Strawberry Isle Marine Research Society

We’re excited to announce that @reddfishrestoration is bringing Strawberry Isle Marine Research Society under its organization to continue ocean conservation and restoration efforts.  The amalgamation of SIMRS into Redd Fish reflects a shared commitment to the well-being of our oceans, the preservation of fish habitats, and the care and stewardship of marine ecosystems.  “We see this as an opportunity for the work of SIMRS and its founder, Rod Palm, to continue while supporting new opportunities for growth and community engagement,” said Jen Dart, President of SIMRS.  Rod Palm Founded SIMRS in 1991. He left a valuable legacy of marine research and monitoring on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Redd Fish is proud to carry on this legacy as we continue to grow and evolve the work in the marine space.  By merging the complementary strengths of these two organizations, the impact of the conservation efforts can be expanded.   Cheers to new beginnings 👏🏻

We’re excited to announce that Redd Fish Restoration is bringing Strawberry Isle Marine Research Society under its organization to continue ocean conservation and restoration efforts.

The amalgamation of SIMRS into Redd Fish reflects a shared commitment to the well-being of our oceans, the preservation of fish habitats, and the care and stewardship of marine ecosystems.

“We see this as an opportunity for the work of SIMRS and its founder, Rod Palm, to continue while supporting new opportunities for growth and community engagement,” said Jen Dart, President of SIMRS.

Rod Palm Founded SIMRS in 1991. He left a valuable legacy of marine research and monitoring on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Redd Fish is proud to carry on this legacy as we continue to grow and evolve the work in the marine space.

By merging the complementary strengths of these two organizations, the impact of the conservation efforts can be expanded.

Cheers to new beginnings!

Check out the press release for more information:

Redd Fish brings SIMRS under its organization to continue ocean conservation and restoration efforts — Redd Fish Restoration Society Strawberry Isle Marine Research Society (SIMRS) and Redd Fish Restoration Society (Redd Fish) are pleased to announce that SIMRS has been brought under the Redd Fish banner. The amalgamation of SIMRS into Redd Fish reflects a shared commitment to the well-being of our oceans, the preservation of fis

We’d like to say a massive thank you to our Program Coordinator/ Operations Assistant Sophie Vanderbanck as she has finished her time with SIMRS and is off to new adventures! Over the past couple years Sophie has brought so much to the SIMRS team. Her enthusiasm, hard work, and optimistic attitude helped SIMRS programs thrive, even in the most challenging times of our organization. She has been an incredible volunteer leader, youth educator, social media wizard, grant writer, environmental monitor, and so much more. We are grateful for all the memories we made and we’ll miss that big bright smile!

Thank you Sophie for everything 💙 Enjoy your much deserved vacation and best of luck in the future!

Waving gently back and forth in our intertidal waters, as they absorb the waves and anchor the soft sediments of our coastline. Casting green light between their green grassy blades as they photosynthesise, producing oxygen and absorbing CO2. Acting as a filter for our waterways, and absorbing harmful pollutants. Creating underwater meadows, nurseries and spawning sites for numerous marine species, from hooded nudibranchs to small-eye shrimp, and more culturally and economically important species such as herring, salmon and dungeness crabs. Exposed at low tide, laying out a dinner table on the mud flats for seabirds and bears. Eelgrass beds are often overlooked, yet they are one of the most vital intertidal and subtidals ecosystems in our region.

Globally, 14% of all seagrass species are considered at risk of extinction (1). Unfortunately, there is still no published national eelgrass assessment of its status or distribution and eelgrass in Canada is inadequately mapped (2) . Factors such as increasing development on our coastline, dredging and docks, increasing boat activity and invasive species such as the European green crab are threatening the health of our eelgrass meadows. Climate change has also affected eelgrass meadows, with rising sea levels and ocean warming resulting in a loss of habitat areas where seagrass migration up the shoreline is inhibited.

Through the The Harbour Health Project our goal is to monitor the health of eelgrass meadows in the Ucluelet Harbour and determine the need for future restoration and protection. We are curious about how local eelgrass health is impacting our human lives. As our small community continues to grow, with increased activity comes increased pollution, and it is important to keep tabs on these ecosystems to ensure we are all flourishing together towards a sustainable future 💙

Stay tuned for this year’s findings!

📷
✏️ Science & Communication Volunteer Leo



📄References:
(1) Short et al. 2011
(2) McKenzie et al. 2020

Celebrating one of our new volunteers Leo () ✨

Leo is a fresh-out-of-college, bachelors’ degree holder in wildlife biology from McGill University, born and raised on Canada’s East Coast. Despite not having lived close to the ocean ,she has always felt drawn to it and completely obsessed with all the life it supports. Her passion for the sea begun when she got into surfing at age 12, in the northeastern US, and she soon knew that studying marine organisms was going to be ”her” thing. She visited Tofino in 2016 on a short family holiday and instantly fell in love with the island’s wilderness and omnipresent biodiversity (and the surfing scene, let’s not lie). Last summer, she came back to work as a surf instructor and started getting involved with SIMRS through sea star surveys but had to leave to finish her undergrad in Montreal. She ended up spending the last four months in Panama in a field semester setting, studying tropical organisms of all kinds, and getting her PADI open water diver certification. She is now back on the West Coast, for good this time, and knows that dedicating her life to the ocean’s protection is what she wants. She is looking forward to working with SIMRS as a volunteer because science communication and bringing awareness about marine-related topics are things that truly drive her. She hopes to enroll into a marine biology Master’s at UVic in the coming years (invasive species and bioacoustics research particularly interest her), but for the months to come, all she wants is to help SIMRS’s mission of bringing awareness about the Clayoquot Sound organisms, surf good waves, and, hopefully, learn to sail!

