News

February-March 2005

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
To download a pdf copy of the magazine click here: > DOWNLOAD

• The eighth annual La Ruta Maya River Challenge—the longest canoe race in Central America—will be held from March 4–7 in Belize. The competition attracts hundreds of extreme canoeists from around the globe, including teams from the US, Canada, England, Mexico and Japan. The 180-mile journey takes paddlers through some of the most spectacular flora and fauna to be found anywhere on the planet. The four-day arduous race will test the paddlers’ endurance until they reach their final destination in Belize City. Along the route, racers will camp overnight at various points before sprinting towards the finish line. In addition to being hailed as Belize’s most competitive sporting event, La Ruta Maya Belize River Challenge is also one of the country’s largest collaborative conservation efforts. Originally organized as an opportunity to protect the Belize River Valley, a major tributary to the Caribbean Sea and site of vital natural resources, the race is still held today as an effort to restore and revitalize this precious waterway. La Ruta Maya will donate all proceeds to local environmental groups work to sustain and keep the river clean. For more information: 501-824-2444 or www.bighjuices.com, or contact the Belize Tourism Board at 501-223-1913, www.travelbelize.org.

 

• The First Annual Puget Sound Sea Kayak Symposium will be held May 21-22 at Point Defiance Park, Tacoma, Washington. This 2-day event is an opportunity to learn more about the sport of sea kayaking and the areas most suited for paddling. Clinics and presentations will cover everything from kayaking safety and individual skills to paddling destinations in the Pacific Northwest and around the world. On-water classes will expand the knowledge and skills of individual paddlers and provide a solid foundation for their kayaking future. The event is planned as a showcase for manufacturers, retailers and outfitters. To sign up, go to www.metroparkstacoma.org and scroll down to the “Quick Internal Links”, then click on Symposium. For more information, contact Julie Dames: julied@tacomaparks.com, 253-640-3518.

 

• On August 6-7 join the Mississippi River Challenge to protect the great river. The two-day, 44-mile non-competitive paddling Challenge benefits Friends of the Mississippi River, a non-profit organization focusing on three missions: water quality issues, habitat conservation and stewardship of the river’s recreational historical and cultural values. For more background on Friends of the Mississippi River visit www.fmr.org or call Dennis Davidson, Mississippi River Challenge, Event Manager: 651-222-2193 #19, www.MississippiRiverChallenge.org.

 

• This summer, Kokatat Watersports Wear is sponsoring a five-women team, the Borealis Paddling Expedition, a 90-day, 1,200-mile canoeing voyage through Northern Canada. The expedition aims to raise funds for an endowment to YMCA Camp Manito-wish, a camp that has played a uniquely powerful role in each of the women’s lives. www.borealispaddlingexpedition.com; www.manito-wish.org; www.kokatat.com

 

• www.kayamarantours.com of Ladner, BC, is launching a new Special Boaters’ Rental Package from their Ladner Outdoor Store, offering rental kayaks to boaters who are interested in mothership kayaking. For information contact los@dccnet.com, 604-946-5070, www.kayamarantours.com.

 

• All Season’s Auto Racks is closing their Nanaimo, BC location and opening a larger store in Victoria at 455 Gorge Road East, offering a bigger showroom with more racks, including Yakima, Thule, Hidden Hitch, SportRack, Barrecrafters and more (kayak racks, ski racks, bike racks, cargo boxes, boat racks, ladder racks, etc). For more info: 250-383-2100, 1-800-667-1032.

• Middleton’s Specialty Boats in North Vancouver, BC has acquired more retail space doubling the size of the showroom. The store is located at 1851 Welch Street and features Dagger, Formula/Impex, Necky, Perception, Pacific Kayaks, and the Lashlock security system, as well as dinghies and rowboats. For more info: david@middletonsboats.com, 604-240-0503, www. middletonsboats.com.

 

• Do you plan to visit Victoria, BC on a paddling trip? Or to shop for kayaks or gear at one of Victoria’s paddling centers (Ocean River Sports or the Vancouver Island Canoe and Kayak Center)? If so, consider staying at the Helms Inn, nestled between the world famous Royal BC Museum and beautiful Beacon Hill Park, a stone’s throw from the Legislature. For a quiet night in modestly priced, well appointed, homey rooms just a short walk to a fleet of good restaurants, the Helms Inn can’t be beaten. It’s WaveLength’s favorite place to stay in Victoria.

