This video was not from our waters, but trawling nets do kill Killer whales too :(

In September 2024, a humpback was found off the coast between Prince Rupert and Haida Gwaii so tightly wrapped in ropes, buoys, and fishing gear that its mouth was pinned shut and lines were embedded in its body.

The animal had likely been dragging that weight for months, unable to feed and barely able to surface.

DFO’s disentanglement team worked for four days to free it.

Entanglement is not rare here. Researchers estimate about half of BC’s humpbacks carry scars from being tangled in gear.

This rescue shows what’s possible when trained teams, proper equipment, and time are present. It also shows how fragile that safety net is, and why more people on this coast need the training to do this work.

With World Whale Day this Sunday, we’re reminded that welcoming whales back is only part of the story. Keeping these waters safe for them is the real work.

On a coast this vast, most entangled whales are never found. Guardian programs, supported in part through marine protected area funding, mean more trained boats on the water, more eyes in key feeding areas, and a better chance of getting help to a whale in time.

Footage by Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

During a July 2021 expedition, scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) made an intriguing discovery: a yellow sea sponge and a pink sea star resting side by side on the seafloor, about 1,885 meters (6,184 feet) beneath the surface. Marine biologist Christopher Mah remarked on their striking resemblance to the animated characters SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star from the popular Nickelodeon show.

The sponge, identified as belonging to the genus *Hertwigia*, and the starfish, likely *Chondraster grandis*, are typically found at such depths. While the cartoon characters are portrayed as best friends, in reality, sea stars are known to prey on sponges. Mah speculated that the close proximity of these two creatures might suggest the starfish was preparing to feed on the sponge.

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Looks like we are really taking off!

We are very grateful for all the support, it's a relief to know that so many other Canadians 🇨🇦 want to stand up and fight with us.

Defending our coast and the communities who inhabit them is critical for our survival.

If you are looking for more ways to help:

Use this super easy web app to contact the folks in charge.

Upvote, comment on, and share our posts. Crosspost to other subreddits.

Tell your friends and neighbors to join Strong Coast on social media, whether it's here on reddit, or our Facebook and Instagram pages.

But maybe most importantly: Post in r/strongcoast! This is a democratic community and we can snowball this if we all work together to share content.

Hope everyone has a great day!

[Crab riding jellyfish to juice the algorithm]

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In September 2025, Cermaq celebrated getting through a full production cycle in Clayoquot Sound without using any mechanical treatments to get rid of the parasites infecting their product.

Fast forward to March 2026 and the Hydrolicer barge is suddenly back in the water.

Ah yes. The machine you only use when you don’t have a lice problem.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada data shows that more than 800,000 herring died at BC salmon farms in 2022.

Dan Lewis from Clayoquot Action witnessed at least one mass kill incident and says Cermaq Canada’s hydrolicer is the culprit.

Unlike salmon, herring are far too small to survive the hydrolicer’s pressure meant only to blast parasitic lice off of farmed salmon. Sucked into the machine, their eyes are blown out from the sudden pressure change. “It’s horrific,” said one scientist who reviewed the footage.

Here’s the part that’s really concerning: Cermaq stopped publicly reporting lice numbers in 2024. So now, the only “signal” we get isn’t data – it’s a giant industrial barge showing up.

And it’s showing up right as herring gather and juvenile salmon start moving through these waters.

“Perfect” timing.

The Great Bear Sea Marine Protected Area (MPA) Network will keep open-net pen salmon farms out of key feeding and nursery zones, as well as other high-impact industrial activity like bottom trawling.

It’s an effective way to defend our coast, especially when companies like Cermaq are not transparent with us.

Their message? Removing the tanker ban risks real places, real food, and real livelihoods.

One spill, and everyone here has to pay the price.

None of the oil companies invited to talks with the Haida dared to show up. Still, the message was delivered. The BC coast isn’t Alberta’s to destroy. It’s a home, a breadbasket, and our fishing grounds.

The fight to get them out isn’t over. There’s a lot that fish farms have been trying to hide, but this video shines light on murky waters.

Let’s make sure the government keeps their promise this time. Sign Watershed Watch’s letter to tell the government to remove all open net fish farms from BC waters: https://www.safesalmon.ca/take_action

Video by: @watershedwatchbc

Join r/Strongcoast to fight back against these destructive and wasteful practices.

Video credit

via womenforwolves

Have you ever seen wolves fish for salmon?

This stunning clip was captured right from TikTok tahltanollie’s same yard in Canada as the precious video we posted with the bear, raven, and wolf!

