the hatchery. As a reminder, due to hot weather there was a major die-off of coho smolts for the river in 2008. It was with much anxiety that the people at the Puntledge hatchery worried about how many coho they would get back into the system in 2011.
The 2,459 in- river return gives 800 for brood stock needs and the rest are dispersed throughout the watershed. Yes, we had no direct harvest except the pleasure of catch-and-release, but the stocks are still good and the future dividends look bright.
Summer Chinook 1,130 in-river return. These are the fish that give us most heartburn when it comes to enhancing salmon in the Puntledge. For a number of years they have been brought back from the brink of extinction and are still a concern.
Their eggs are nurtured at the Rosewall hatchery and some are now returned to the upper reaches of the Puntledge system. It is a stock of zero return until we can bring their numbers up to those enjoyed by the fall chinook. Some are caught in Area 14 fisheries. Much of the caution of harbour and in-river fishing is directed at protecting this species.
Fall Chinook 4,030 in-river return. These fish are a success story from the hatchery that re-created the run. This year you could not retain these fish in-river, partially to protect coho and a concern for returns. However during the chum fishery there were many catch-and-release encounters on these magnificent fish. The future appears bright for this stock.
Pink Salmon 20,386 in-river return. They just come home in increasing numbers, mostly on their own, however this year they took eggs to enhance the run with hatchery help. The reason we do not get to fish them in the river is to protect the summer chinook. Regardless, they are paying big dividends and in the future we will be able to fish them as they do in the Campbell River system. They pay big dividends in local marine waters.
Chum Salmon 92,709 in-river return. If you are clipping coupons on investment returns, the Puntledge River chum stocks are paying big dividends in the recreational fishery. With the Oct. 1 opening on the river they have provided thousands of hours of exciting river fishing to a broad section of river anglers.
They also provide direct dividends to the local fishing tackle industry that supports this fishery with all the tackle, boots, life jackets and other accessories that create wealth. During the peak of the fishery you can talk to people from all over the world. This is just another example of return on investment.
Quite aside from the immediate returns to anglers, the carcasses of spawned-out chum salmon are now being dispersed into the nutrient-poor waters of the headwater streams by volunteers, thereby producing a hidden dividend for young salmon.
Dividend clipping in recreational fishing is a soul-renewing source of wealth.
Ralph Shaw is a master fly fisherman who was awarded the Order of Canada in 1984 for his conservation efforts. In 20 years of writing a column in the Comox Valley Record it has won several awards.
Volunteer team for the first ever Comox Valley Carol Walk
