The Sewell’s Marina Blog

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Baby Seals

Aug 17

Sewell’s Marina in Horseshoe Bay is home to a Seal, the neighbourhood kids named ‘Oreo” four years ago, seals are common in Howe Sound but Oreo is very unique. She knows the sounds of the different fishing boats as they are approaching the harbour and will meet them at the entrance nose in the air smelling for a trace of her favorite food. Salmon. As the boats dock, she waits patiently, until she decides that it is time that they get going and move the fish to the cleaning table for her to get her favorite snack. She starts to splash the fishing boat with her fins until the folks get the message. They lift their catch and make their way to the cleaning table where they offer her the head and carcass which she graciously accepts.

Over the past three years she has delivered three pups. All very healthy being fed from a very smart mom. She keeps them safe in and around the marina laying on logs and pushing them onto the backs of peoples boats moored at the dock. Following on the theme of her name the first two offspring were named “Cookie” and “Crumble” and this years pup has been coined “Fudge”.

All three of her pups being fed on salmon rich milk from Oreo have grown into strong and smart seals themselves. If you are down on the docks around 12:30pm when the salmon fishing boats return from the morning trips you are sure to spot her swimming nose in the air in search of a good westcoast lunch.

For more information on Harbour Seals check out: https://www.vanaqua.org/learn/aquafacts/otters-and-pinnipeds/harbour-seals

Jul 12

This Saturday July 16th, 2016, Sewell’s Marina is proud to announce that it will be donating 50% of our boat rental revenue to two great organizations who play an key role in conserving and protecting the great ecosystem found in our backyard. Read below about the amazing work done by the Pacific Salmon Foundation and the Vancouver Aquarium Howe Sound Research Team.

The Pacific Salmon Foundation:

“The Pacific Salmon Foundation was established in 1987 as an independent, nongovernmental, charitable organization to protect, conserve and restore wild Pacific salmon populations in British Columbia and the Yukon. Today, the Foundation galvanizes the breadth of vested stakeholders to support Pacific salmon from stream to estuary to ocean.” – (psf website)

The Pacific Salmon Foundation supports the lives of salmon in many different ways. They help raise money and create grants for volunteer community groups that conserve and restore streams across the province. They also manage watershed initiatives that help catalyze groups that interact with salmon including industry, First Nations, provincial and federal government, and other non-profits. The Pacific Salmon Foundation takes part in conducting scientific research that can help us understand the reasons for depletion in salmon population in our waters. Finally they work with government to prioritize and facilitate strategic salmon conservation in the province.

The Pacific Salmon Foundation facilitates this support of salmon by leveraging and sharing resources within the community. Sewell’s Marina is proud to be a supporting partner of the Pacific Salmon Foundation which allows more projects to be taken on every year. We are happy to announce that on July 16th, a portion of our boat rental sales will go towards supporting the Pacific Salmon Foundation as we strive to keep the waters of British Columbia a healthy and plentiful ecosystem.

Salmon have pivotal importance to BC’s ecosystem, and in turn, are very important to BC’s economy. More salmon means more nutrients for the trees, and more nutrients for more than 130 species that depend on salmon to thrive. BC’s use of natural resources attracts tourists and tourism dollars from all over the world.

To learn more about the PSF and their initiatives, please visit their website at: https://www.psf.ca/

 

VanAqua Howe Sound Research Team:

The Howe Sound Group was established in 1996 to support the efforts of the Vancouver Aquarium’s Fish Research Team. Dr. Jeff Marllave leads the team to conduct natural research history studies, do baseline documentary work, and monitor depleted groundfish stocks which allow us to better understand and protect our marine life.

Over 650 species call Howe Sound home, but damage from local pulp mills and mining has began the depletion of groundfish stocks, and the Howe Sound Research Team has began biological monitoring to assess the damage that these operations have had on our marine ecosystem. One of these projects includes the Fish Research Propagation Project which has documented the early history of Howe Sound, and the species that have resided here for years. This helps the team understand the deep roots of Howe Sound and how they can better understand the damages we have faced in the ecosystem. So far, the team has reared over 75 different species in the Aquarium laboratory as they continue to learn more about the ecosystem in our backyard. This project and many others provide important information for decision makers in our province when it comes to conservation, and protection of the species who have called Howe Sound home for thousands of years.

To learn more about the Howe Sound Research Team, please visit their website at: https://www.vanaqua.org/act/research/howe-sound-group

Jun 29

In recent years, sightings of sea lions tangled in debris and pollution have increased at an alarming rate. The Marine Mammal Rescue Team, lead by Vancouver Aquarium head veterinarian Dr. Martin Haulena conducts vital disentanglements along the B.C. Coast. Dive into this interactive 360 video shot on our Sewell’s Sea Safari where you can follow the team as they rescue a Sea Lion suffering from debris wrapped around it’s neck.

Video:

Vancouver Aquarium Post:

http://www.aquablog.ca/2016/06/white-islet-steller-sea-lion-disentanglement-2/