Northwest 小蓝视频 is frequently featured in travel magazines, touted as a place to visit before you die, in large part to see its abundant and varied wildlife. The region also faces increasing commercial and industrial 听development and natural resource extraction, which threatens species already struggling to survive.
The region is home to a dozen animals designated as endangered by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Species in Canada, an independent group of wildlife experts and scientists. The committee reports to Environment 听and Climate Change Canada, which decides if animals should be added to the official registry under the federal Species At Risk Act. Eight of 听those 12 animals have been officially designated under the act to date. Many more could end up on the list if the province continues to give the 听green light to projects that have the potential to impact their 听habitats.
According to the World Wildlife Fund鈥檚 , global populations of mammals, fish, birds, reptiles and amphibians have declined an average of 68 per cent between 1970 and 2016. This 听rapid loss of wildlife is often referred to as the sixth mass extinction event and the culprit, unlike the previous five, is us.
As human populations continue to grow and expand, critical habitat for animals is 听wiped out or fragmented, isolating populations into smaller and smaller 听groups. It鈥檚 getting busier in our oceans, as we import and export more 听products, and our seemingly insatiable consumption of natural resources 听means our forests, mountains and rivers are increasingly under threat. 听Industrial development sends greenhouse gas emissions into the 听atmosphere and contributes to climate change, which is wreaking havoc on 听animal species around the world.
鈥淗aving 听good biodiversity and good diversity within populations can help 听alleviate change,鈥� Pippa Shepherd, a species conservation and management 听ecosystem scientist with Parks Canada and a member of the committee, said in an interview. 鈥淵ou want diversity within a species and the diversity that exists among species, obviously, to be able to respond to听what is put in front of them.鈥�
Chris Johnson, also a member of the committee and a professor of ecosystem science at the University of Northern British Columbia, said a lot of good conservation work has been done in the province, but getting the wheels in motion to protect a species can take years.
鈥淔or me, a big priority is to see species at risk legislation in 小蓝视频,鈥� he said in an interview. 鈥淭he federal act only applies to species that are found across Canada and to be honest if a species was really abundant in another province and was at risk in 小蓝视频, it probably wouldn鈥檛 be assessed simply because nationally it鈥檚 doing okay.鈥�
Meet the 听eight officially endangered animals 鈥� and one familiar species in dire 听straits 鈥� relying on what remains of northwest 小蓝视频 landscapes for their 听survival.
Black swift
The black swift is a small bird that nests in caves and on rocky coastal cliffs, 听often setting up shop behind waterfalls to avoid predation. According to 听its description on the federal species at risk registry, the black 听swift could be profoundly impacted by climate change as decreases in the 听annual snowpack and glacial melt cause those sheltered sites to dry up 听and become exposed.
The bird 听is fast and acrobatic and feeds while flying. The swift鈥檚 diet consists 听of flying insects such as wasps, flies and beetles, as well as spiders听that catch rides on air currents. Conservative estimates suggest 10 per cent of insect populations worldwide are at risk of extinction, and this decline threatens the bird鈥檚 survival.听
Northern abalone
This shellfish was once an important food source for First Nations along 听小蓝视频鈥檚 coast, and the iridescent shells were used in ceremonial regalia. In the 1970s and 1980s, the abalone commercial fishery nearly wiped out 听the species, which has continued to decline despite a complete closure 听of the fishery in the 1990s. According to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 听less than one per cent of abalone spawn survive to adulthood and because 听adults gather to breed, they are highly susceptible to poaching. Like听other filter-feeding shellfish, they are also extremely sensitive to environmental changes and pollutants.听
In an 听effort to save the species, several First Nations in the region have 听been working to educate the public, prevent poaching and rebuild听populations.
Blue whale
As the largest animal on the planet, the blue whale is an iconic species. It 听was hunted to near extinction in the first half of the 20th century, and听the population was fragmented into three subpopulations 鈥� Antarctic, 听Atlantic and Pacific. The Pacific population that travels along 小蓝视频鈥檚 听north coast and into Alaska waters has fewer than 250 individuals.
Ship collisions are among the greatest threats to the species. 听As international trade continues to grow, more high-speed container 听ships are traversing the Pacific Ocean. Many ship strikes likely go 听unreported, or even unnoticed, and because blue whales typically sink 听when they die, it鈥檚 hard to gather accurate data. The International Whaling Commission is developing a database of known ship strikes to identify 鈥渉ot spots鈥� where whales congregate near shipping routes so ships can avoid them.
Like all whale species, the blue whale is at risk of entanglement in marine debris, such as abandoned or lost fishing gear. But scientists think blue whales can usually break free from most entanglements because of their size.
The blue whale feeds on krill by gulping vast amounts of water containing the 听tiny creatures and then pushing the water out through its baleen, leaving the food behind. This process also leaves behind microplastics. While the effects of ingesting microplastics are still not fully understood, potential impacts could include lower 听reproductive rates, decreased immune system function and increased vulnerability to diseases.听
Little brown myotis and northern myotis
The little brown myotis is the most common and abundant bat species in Canada. 听Known to roost in buildings and forage near human habitation, the bat is听familiar to most people in northwest 小蓝视频 Its cousin, the northern 听myotis, or northern long-eared bat, prefers old-growth forests for its听habitat and hibernates in caves, mines and tunnels.
Northwest 听小蓝视频 populations of these bats may represent a last stand of sorts, as 听both species succumb to white nose syndrome, a fungal disease from an 听invasive pathogen that is spreading rapidly across North America. At 听least seven provinces and 35 states have reported outbreaks, including 小蓝视频鈥檚 neighbour to the south, Washington. 听This is a big deal because eastern colonies have already lost 94 per cent of their population to the disease, which attacks the bats in hibernation.
