The health of Howe Sound has slowly been recovering over the past number of years, but according to conservationist Roy Mulder, unless more is done to protect the land, it could all be for naught.
Mulder, along with Dr. Chris Harvey-Clark of UBC, are inviting the community on Tuesday (Nov. 8) to the 撸奶社区Adventure Centre for a discussion on marine protected areas in B.C. and a presentation on the changing ocean environment in Howe Sound.
The two are president and vice-president, respectively, of the Marine Life Sanctuaries Society (MLSS) and Mulder said he hopes to let locals know just how special our nearby waters are.
"I've been scuba diving for 37 years and have been diving in Howe Sound for 22 years," he said. "I've seen fish stocks deplete in that period and it's pretty serious."
Mulder said he's seen some pretty incredible things in the water during his years exploring Howe Sound.
"Howe Sound has some absolutely unique features," he said. "Just recently we found some huge glass sponge beds that are just spectacular. We found huge swaths of them and it's pretty amazing. We also recently discovered some dwarf red gorgonian coral in Howe Sound. It's a coral that's never been seen in Howe Sound before.
"There's some really unique stuff in the waters but the challenge is to actually get the health to return without the protection to go along with it, that's just not possible."
Mulder said that the return of the pink salmon to Britannia Creek earlier this year was a nice sign, but more work needs to be done.
"There's some really nice indicators that progress is being made and there's a really good opportunity for Howe Sound to return to health," he said. "But the caveat is that can only occur if we create more conservation and protection in the waters."
He said the world is sorely lacking in marine conservation areas and he'd like to see changes in the way we protect our waters.
"I would designate at least 20 to 30 per cent of our waters as fully protected, no-take marine conservation areas," he said. "The challenge is the misconception that something being called a park is protected. Oftentimes nothing within the water column at a park is protected."
Mulder points out that the discovery of the aforementioned sponge beds in Howe Sound is similar to already-protected areas in Hecate Strait and he would like the same designation to come to Howe Sound.
"The very same sponges that are found in protected areas in Hecate Strait are found in Howe Sound," he said. "We're protecting this area off the coast of Canada that no one gets to see, but here we've got something next to the biggest population in B.C. and we're not affording it any protection. That's where the MLSS is coming from."
According to Mulder, people can expect to learn a lot about Howe Sound at the presentation.
"We want to educate people to the point that they understand that there is a need and what they can do to help create these protected areas," he said. "Conservation is clearly the solution to a lot of the problems we're having in our waters."
The presentation is scheduled to take place at the 撸奶社区Adventure Centre on Tuesday (Nov. 8) from 7 to 8:30 p.m., with admission by donation.
For more information on the MLSS, visit www.mlssbc.com.
