Open Collections

Mohn, Camille

What needs to be done in order to adequately protect Howe Sound’s glass sponge reefs? Monitoring of fishing closures in Howe Sound is currently insufficient to properly enforce fishing closures. Thus, increased funding will be required to properly monitor current and future glass sponge reef fishing closures. Further, the mining company Burnco is proposing a mine at McNab creek, on the west shore of Howe Sound. Since glass sponges are extremely sensitive to sedimentation and sedimentation from the mine is inevitable, the amount of sediment that could reach the nearest class sponges and the sediment tolerance of these sponges must be determined. Dr. Leys, from the University of Alberta, is currently researching sediment tolerance of glass sponge reefs to help answer these questions. Burnco’s project should be put on hold until further results are found. I also recommend that boat rental companies be held liable when anchors from their boats damage glass sponge reefs, that a smartphone app be created to help recreational boaters keep their anchors out of glass sponge reefs and that further efforts to educate the public on glass sponge reefs be made. This study was suggested by community partners from Ken Melamed from the Green Party of Canada and Ruth Simons from the Future of Howe Sound Society. A literature review and interviews with experts were conducted in order to answer this question and provide recommendations for future policymaking. Glass sponge reefs are a Jurassic formation believed extinct until the 1980s when they were discovered off the coast of British Columbia. Since then, smaller glass sponge reefs and gardens continue to be discovered. Glass sponge reefs provide valuable ecosystems services such as water filtration and purification and endangered rockfish habitat. They may also sequester carbon. Glass sponge gardens host even greater biodiversity than glass sponge reefs and serve as nurseries for endangered rockfish. As research on glass sponges has progressed, new formations have been discovered, damage to reefs has been observed and industrial projects have been proposed near reef locations. Ensuring protection of these formations has become pressing. In Howe Sound there are two glass sponge reefs currently protected through fishing closures assigned by Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). One other reef in Howe Sound will soon gain protection since the province of British Columbia will increase the size of Halkett Bay Marine Provincial Park. Yet many other glass sponge reefs and gardens in Howe Sound still lack protection. Some glass sponge reefs are indirectly protected because they happen to be located in Rockfish Conservations Areas. The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) would like to establish Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) for glass sponge reefs in Howe Sound; however neither of these options will protect glass sponges from all types of fishing gear. DFO fishing closures will be required to achieve this.

Text

University of British Columbia. GEOG 419

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0305012

Arts, Faculty of; Geography, Department of

Unreviewed

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/