Losing an 听animal that can eat over 1,000 insects an hour 鈥� including mosquitoes 鈥� 听would not only transform the ecological landscape but also the 听socioeconomic landscape. A U.S. study on the economic importance of bats as natural pest control in agricultural settings estimated losses of at听least US$3.7 billion 鈥� and that doesn鈥檛 include downstream costs as crops are sprayed with more pesticides and humans ingest those 听chemicals.
Basking shark
Basking sharks are the second-largest fish species in the world. Slow-moving 听filter-feeders, they can reach up to 12 metres long and 5,200 kilograms, 听which is just shy of the average weight of an African elephant.
Historically,听the sharks would gather in groups of up to 1,000 off 小蓝视频鈥檚 west coast. 听Once considered a nuisance by Pacific fishers plying their trade in 听those same waters, basking sharks were the target of eradication efforts听by the federal government from the 1940s to 1960s. According to the Fisheries and Oceans Canada recovery plan for the species, only 37 basking sharks were spotted in 小蓝视频 waters between 1996 and 2018.
The 听biggest threats facing these creatures are entanglements with marine 听debris and collisions with ships. Unlike blue whales, basking sharks, big as they are, don鈥檛 have the girth to free themselves from fishing听gear.
The 听species is slow to reproduce 鈥� females can take up to 20 years to reach 听maturity 鈥� which means the sharks need help now to avoid extinction. To 听that end, collaborations between government authorities, environmental 听organizations and scientists are underway. Janine Malikian, a 听communications adviser with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, told The 听Narwhal in an email that 小蓝视频 residents can help.
鈥淭he public can play an important role in helping the population recover by reporting any possible sightings of basking sharks and providing photographs to verify sightings.鈥�
North Pacific right whale
The North Pacific right whale is one of three distinct right whale subspecies. Its population is in the hundreds and some subpopulations may be under 50 听animals. While some of these subpopulations may still travel through听northwest 小蓝视频 waters, the last whale seen here was in 1970. There have 听been a handful of unconfirmed sightings since, but this population is on听the brink of extinction.
North Pacific right whales were once abundant along the west coast of North听America, in the waters around Hawaii, off the coast of Japan and in the 听Arctic waters of Alaska and eastern Russia. Starting in the mid-1800s, right whales were hunted to near extinction. Despite a 1937 ban on the 听commercial harvest of right whales by the International Convention for听the Regulation of Whaling, illegal whaling of the species continued until the 1960s.
In 2004, researchers identified a group of 23 animals 鈥� including two calves 鈥� in 听the Bering Sea. No right whale vocalizations were heard during acoustic surveys conducted in the late 2000s off 小蓝视频鈥檚 coast.
Sei whale
Sei whales are the third-largest whale species and, according to the International 听Whaling Commission, the least understood. Like many cetacean species, sei whales were hunted to near extinction during the heyday of commercial whaling in the Pacific in the 1950s and 1960s. There are 听fewer than 250 individuals that frequent Canadian waters. While there is 听an international ban on commercial whaling of the species, Japanese whalers still kill up to 134 sei whales every year under Japan鈥檚 scientific whaling program.
The Canadian government, in its conservation studies of the species, noted the danger of increasing shipping traffic from Kitimat as LNG projects are completed. Based on historical data, the report said the shipping 听routes from Kitimat likely cross critical sei whale habitat and 听highlighted spills and ship strikes as the main threats to the species鈥� survival.
Sockeye salmon
Sockeye salmon are not officially endangered, but some populations have already gone extinct and some subpopulations are under consideration for听designation on the federal registry. Many for at least 70 years.
SkeenaWild science director and PhD candidate at Simon Fraser University Michael Price said in an interview the call for salmon conservation has been听ongoing for a century. 鈥淎larms have been sounded decade after decade for听100 years.鈥�
In听northwest 小蓝视频, endangered populations include the Bowron, Takla-Trembleur and Quesnel. Both the Bowron and Takla have seen steady 听declines for years, but the annual catch of the fish has remained high. 听Marine and freshwater habitats are continually under pressure from ports 听and marine export terminals, mines and forestry. The Quesnel population听faces all those threats as well, but has the added potential threat of pollutants from the Mount Polley tailings dam failure.
Price said he鈥檚 often asked if he thinks sockeye will become extinct. 鈥淎t a 听species level, no, I think they will persist. They鈥檝e persisted for more than a million years, and look what they鈥檝e gone through.鈥�
But he said the implications of losing a spawning population are complex. He听noted that direct consumers of the fish like bears and wolves rely on salmon returns in multiple areas for sustenance. One population in a creek or river might provide a food source for two weeks and once that鈥檚 gone, those animals will put higher pressure on other tributaries. But 听it鈥檚 the loss of biodiversity in the ecosystem that has far-reaching effects.
鈥淪almon put on the bulk of their weight in the ocean and they鈥檙e bringing those nutrients back to aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, as those consumers 听bring them into the forest and provide nutrients for even the smallest 听of critters like insects, which fuel the annual 听migrations of songbirds,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o they鈥檙e entirely connected to the ecosystem. The loss of any of these individual spawning populations will be a diminishment of its biological community.鈥�
Price added that Fisheries and Oceans Canada has done a good job of protecting the species in recent years, but commercial fishing of salmon continues and the best solution might be a dramatic shift in the way we view the 听fish. 鈥淚 think there鈥檚 an argument to be made that, like we ended 听whaling in British Columbia, maybe it鈥檚 time we took a step back and 听stopped exploiting species such as salmon for economic gain, keeping those fish for the watersheds that they鈥檙e returning to and providing food for local individuals and local ecosystems.鈥�
Matt Simmons is a reporter with The Narwhal, where this article first appeared.
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