Sunken fishing boat removed from orca habitat near Victoria
A 15-metre fishing boat that sank and leaked oil in a critical orca habitat east of Vancouver Island has been removed from the water.
The Canadian Coast Guard confirmed Friday the vessel Aleutian Isle was lifted from the water onto waiting barge. The vessel went down on Aug. 13, coming to a rest in about 60 metres of water with about 10,000 litres of oil and diesel on board.
Five crew members were rescued as the vessel took on water near San Juan Island in Haro Strait, about 25 kilometres east of Victoria.
Crews rushed to contain an oil sheen from the boat before it could foul a key feeding ground for endangered southern resident killer whales.
The area is protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act because it's a popular fishing spot for the orcas. Chinook salmon, the whales' main prey and a species facing its own survival challenges, swim along bluffs on San Juan Island, creating a feeding channel for the orcas.
Crews recovered the vessel earlier this week, floating it to the surface to assess and drain any remaining pollutants from the boat.
The coast guard said Friday there was "no impact to Canadian waters or shorelines during the salvage operation."
A large seine net that floated free of the fishing boat after it went down was recovered and divers also pulled up several panels of a second net that was floating in about 30 metres of water.
Marine crews from both sides of the Canada-U.S. border took measures throughout the salvage operation to deter any whales from venturing near the wreck.
- With files from The Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.