At the end of May, members of the ShoreZone team underwent helicopter training for our aerial surveys. The weather was great and the team had a wonderful time! The team has already been out in the field, conducting aerial surveys around Tofino in June.

Coastal habitats and salt marshes like Mermaid Creek in Sidney, BC are disappearing fast. Our case study reveals how current provincial coastal management is failing our ecosystems. We then suggest solutions that the Province can carry out under the BC #CoastalMarineStrategy. #bcpoli

Our coastal ecosystems are disappearing and our response is hindered. Thank you to WCEL for creating this case study to help inform a future #bccoastalmarinestrategy that protects our shorelines! @seachangemarine.bsky.social @wwfcanada.org @cpawsbc.bsky.social

Last month, ShoreZone team members were in Tofino conducting surveys in Clayoquot Sound, funded through DFO. This survey photographed and mapped 1,257 km of coastline 🗺️🚁 “It was such an incredible experience to go on my first ShoreZone survey in Clayoquot Sound!” said Helena, Mapping Technician

The K’ómoks Estuary is an important estuary in BC, supporting an abundance of bird, plant, & marine species, including all five species of Pacific salmon. With support from K’ómoks First Nation & Project Watershed, the RESS team has begun mapping the seafloor & scanning for debris by boat

@seachangemarine.bsky.social's eelgrass expert Sarah Cook, who is working to restore these vital habitats, shares why eelgrass is so important for marine life, coastal protection, and carbon storage. 🌎

June was an event filled month for us! SeaChange team members attended 8 different events that allowed us to reach hundreds of people to share about eelgrass, our work, and what everyone can do to help the ocean.

There are two species of eelgrass in the Salish Sea. Common eelgrass (Zostera marina) has thicker leaves & lives waters up to 7m. Japanese eelgrass (Zostera japonica) is an introduced species with thinner leaves & lives in shallower waters. 📷 @intertidalkendy.bsky.social

Check out this eelgrass isopod! Eelgrass meadows are home to an abundance of marine life, with some species being particularly adapting to blend in with the green eelgrass shoots. It can be challenging to spot an eelgrass isopod or Taylor’s sea hare. 📷 @intertidalkendy.bsky.social

🗓️🌊 Join us for our Ocean Career Fair event on June 4th, 2025 Why attend? 💡 Learn about diverse opportunities for your future. 👥 Take advantage of networking opportunities with professionals, employers, and academic institutions 🐟 Identify training, mentorship, and job opportunities.

In March of this year, we removed 1.48 tones of debris from Cadboro Bay and we aren’t done yet. We will be back conducting another underwater marine debris cleanup in Cadboro Bay from May 13 - 17th!

Have you ever seen eelgrass flowers before? 💛🌱 In late spring & early summer, yellow eelgrass (Zostera marina) flowers will bloom. Like terrestrial plants, these flowers need to be pollinated, which happens during tidal shifts! 🌊 📷 @intertidalkendy.bsky.social

🗺️🚁 Want to learn more about ShoreZone and how maps are used? Join us for the 2025 ShoreZone Partners Meeting. Our theme this year is ShoreZone in the Past, Present, and Future: Changes over Time. We will explore how ShoreZone has evolved, how it is currently being used, and what the future holds.

Marine debris removed from Cadboro Bay! The Resilient Estuaries of the Salish Sea (RESS) team was in Cadboro Bay in March to cleanup marine debris. We pulled 1.48 tonnes of debris from the sea floor, including a boat trailer, ropes, tires, and a mattress! 📷 Jamie Smith / Coastal Photography Studio

🚤 Our new boat is officially on the water! 🎉 Last month the Resilient Estuaries of the Salish Sea team got out on the water in SṈIDȻEȽ (Tod Inlet) to monitor water and sediment quality. They are looking at bacteria, nutrients, and heavy metals in the water, and heavily metals in the sediment.

Happy Earth Day! 🌊💚🌎 From kelp forests to salt marshes, each habitat is critically important for the health of the planet. Through initiatives like ShoreZone and Resilient Estuaries of the Salish Sea, we are working to better understand and protect ocean ecosystems.

Looking for some educational colouring sheets? The Resilient Estuaries of the Salish Sea Educational Colouring Book is finally complete! Want a copy? Send us an email at [email protected] with the subject line “RESS colouring book” & we will send you a PDF version to print yourself!

We have another coastal species spotlight for National Wildlife Week: Harbour seals 🦭 Harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) are one of the most widely distributed marine mammals, found in temperate and sub-Arctic coastal waters of the northern hemisphere. 📸 @intertidalkendy.bsky.social

Dive into the world of wolf-eels for National Wildlife Week 🐺🌊 Wolf-eels (Anarrhichthys ocellatus) are not actually true eels, though they closely resemble them. As juveniles, wolf-eels are orange in colour while the adults are dark grey! Adults can also grow to be 2.4 metres in length!

