Latest news with #FisheriesandOceans
CBC
10-03-2025
- Science
- CBC
Discovery of zebra mussel near Mactaquac raises alarm over spread of invasive species
Social Sharing The recent discovery of a live zebra mussel near Mactaquac, west of Fredericton, is raising concerns the invasive species is spreading in New Brunswick, with potentially damaging impacts on ecosystems, infrastructure, boats and even beaches. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans found an adult zebra mussel on a dock in the St. John River just north of the Mactaquac Dam in December, said Terry Melanson, team lead for the department's aquatic invasive species program. The single mussel doesn't necessarily mean the species has taken hold in that part of the river, but it does suggest the mollusc has spread from the Edmundston region, where it was first discovered in the province in 2023, Melanson said. "Now, will it get bad? That we don't know," Melanson said in an interview. "We could see localized impacts and we could see very little [impact]. That's kind of the mystery behind this ... that though we're employing several methods to detect the zebra mussels, there's no way to know to what extent they're going to establish in the St. John River." A creeping threat Zebra mussels are native to eastern European waters but entered the Great Lakes in the late 1980s through ballast water discharged from ships, according to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. They've since spread through much of eastern Canada and the United States. The threat to New Brunswick first came in 2022, when zebra mussels were detected in Quebec's Lake Temiscouata, which drains into the Madawaska River, a tributary of the St. John River. WATCH | Why spreading zebra mussels could hurt infrastructure: What the spread of zebra mussels in N.B. could look like 23 minutes ago Duration 1:27 What could happen when zebra mussels, an invasive species that is spreading in New Brunswick, pile up. Terry Melanson of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans explains. As feared, the mussels were discovered the following year in the Madawaska River, including on infrastructure connected to Edmundston's Madawaska Dam, said Melanson. Last summer, samples by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans found zebra mussel larvae in several locations in the St. John River as far south as the Mactaquac Dam, Melanson said.. Danger to native species Melanson said once zebra mussels take hold in an environment, they can propagate in clusters numbering into the thousands. If that happens in New Brunswick, the species could pose a serious risk to the yellow lampmussel, which has been labelled a species of "special concern" by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. "They're filter feeders, mussels, so they would filter the same organisms or organic matter as the yellow lampmussels. So in that respect [zebra mussels] risk impacting negatively that species." According to the Fisheries and Oceans, the yellow lampmussel is only found in two Canadian watersheds, the St. John River and Sydney River in Nova Scotia, making it particularly vulnerable to changes in those ecosystems. Damaging to humans Aside from the threat they pose to New Brunswick's aquatic ecosystem, zebra mussels are also known to wreak havoc in spaces affecting people. Melanson said municipal intake and drainage pipes along the St. John River could become clogged by clusters of zebra mussels and the same can happen to infrastructure for hydroelectric dams. "And when they do stick to these hardened substrates, they really form dense mats," he said. "We're talking something perhaps [the size of] the end of your small fingernail, but take hundreds or thousands of those in dense clumps, you can already imagine the impacts that can happen just on, on infrastructure alone." Melanson said zebra mussels have been found on the Madawaska Dam, but the dozen or so that were found are considered a small number. Melanson said swimming spots could also become hazardous if zebra mussels spread and multiply in the St. John River, given their shape and size. "The shells being small by their very nature are very sharp, and ... a person walking barefoot, it could cut their feet." Stopping their spread Once zebra mussels have entered a water body, there's not much that can be done to eradicate them, said Sarah Cusack, a project co-ordinator with the New Brunswick Invasive Species Council. Cusack said part of what makes them so proliferous is that in their larval stage, zebra mussels can travel long distances on their own just using the natural flow of a body of water. On top of that, the larvae are impossible to see with the naked eye and can get accidentally transported from one waterway to another by boaters and kayakers. Cusack said in light of that, her organization emphasizes to recreational boaters to thoroughly clean their boats, drain any captured water, and let them dry out before putting it back in the water — especially if they're going to be in a different water body. "I do believe that this is something that should be taken very seriously," Cusack said. "Zebra mussels have caused billions of dollars of damages and management requirements elsewhere where they've been introduced," she said. "They're not native to North America. So we are going to see potentially changes in our ecosystem, in our freshwater systems, and a cascading effect that will happen because of that because they do move so quickly."
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Yahoo
Paddleboarder ordered to pay $2,500 for getting too close to orcas near Ucluelet, B.C.