Welcome to the SIMRS team Leo! Keep an eye out for Leo’s upcoming science communication posts 👀

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Hello coastal community members!

After a successful market last week, Whales & Waves has now concluded it’s project activities for the summer. Great job to our former SIMRS team member for organizing this program 👏👏

The project has completed an initial run this summer focusing it’s outreach and signage placement in the areas of Savary Island, Cortes, Powell River, Quadra, and Read Island, and has received funding from Ocean Wise to continue and expand it’s activities as late as next summer.

You can look for Whales & Waves at future coastal community events, in the greater Vancouver area, or online once their social channels are active. So stay tuned! For sales or donation inquiries, volunteer and partnership opportunities, or general project questions, email Jesse at: [email protected].

Additionally, if you are interested in helping to inform future boating policy in BC, take this DFO sponsored survey for the chance to win big prizes! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/whalesafeboatingBC

A big thank you to everyone that has supported this project 🐋

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Did you know that approximately 80% of the Southern Resident orca diet consists of Chinook salmon?

Come and learn more about orcas and salmon for this years Clayoquot Salmon Festival with our Build-A-Whale Program!

Help us rebuild O120, our offshore orca skeleton this Saturday, September 2nd from 10am-12pm at the while learning about marine mammals and the importance of our salmon ecosystem.

Don’t forget to check out the rest of the festival by and visit Build-A-Whale at the this Saturday or at the next Tuesday 10am-12pm for our last Build-A-Whale events of the season!

Learn more about Build-A-Whale at the link in our bio 🔗

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Come and learn about eelgrass tonight with our team for the Parcs Canada Guest Speaker Series 🌾

When: Tonight, August 21st
from 8-9PM (Doors at 7:45PM)

Where: Greenpoint Theatre
at Greenpoint Campground, Pacific Rim National Park.

We will be sharing our love for this vital ecosystem and some of the monitoring work that is being done to assess its health and set future restoration goals!

We hope to see you there!

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Join us for Build-A-Whale at the this Saturday, August 12th from 10am-12pm!

Come and help us rebuild Palm, our offshore orca skeleton, while learning about the ecology, anatomy, biology and conservation of killer whales and other marine mammals in BC. It’s going to be a 🐋 of a time!

Learn more about our Build-A-Whale program and find out where you can meet Palm in town this summer at the link in our bio.

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ATTENTION ALL BOATERS. An entangled humpback whale was first documented 4-5nm off Lennard Island Lighthouse near Tofino around 4pm, July 22nd.

Yesterday we set out on a relocation effort with DFO in the hopes of attaching a satellite tag to the gear and potentially disentangling the animal. Unfortunately we were unsuccessful and the whale is still out there trailing two floats.

Please help us by being on the lookout for this whale! It was reported twice more on July 23rd, with the last known location about 1nm off the shipwreck Southwest of Cleland Island (see approximate coordinates of second photo).

If found please keep your distance and call DFO immediately at 1-800-465-4336 or CH16 on VHF, letting them know the coordinates. If possible stay with the whale until another boat can take over tracking. Do NOT attempt to remove the entanglement yourself - this can lead to harm to people and decrease the chances of a successful release from trained professionals.

For more information on whale entanglement see https://www.simrstofino.org/rescue

Thank you Cosy Lawson for sending the initial report and photos and to the Tofino whale watching and fishing fleet for the additional reports and monitoring! Thanks also to Jamie's Whaling Station & Adventure Centres for donating a boat for our search effort yesterday.

Tofino and Ucluelet boaters please be on the lookout for an entangled whale. If seen immediately call DFO at 1-800-465-4336

Join us next week for our Sea Star Survey at Tonquin Beach 🌟

Help us monitor the health of our colourful star-shaped friends as part of a 9 year citizen science monitoring project for Sea Star Wasting on our coastline!

💫 This July 17th at 6:30am 💫 💫 💫

No pre-survey sign up required! Meet us at the trailhead at the Tonquin Beach parking lot (367 Tonquin Park Rd).

Remember to dress for the weather, wear sturdy waterproof footwear (for traversing slippery rocks) and come ready to survey some sea stars!

Visit our StoryMap to learn more about Sea Star Wasting and The Sea Star Stewardship Program at the link in our bio.

You can also join us at this July 24th from 8pm-9pm for The Guest Speaker Series to learn more about the unsolved mystery of a marine epidemic: Sea Star Wasting, with SIMRS Executive Director Karyssa Arnett!