British Columbia's giant glass sponge reefs in Hecate Strait are considered one of the greatest wonders in Canada's oceans, but if the Canadian government doesn’t change plans for managing the area around them, the reefs could be seriously degraded from bottem trawling fishing. 50% of the reefs have already been destroyed by bottom trawling.
Sediment from bottom trawling could be transported onto the sponge reefs and suffocate them, caused by the rise and shift of sediments that clog and smothers the sponges. Glass sponge reefs are living organisms that pump water through their bodies in order to breathe and feed. They also shelter other endangered species like rockfish.
Thought to have gone extinct with the dinosaurs, these reefs are a living “Jurassic Park Submerged". In 2010, the federal government declared the reefs as an “Area of Interest” for a new marine protected area (MPA).
Tell the Federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to ban bottom trawling in the area surrounding the proposed Marine Protected Area and protect the world's only sizeable glass sponge reefs.
The Honourable Keith Ashfield Minister of Fisheries and Oceans
House of Commons
Parliament Buildings, Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
CA
British Columbia's giant glass sponge reefs in Hecate Strait are considered one of the greatest wonders in Canada's oceans, but if the Canadian government doesn’t change plans for managing the area around them, the reefs could be seriously degraded from bottem trawling fishing. 50% of the reefs have already been destroyed by bottom trawling.
Sediment from bottom trawling could be transported onto the sponge reefs and suffocate them, caused by the rise and shift of sediments that clog and smothers the sponges. Glass sponge reefs are living organisms that pump water through their bodies in order to breathe and feed. They also shelter other endangered species like rockfish.
We ask the Federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to ban bottom trawling in the area surrounding the proposed Marine Protected Area and protect the world's only sizeable glass sponge reefs.