A paddleboarder who got too close to a pod of orcas near Tofino, B.C., has been found guilty of unlawfully disturbing killer whales, a breach of the Federal Fisheries Act. Christie Jamieson, 40, was fined $2,500 earlier this month following the incident in Ucluelet Harbour, off the west coast of Vancouver Island, in January 2021. Jamieson testified she did not know the rules around distance limits. But provincial court Judge Alexander Wolf said in his ruling that it didn't matter — even if a person has never heard of Canada's Marine Mammal Regulations, they are still bound to them by law, he said. "If you fish, learn the regulations. If you hunt, learn the regulations. If you want to be around whales or other marine mammals, learn the regulations," Wolf said in his judgment. It is prohibited to approach marine mammals on a boat, paddleboard, or other vessel to interact, feed or swim with them, according to the Fisheries Act. Wolf — a member of the Kwikwasut'inuxw Haxwa'mis First Nation, located on Gilford Island — said in his judgment that according to the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations teachings, orcas are considered guardians of the sea, and it is forbidden to disturb them. Guardians of the sea The guilty verdict was delivered Tuesday in Ucluelet, B.C., a town of about 2,000 people, 35 kilometres southeast of Tofino. Among the evidence against Jamieson was a video posted to YouTube of her approaching the pod. The video shows a person with long blond hair out on a paddleboard while killer whales come to the surface near her. According to the judge, there were hundreds of people lined up around the harbour to watch orcas that day. The video was used as evidence in court. WATCH | Woman gets close to orca pod near Ucluelet, B.C.: Wolf said at times, it appears as though she's about 50 metres away from the pod — well within the 200-metre buffer zone required by law. Multiple witnesses also confirmed seeing Jamieson put her paddleboard in the water, the judgment says, and paddle toward the orcas. Jamieson agreed but testified that she thought as the creatures were leaving the harbour, they turned back and swam toward her. She said she was not comfortable paddling away. It would have been different, the judge said, if she had already been out on her paddleboard and minding her own business when the killer whales happened to swim by. In that case, there wouldn't have been a charge, he said. In a statement after the ruling, Fisheries and Oceans said, "the illegal activity, plus social media posts of the incident, and images captured on personal cameras and devices" were reported to its observation and reporting system. "These reports helped lead to the successful conviction of this incident," it said. Detering others The Crown sought a $10,000 fine, but the judge took into account Jamieson's financial situation and the fact that she did not have a criminal record or a history of breaching fisheries regulations. The judge said the $2,500 fine should serve as a deterrent for others who might consider approaching a pod of whales too closely. "The lesson for all of us is sometimes we make mistakes. Sometimes those mistakes mean committing an offence," the judge said. "When we commit an offence, there will be penalties."
CBC
11-02-2025
- CBC
Paddleboarder ordered to pay $2,500 for getting too close to orcas near Ucluelet, B.C.
Social Sharing A paddleboarder who got too close to a pod of orcas near Tofino, B.C., has been found guilty of unlawfully disturbing killer whales, a breach of the Federal Fisheries Act. Christie Jamieson, 40, was fined $2,500 earlier this month following the incident in Ucluelet Harbour, off the west coast of Vancouver Island, in January 2021. Jamieson testified she did not know the rules around distance limits. But provincial court Judge Alexander Wolf said in his ruling that it didn't matter — even if a person has never heard of Canada's Marine Mammal Regulations, they are still bound to them by law, he said. "If you fish, learn the regulations. If you hunt, learn the regulations. If you want to be around whales or other marine mammals, learn the regulations," Wolf said in his judgment. It is prohibited to approach marine mammals on a boat, paddleboard, or other vessel to interact, feed or swim with them, according to the Fisheries Act. Wolf — a member of the Kwikwasut'inuxw Haxwa'mis First Nation, located on Gilford Island — said in his judgment that according to the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations teachings, orcas are considered guardians of the sea, and it is forbidden to disturb them. Guardians of the sea The guilty verdict was delivered Tuesday in Ucluelet, B.C., a town of about 2,000 people, 35 kilometres southeast of Tofino. Among the evidence against Jamieson was a video posted to YouTube of her approaching the pod. The video shows a person with long blond hair out on a paddleboard while killer whales come to the surface near her. According to the judge, there were hundreds of people lined up around the harbour to watch orcas that day. The video was used as evidence in court. WATCH | Woman gets close to orca pod near Ucluelet, B.C.: Wolf said at times, it appears as though she's about 50 metres away from the pod — well within the 200-metre buffer zone required by law. Multiple witnesses also confirmed seeing Jamieson put her paddleboard in the water, the judgment says, and paddle toward the orcas. B.C. film company fined for flying drone too close to orcas Jamieson agreed but testified that she thought as the creatures were leaving the harbour, they turned back and swam toward her. She said she was not comfortable paddling away. It would have been different, the judge said, if she had already been out on her paddleboard and minding her own business when the killer whales happened to swim by. In that case, there wouldn't have been a charge, he said. In a statement after the ruling, Fisheries and Oceans said, "the illegal activity, plus social media posts of the incident, and images captured on personal cameras and devices" were reported to its observation and reporting system. "These reports helped lead to the successful conviction of this incident," it said. Detering others The Crown sought a $10,000 fine, but the judge took into account Jamieson's financial situation and the fact that she did not have a criminal record or a history of breaching fisheries regulations. The judge said the $2,500 fine should serve as a deterrent for others who might consider approaching a pod of whales too closely.