 

• Mid Canada Fiberglass Ltd. is introducing the Impex Kayak brand in Canada for 2005, replacing the brand name Formula Kayaks. By joining the brands and by hiring additional expert-level kayakers for research and development, Impex will have the ability to better train shop staffs and to keep the retail price well below that of the competition. The Formula name will continue on as the Impex Kayaks- Formula Series, a price point, light touring section of the line. Check out www.impexkayak.com. For more info, contact Danny Mongno: 828-225-5201, danny@impexkayak.com or Mike Ramsey (Impex Kayaks-Canada): 705-647-6549, mike@scottcanoe.com.

 

• The US Coast Guard and the American Canoe Association have announced a national public service campaign, featuring Olympic silver medalist Rebecca Giddens, aimed at saving the lives of paddlers. Giddens’ television, radio and print public service announcements will stress the importance of always wearing a life jacket and never boating under the influence of alcohol. Recent statistics show 86% of all boaters who drowned were not wearing a life jacket and one-third of fatal boating accidents involved alcohol. Nearly 80% of all reported fatalities occurred on boats where the operator had not received boating safety instruction. Pamela Dillon, American Canoe Association executive director, says “There are thousands of ACA certified instructors across the US offering courses in communities, schools, and on local waterways. There’s lots to learn and lots of fun to be had paddling and we encourage everyone to take a class, wear your life jacket, and be responsible on the water.” For more information go to: www.USCGboating.org; www.acanet.org; www.VesselSafetyCheck.org or call the US Coast Guard Infoline: 1-800-368-5647.

 

• In December, the US federal government decided to list the Southern Resident population of orca whales under the US Endangered Species Act (ESA). This is a victory for the whales and for the Sierra Legal Defence Fund, the Georgia Strait Alliance and the Western Canada Wilderness Committee, which joined with US allies in a legal action to list these whales under the ESA. This ESA designation will provide the strongest available protection for the orcas, requiring a comprehensive recovery plan. The Southern Resident orcas live in the waters off the coast of British Columbia and Washington State. In Canada, this dwindling population was designated as ‘endangered’ in 2001 under the federal Species at Risk Act and a recovery strategy is being developed. Designating this population under the ESA will help to alleviate human-caused threats on the US side of the border that have reduced the population to as few as 85 whales—a decline of 20% since the early 1990s. On the same day as the court made this orca decision, Washington Gov. Locke specified how many more salmon will be needed in streams and rivers in the lower Columbia River: an average of 10 times as many chinook salmon in key spawning areas. This scale of salmon recovery is vital for any orca recovery. According to the Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, the single greatest loss of food for Southern Resident killer whales in the past fifty years has been from the decline of salmon in the Columbia River basin. Overall salmon returns during the 1990s showed a decline of 90% from historic levels. But a new proposal by the White House would eliminate 80% of “critical habitat” protection for salmon in Washington state, Oregon, Idaho and California.

 

• Parks Canada has called British Columbia’s Georgia Strait “the most at-risk natural environment in Canada”. That’s one of the reasons WaveLength supports the Georgia Strait Alliance which has worked since 1990 to protect and restore the marine environment and promote the sustainability of Georgia Strait, its adjoining waters (like Puget Sound in the US) and communities. Today, GSA is still the only grassroots organization focused on protecting the marine environment Strait-wide. In the last 15 years, they have built a solid foundation of success that has made a real difference to the health of Georgia Strait and they are reaching out to those who care about the quality of the marine environment we are leaving to our children and grandchildren. By making a donation today, you are helping GSA continue its commitment to the environmental integrity of the Strait of Georgia. GSA is a registered charity and all donations (Canadian and US) are tax deductible. Over 85% of GSA’s revenues go directly into its programs. Please donate today by mail, phone or online. Georgia Strait Alliance, 195 Commercial St, Nanaimo, BC V9R 5G5. Phone: 250- 753-3459. www.GeorgiaStrait.org

 

• The Skeena-Queen Charlotte Regional District Board, on BC’s north coast, voted 6-3 in December to ask federal Canadian and British Columbia regulators to halt new salmon farms in their district, bordering Alaska’s Inside Passage. The Regional District said it will support lifting such a moratorium once the industry finds a “closed containment” technology to keep farmed salmon from escaping into North Coast waters and competing with wild fish. Similarly, the Whatcom County Council in Washington state recently passed, by 6-1, an emergency moratorium banning salmon farms from county waters since there is increased interest in fish farming in state waters.