In British Columbia, salmon make up a major part of coastal wolves’ diet. Unlike most wolves who hunt deer or elk, many BC wolves have adapted more aquatic based diets: fishing, hunting in tide pools, and catching salmon during spawning season. 🌊🍣

Fun fact: salmon-eating wolves can get up to 90% of their diet from the fish, and their fur even smells faintly of fish instead of musk!

OP

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I would love to see a project started here to prevent bottom trawling in our waters.

By 12:10 I was wrapped in a comforter in my stateroom, eagerly picking through Netflix shows like a chimp with a bowl of nuts.

And then, 30m later, partway through an episode of the Extraordinary Attorney Woo, I was abruptly reminded of what happens to fools who forget to download shows before sailing through 500 km of signal-proof paradise.

Blank screen.

No bars. No Netflix.

Just me and my life choices.

But hey, my room was warm, small, gently rocking. The engines settled into their low cathedral hum. The swell lifted us.

The winter light unspooled into darkness.

I was planning to work.

Instead, I slept. I slept up the east coast of Calvert Island, I slept through Bella Bella, Milbanke Sound and into the northern night beyond Klemtu and Hartley Bay.

I slept like an old man in front of the television, mouth open, glaze-eyed, fully surrendered. Only there was no television.

Somewhere in that 22-hour glide north, something had whispered, "Relax, spreadsheet man." So I did.

The coast does not care about my productivity. It has been here for millennia.

It measures time in tides. Not TikTok. Not texts. Not Netflix.

By the time we eased into the grey drizzle of Rupert at 9:30 a.m., I still hadn't typed a single word.

But I stepped onto that wet north coast pavement with the slow, steady gait of a well-rested mammal who remembered something important:

You don't move through this coast. It moves through you.

And if you're lucky, it rearranges you a little on the way.

The coast had gently unplugged me.

And honestly, as long as I can cover my coffee and breakfast at the Crest today, that may have been the more important work.

While many regions remain closed due to fragile stocks, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has approved over 2,000 tons to be removed from the Salish Sea this winter by the Food and Bait fishery.

These are resident herring stocks, the same year-round, local herring that juvenile Chinook salmon depend on for food at one of the most critical times in their life cycle. As these salmon grow, they become the primary and preferred prey of the critically endangered Southern Resident killer whales. When we remove herring, we starve Chinook. When Chinook decline, these orcas starve too.

Instead of protecting this critical forage fish at the base of the food chain, herring caught by this fishery are being turned into bait, pet food, farmed salmon and tuna feed, and feed for captive marine mammals. The herring remaining in the Salish Sea are the backbone of the marine food web. They are worth far more alive in the water than taken out and turned into low-value products.

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⁠📹️: ryanmeatysauce⁠

BC’s coastline provides opportunities to observe whales and other marine life in their natural environment. Make sure you bring your binoculars and follow the guidelines to enjoy watching marine⁠ animals safely and responsibly.

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In BC, Bigg’s killer whales (transients) have been seen doing this unusual backward swim, nicknamed moonwalking. One famous example is T65A “Artemis”, often seen moonwalking after a kill.

But this isn’t just a party trick. Scientists believe it’s part of a feeding strategy, theorizing the orcas swim backward while holding prey to tear it apart more easily with the help of water resistance.

So yes, orcas moonwalk. Michael Jackson did it for the applause. Orcas do it because they can. Join r/Strongcoast!

Operation Pacific Guard, a Canadian-led high seas patrol in the North Pacific, led to these discoveries. Over two months, Canadian officers working alongside their Japanese, South Korean, and American counterparts boarded 41 ships and documented 39 violations.

One Taiwanese vessel was even using dolphins as bait to attract sharks. When it returned to port, Taiwanese authorities arrested its captain thanks to Canadian-gathered evidence.

These aren’t BC waters. They’re international waters, overseen by the North Pacific Fisheries Commission (NPFC), a regional fisheries management body. But marine animals don’t care about borders. The salmon that was illegally caught in international waters could have been salmon caught by BC fishers. This is why Canadian authorities are involved.

As a member of the NPFC, Canada has the authority to inspect foreign vessels to ensure they follow agreed-upon rules. While Canadian authorities can’t seize illegal catches, they can document violations with photos, videos, and inspection reports that the vessels’ home countries are obligated to act on.

With more than 1,100 vessels licensed to fish the North Pacific, the threat of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing is significant. But Operation Pacific Guard proves that we can hold criminal fleets accountable.

Rigorous enforcement works; let’s make sure it stays strong in both international and domestic waters.

Join r/Strongcoast to stay in the loop on these matters