After years of contamination, waters at Victoria International Marina now thriving
Grade 3 students from Willows Elementary School visited the the Victoria International Marina on Wednesday morning for some hands-on learning. It was a lesson on how a healthy marine ecosystem can be restored after years of human-caused damage.
Fourth-year University of Victoria marine biology student Kea McKay played tour guide for the day.
“I’m hoping to take them dock fouling, which is where you lean over a dock and look at all the marine life that's growing underneath,” said McKay.
Life under the docks has become abundant.
“There has just been this burst of wildlife that has come,” said McKay.
It is a rebirth five years in the making.
“This area was mainly used as a boom yard,” said Craig Norris, CEO of the Victoria International Marina.
In the early 1900s, industrial operations saw the seafloor covered with metres of bark Mulch. It would stunt any sea life from growing until a new marina had a different idea for the waters below.
“All of that has been stripped out,” said Norris. “We went right down to the marine clays and it was repopulated with sands and gravels."
Large reef balls were sunk to the ocean floor to provide a habitat for plants and crabs. That attracted seals and, in December, those seals brought some hungry transient orcas into the harbour looking for lunch.
“That was probably something that was very common over 100 years ago and it’s really nice to see that we’re doing the work that is necessary to provide the atmosphere for them to come back,” said Norris.
With sea life now flourishing below the marina’s docks, the international marina has thrown out an invite to UVic’s Marine Sciences Department.
“We have a chance to get some field work in and study the marine life in this area,” said McKay.
Work typically done in Bamfield can now be completed in the university's own backyard.
“To have something in downtown Victoria was so huge for all of us,” said the UVic student.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
LIVE B.C. seeks ban on using drugs in 'all public spaces,' shifting approach to decriminalization
The B.C. government is moving to have drug use banned in 'all public spaces,' marking a major shift in the province's approach to decriminalization.
Air traveller complaints to Canadian Transportation Agency hit new high
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid says he has Bell's palsy
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament.
AFN chief says Air Canada offered a 15% discount after her headdress was mishandled
After the Assembly of First Nations' national chief complained to Air Canada about how staffers treated her and her ceremonial headdress on a flight this week, she says the airline responded by offering a 15 per cent discount on her next flight.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.