Have you ever seen an ochre sea stars from a helicopter? 🚁 These images were taken during a ShoreZone survey in the Gulf Islands back in 2021. Ochre sea stars are a common sight along the coast. They are usually purple or orange in colour and can be found throughout the intertidal.

👀 If you’ve been out for a walk on the beach recently, you may have noticed some herring eggs along the shoreline. Many of these eggs are about to hatch! 🐟 Photos by @intertidalkendy.bsky.social

At the end of January, RESS team members were on Galiano Island to collect water measurements and conduct tow camera surveys to see what is on the seafloor. The surveys were successful, and the team found that thankfully there wasn’t too much debris in the area! #ResilientEstuariesOfTheSalishSea

The Triple Island Lighthouse from the ShoreZone perspective! What else do we see here? Black lichen, barnacles, rockweed, green algae, red algae, brown algae, and bull kelp!

One of the signs of spring: The herring spawn! 🐟🌊 In early spring, Pacific herring spawn off the coast. Female herring lay their eggs on algae, eelgrass, and other objects. The males release milt, sperm, to fertilize the eggs. This milt turns the colour of the water into a dazzling turquoise!

We are conducting an underwater marine debris cleanup in Cadboro Bay from March 10 - 15th! A boat will be in the bay removing debris from the ocean floor to a dumpster and excavator located at the Cattle Point Park parking lot. Thank you so much for your patience as we get this work done!

A ShoreZone survey that almost didn’t happen.... Back in June 2023, ShoreZone was scheduled to conduct a survey out of Tofino for DFO but due to a wildfire, the highway was closed, restricting travel. The survey team used an alternate route to make it to the coast for the survey. 🗺️🚁 #ShoreZone

This week, SeaChange team members Susan and Phil were up in Qualicum to speak about eelgrass and the Resilient Estuaries of the Salish Sea (RESS) project at the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region (MABR) Education Centre. Thank you to everyone who attended and to MABR for this speaker series night!

It’s World Seagrass Day! 💚🌱🌊 Three species of seagrass can be found in the Salish Sea: Eelgrass (Zostera marina), Japanese eelgrass (Zostera japonica) and surf grass (Phyllospadix sp.).

Join us on Monday, March 3rd to learn about eelgrass at the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region speaker series. Learn about ongoing restoration & conservation efforts, how eelgrass meadows sustain salmon populations & enhance shoreline stability.

Flying over Gabarus Cove, Nova Scotia! 🚁🗺 On Cape Breton Island, there are several lakes right along the coastline, like Levers Lake and Harris Lake. Cape Breton Island is also home to Bras d’Or Lakes, an estuarine tidal lake that is connected to the North Atlantic Ocean.

Happy Valentines Day! Need some oceany Valentines? We got you covered! We made a few of these cards to shell-ebrate and share your ocean love 🐚🌊💙

The Resilient Estuaries of the Salish Sea project kicked 2025 off strong with biodiversity surveys & marine debris cleanups on Mayne Island! The team removed 790kg of debris from Horton Bay, including a toilet, tires, & mattress tops. #ResilientEstuariesOfTheSalishSea

Did you know that #ShoreZone conducted surveys in Alaska? In 2022, surveys were done over Kenai Fjords National Park for the Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Council & US National Parks Service. During this survey, we completed 1,596km of shoreline imagery.

The Salish Sea is home to 172 species of marine birds, including the Black Oyster Catcher (Haematopus bachmani)! These birds can been seen year round, often spotted foraging in the intertidal zone for mussels, chitons, crabs, limpets, and marine worms. 📷: @intertidalkendy.bsky.social

While we enjoy a snow day on shore, let’s talk about underwater snow! 🌨️🌊 Marine snow isn’t actually snow, but a term scientists use to describe dead organic materials, detritus, falling from the surface of the ocean to the depths. This process is also vital for the sequestration of carbon!

What did we accomplish last year? Let’s take a look! We are so grateful for the support from all of you & our generous funders. We couldn’t do this work without you! #SalishSea #MarineBiology

It’s not just the bears that hibernate during the winter, Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes personatus) do too! Pacific sand lance are a small forage fish species found in the North Pacific. They have over 100 known predators, including many sea birds & Chinook salmon. And these fish burrow in sand!

Hey BlueSky! 🌊 We are SeaChange Marine Conservation Society. We believe communities are the heart of conservation & restoration Our mission is to understand, conserve, restore, & manage coastal ecosystems in partnership with coastal communities & within the broader conservation collective