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Field Reports
June 8, 2008
Guide
Training (posted by Joël Lagassé)
: The past four days of Kingfisher staff
training has been a blast. The training included rescue drills, group
management scenarios, general camp maintenance, and great company from old
fiends and new. Highlights included being the subjects of Stubbs Island's
whale watching tour as they watched us practice our rescue scenarios
(guess there were no whales to watch!), 'testing' our newly constructed
base camp sauna, learning about Hanson Island's natural history from
'Walrus' (one of the founding members of Greenpeace), having members of
the 'Namgis First Nations share dinner and stories with us one evening,
and participating in a marine invertebrates session at Telegraph Cove's
Whale Interpretive Centre (the marine mammal training session is this
coming weekend!). Oh, and of course seeing 60 to 100 Pacific White sided
Dolphins from the base camp and two Minke whales while paddling also made
the trip very memorable. A BIG thank you to Andrew for all the hard work
invested in organizing such great training.
May 22, 2008
Farmed and Wild Salmon
(posted by Andrew Jones) : On our kayak tours we do discuss with
our guests the difficulties facing wild salmon on the BC Coast. Last
week I visited Alexandra Morton, a scientist studying salmon in the
Broughton Archipelago, along with other concerned individuals, tourism
operators and First Nations.
We
witnessed the impact of sea lice on juvenile
salmon as they migrate past areas with open net-cage salmon farms.
The sea lice are decimating many returns of pink salmon and in turn will
greatly effect all the wildlife that depends upon them. Pink salmon have
a life span of only two years so their population can be decimated quite
quickly, it is estimated they will be nearly extinct within 8 years. Due
to this short life span and quick reproduction, if something is done
before it is too late they can make a great comeback, but time is
running out. To learn more about this issue and what you can do please
visit:
http://www.callingfromthecoast.com/ ,
http://www.adopt-a-fry.org/ and
http://www.saveoursalmon.ca/
December 1, 2007
Bed & Breakfast Based
Tour: After successful testing this past season we will be
introducing our Bed & Breakfast Based
Kayak Tours in 2008. The B&B is based on 10 private acres on
Malcolm Island, about 3 miles from our Hanson Island Base Camp.
We
offer this tour for private groups of 2 to 5
and each tour is customized to the wants and needs of each group. In
addition to kayaking day trips we
can add grizzly watching or
marine wildlife safaris by motor boat to allow you to experience as much
of the area as possible in a limited time.
November 17, 2007
Unforgettable Canada:
Our Johnstone Strait - Orca Waters tours are
featured in the new book "Unforgettable
Canada, 100 Destinations" by George Fischer and Noel Hudson.
Johnstone Strait
Kayaking Experience: Kingfisher Wilderness Adventures is
participating in a community based management project to improve the
kayaking experience in Johnstone Strait while protecting the local
environment. One part of this project is a web-based survey of kayakers,
www.kayaking.rem.sfu.ca, who have paddled in the Johnstone Strait at
least once in the last five years. The School of Resource and
Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University conducts this
survey, and we are supporting this research by inviting our
guests to participate. Your participation will
ensure that the kayakers' perspective can also
be considered in the management process, and will contribute to
preserving the environment and experience desired by Johnstone Strait
paddlers. All respondents who complete a survey will be eligible to
enter a draw for several prizes of outdoor gear (no matter where you
live in the world).
October 1,
2007
Robson Bight Diesel
Spill: On
August 20 a barge carrying heavy equipment spilled its contents,
including a truck carrying 10,000 litres of
diesel fuel, into the Michael Bigg Ecological Reserve at Robson Bight.
Fortunately it does not
appear all 10,000 litres spilled and diesel fuel dissipates much quicker
than heavier oils. Regardless, damage has been done and it will be years
before the full extent will be known. There are plans for a mini sub
with side scan sonar to be used in finding the fuel truck which lies in
350 metres of water to determine if fuel is still present and the best
way to proceed. For more information please visit
www.saverobsonbight.com .
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