Emerging Issues in the Salish Sea Series
The Emerging Issues series highlights recent science and scholarship about the shared waters of the multinational Salish Sea. The papers present, discuss, and communicate transboundary issues in a free and accessible format to reach a wide audience.
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Basking Sharks in the Salish Sea and Greater Northeast Pacific
Kelly Bushnell
For around thirty million years, basking sharks (Cetorhinus maximus) have filter-fed on plankton across Earth's oceans. They once gathered in aggregations of hundreds (some estimate thousands) on the west coast of Vancouver Island, and individuals were common throughout the Salish Sea until an eradication program sponsored by the Canadian government in the 1950s-60s drove the species to near extinction. This paper provides an overview of the historical population data and changing cultural attitudes toward basking sharks in the Salish Sea and greater Northeast Pacific, and lays out the possibilities for conservation and recovery.
Whales Without Borders
Chloe V. Robinson
Ocean Wise
Whales and their prey in the Salish Sea are not currently afforded sufficient protection due to a combination of limited cross-border cooperation, gaps in legislative protection, and governmental authorities disregarding established legal frameworks. For Southern Residents in particular, lack of protection due to these factors is likely to result in extinction, based on the current trajectory of this population. However, enhanced protection of whales and their prey is possible within the Salish Sea with identifying and developing unified pathways. Through learning and reflecting on current strategies on either side of the border, a greater understanding of legislative processes between both countries can be achieved, which in the long-term will facilitate more cohesive and robust environmental protections. The Salish Sea is a biologically unique and ecologically valuable inland sea, and enhanced cross-border cooperation and legislative alignment will support conservation of marine species that exist in this special region.
Reconcili-action in Higher Education
Liz McLane, Tegan Keyes, Nick Stanger
The Salish Sea Institute just released their 9th volume of their Emerging Issues in the Salish Sea Series: Reconcili-action in Higher Education. Increasingly, universities have been seen as sites for practicing decolonization work. Examples include the introduction of Land-based curricula, tribal relationship building, and the offering of critical Indigenous studies courses. However, universities remain spaces with deep colonial foundations. This paper summarizes a recent publication in Higher Education, by the same authors, offering a description of the challenges and insights gained through attempted decolonial reconcili-actiona work within this imperfect environment. We critically examine the conception, implementation, and lasting impact of a course offered at Western Washington University.
Climate Change in the Salish Sea Region
Aquila Flower, Xi Wang, Natalie Furness, Emily Laura Bradford
Climate change has already altered temperature and precipitation patterns around the globe, and these effects are projected to intensify over the 21st century. While this is a global phenomenon, the rate and specific patterns of change vary regionally. Locally focused analyses are therefore crucial for understanding and preparing for regional climatic changes. Unfortunately, many tools and reports that explore climate change are focused either on the whole globe or on a specific country or other political jurisdiction. This is a particularly significant problem for transboundary regions such as the Salish Sea, in which the full scope of regional climate change can only be understood through cohesive data and maps spanning the U.S.-Canadian border. Until now, no comprehensive assessment of climate change in the Salish Sea region has been available.
Centering Community Values in Marine Planning
Fiona Beaty
Maps are important tools in the management of marine resources as they illustrate everything from shoreline features to natural resources and hazards, political boundaries and more. However, they rarely include data about the human dimensions of the ocean*, such as place-based values and cultural relationships with places and species. These data are crucial to consider, yet often overlooked, when maps are used to inform decisions about ocean access and management. This study illustrates a local and Indigenous-partnered approach that centers community values and knowledge in early marine planning stages.
Mega-Project Impacts
Natalie J.K. Baloy and Isabella Pipp
The Roberts Bank Superport, run by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, is expanding with the approved Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project, but faces legal challenges from Ecojustice and the Lummi Nation over environmental and Indigenous consultation issues. These cases highlight deficiencies in federal environmental assessments and Indigenous consultation processes, with the Lummi Nation's case potentially transforming the approach to industrial development and transboundary environmental impacts in the Salish Sea.
Evidence-Based Hope
Dr. Elin Kelsey and Ginny Broadhurst
The Salish Sea Institute hosted hope scholar Elin Kelsey for events focused on promoting evidence-based hope and countering the prevalent doom-and-gloom narrative about climate change. These events included a 2 ½ day environmental leadership workshop, various speaking engagements at Western Washington University, and community interactions, with insights drawn from Kelsey’s book, "Hope Matters," exploring the impact of climate emotions and doomism on environmental action and mental health.
Urbanization & Forage Fish
Jesse Morin, Blake Evans, and Meaghan Efford
Indigenous people and government bodies often clash over acceptable ecological impacts due to differing historical and cultural perspectives, with Coast Salish peoples like the Tsleil-Waututh Nation (TWN) viewing recent historical fisheries records as insufficient compared to their ancestors' harvests. This contrast leads to the argument that ongoing negative impacts on marine resources are underestimated, resulting in mismanagement by Canadian federal and provincial governments, and highlighting the need for Indigenous knowledge to correct misleading conservation baselines and objectives.
Supply Chain Narratives
Derek Moscato
A proposed marine container facility in British Columbia presents a narrative of economic opportunity and expansion for Canadian government and industry, and simultaneously has raised serious concerns in the transboundary Salish Sea watershed region about issues of sustainability, biodiversity, community impacts, and tribal rights. This two-pronged narrative underscores a disconnect between the aspirations of Canada’s federal government and the growing environmental concerns articulated by local and also transboundary constituencies in the Salish Sea watershed.
Salish Sea Governance
Jacob Jones, Peter Keller, and Eileen van der Flier
Jurisdiction over the Salish Sea marine environment is a shared responsibility involving multiple levels of government in Canada, the United States, and the many Coast Salish Tribes and First Nations that call this land home. Asymmetry in constitutional authority between British Columbia and Washington has resulted in challenges with coordinating marine management efforts today.
Noise & Killer Whales
Rob Williams, Cindy R. Elliser, and Ginny Broadhurst
Vessel noise disrupts the behavior of many marine animals, interfering with essential processes like communication, navigation, mating, and feeding. As vessel noise is now the dominant source of anthropogenic noise in the world's oceans, including the Salish Sea, there is a critical need for a carrying capacity study to determine acceptable noise levels that allow marine life to thrive.