 

• The Raincoast Conservation Society has obtained documents under the Freedom of Information Act showing that Health Canada has allowed fish farms to treat 170 million salmon with a chemical called Slice since 1999. The aquaculture industry has been using Slice to fight sea lice at sites off Vancouver Island and in the Broughton Archipelago. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency told Health Canada it was consistently finding Slice residue in farmed salmon and that it was prepared to halt shipment of the product. Instead of banning the use of the chemical, Health Canada changed its regulations to allow a level of 50 parts per billion. The majority of Canadian farmed salmon is exported to the US, which doesn’t test for Slice. The active ingredient in Slice is emamectin benzonate, a known neurotoxin listed by the US Environmental Protection Agency as highly toxic.

 

• A BC Supreme Court judge has ordered Marine Harvest, the fish-farming arm of the Dutch multi-national Nutreco, to stop putting Atlantic salmon smolts into its pens at the mouth of Bute Inlet. The temporary injunction was granted at the request of the Homalco First Nation which wanted to prevent the stocking of the fish farm. The chronology of the events leading to the injunction is a damning saga of disrespect to the Homalco. The Homalco were supported in their position by the Georgia Strait Alliance, the Stuart Island Community Association, the commercial and sports fishing sectors, the ecotourism industry and the Comox Strathcona Regional District. “Salmon farming as currently practiced is not consistent with our vision of Bute Inlet or the recommendations of the Johnstone- Bute Coastal Plan,” said Homalco Chief Darren Blaney. The Homalco First Nation meanwhile is successfully developing sustainable industries such as their bear watching services (see www.bearsofbute.com). Last year the Homalco First Nation and the Georgia Strait Alliance signed a partnership agreement to work collaboratively towards the restoration, protection and sustainability of Bute Inlet. For info: Eric Blueschke, eric@georgiastrait.org.

 

• Homalco Wildlife Tours is offering the services of their 32-foot vessel, the Chinook Spirit in 2005. It seats up to 12 guests in comfort, with special cushiony, adjustable air seating. The boat has an onboard washroom and offers complimentary beverages. Services include kayak transport, whale and grizzly bear viewing, passenger & freight transport and custom, year round trips. For more info, contact Homalco Wildlife Tours Ltd.: info@bearsofbute.com, toll free 1-866-234-BEAR (2327), www. bearsofbute.com.

 

• The new report “Diminishing Returns: An Investigation Into the Five Multinational Corporations That Control British Columbia’s Salmon Farming Industry” is a comprehensive study showing what a sick industry fish farming really is, including information on the BC Liberal government’s support for fish farmers and on numerous legal cases. Check it out at www.farmedanddangerous.org

 

• In December, the Canadian federal government turned down a proposed salmon farm at Raven Bay, Texada Island along the Sunshine Coast of BC. This application met strong opposition from key stakeholders, including residents of Texada Island who signed a petition opposing the farm, the Sliammon First Nation, the Georgia Strait Alliance, the Texada Island Chamber of Commerce, the commercial and sports fishing sectors, the eco-tourism industry, the Powell River Regional District and concerned citizens of Powell River and area. For info: Eric Blueschke, eric@georgiastrait.org.

 

• A company based in the United States and Newfoundland is seeking approval to supply Canadians with genetically modified salmon that grow twice as fast as normal fish. Aqua Bounty Technologies will ask Canada for permission to sell GM salmon for humans to eat. Biologist Jeff Hutchings, a member of the Royal Society of Canada expert panel on biotechnology said: “If those fish were to escape and reproductively or ecologically interact with wild populations, then there could be some severe detrimental effects to those wild populations.” Council of Canadians, say consumers will never accept genetically modified salmon: www.canadians.org.