2022 marked the 13th year of eelgrass monitoring by the Mayne Island Conservancy. One year ago, in December of 2021, we reported a shocking decrease of 26% in the area covered by eelgrass since 2009. Through the spring and summer of 2022 our staff selected nine eelgrass beds to monitor, Read more…
The water is like a dark flat mirror, and I can almost feel the first rays of the sun waiting to dash over the horizon. For now, the bright light of day has yet to disturb the quiet of the pre-dawn. My kayak lies before me, straddling the ocean’s edge Read more…
The Mayne Island Conservancy is pleased to have participated in the purchase of Edith Point, and in ensuring that it is protected forever! The Graves family, who owned the point for almost three decades, consulted with Michael Dunn, Executive Director of the Conservancy, over a number of years, discussing options Read more…
It is autumn and hundreds of gulls are flocking to Active Pass, feeding off the annual flood of plankton. If you stand on the Miners Bay Dock and watch as they twist and turn and plunge into the water, you might notice two bald eagles swooping in amongst them, their Read more…
It feels like just yesterday when a video of a writhing bucket of oversized polychaetes marked the first catch of the light trap project at Miners Bay. Whether or not that video was the best marketing choice to attract citizen scientists is up for debate, but despite (or because of?) Read more…
The ocean bioluminescence that we see in the waters around Mayne Island are created by dinoflagellates: tiny, single-celled plankton. There are thousands of species of dinoflagellates throughout the oceans of the world, and most of them reproduce asexually. It is assumed that dinoflagellates light up when disturbed to intimidate or escape predators.
The intertidal zone is the area of shore between the lowest and highest tides. From sea stars to tidepool sculpin, an amazing array of different creatures call this harsh environment home.
Despite very wet, cool weather, 90 dedicated volunteers participated in the annual Mayne Island Beach cleanup, held on Sunday, May 15th. A big thank you to all the beach cleaners, captains, and depot crew that came out on Sunday, and also thanks to those of you who have picked up Read more…
From the scuttle of shore crabs to the spray of clams, the intertidal zone is always teeming with new and exciting life! We visited Piggott Bay with the Mayne Island School at low tide to see what we could discover, and the beach did not disappoint. After navigating rocky crevices Read more…
New Addition to Miners Bay If you’ve been to the Miners Bay dock in the past couple of weeks, you might have noticed something new in the water. Our light trap has been deployed and will stay floating beside the dock until this September. Not to be confused with a Read more…