![]() We’ll try not to hangout down wind for too long, but it’s a smell you won’t forget! They also eat octopus! When they are all hauled out together, the fishy sea lion smell is congregated in one place and multiplied. Steller sea lions eat lots of different types of fish including salmon, herring and cod. You know when you are downwind from a Steller sea lion haul out site, and the best thing to do is just breath it all in. They need to eat a lot of fish to sustain their body weight. It’s not just the bulls that are huge, the females can weigh up to 1000lbs. The average adult male, or bull, Steller sea lion can weigh up to 2,500lbs. Steller sea lions are the biggest sea lions in the world. These are all words that we hear from guests when viewing Steller sea lions, and yes, they are all those things. “So we’re waiting to see what happens this year with the herring,” said Sirois, who called Pacific herring a “foundation species” on coastal British Columbia, saying their diminishing numbers are a concern.īirds, larger fish, otters, seals and about 400 humpback whales that populate the Salish Sea over the year feed on herring, its juvenile species and eggs, Sirois said.HUGE, smelly, loud, funny, curious. Sirois has seen herring balls at Ogden Point this winter with fish up to 20 centimetres long - much larger than the usual 12- to 15-centimetre length. The recent sighting of a horned puffin - not usually seen in these parts - feeding at Ogden Point with about 50 rhinoceros auklet sea birds is also a sign of a healthy population of herring, said Sirois. Such large numbers, he said, are usually seen in the Hornby Island and Denman Island area, where there is a herring fishery. Sirois said flocks of “tens of thousands” of gulls have been spotted in the Otter Point area recently, and there are big flocks around Victoria’s outer harbour and breakwater. ![]() The 2022 spawn off the Fisgard Lighthouse and the south end of Esquimalt Lagoon was the best in more than a decade, he said. Sirois said the sea-lion gatherings and massive flocks of gulls are telltale signs the area might be seeing another herring spawn in March that’s similar to or better than the spawn a year ago. “Now there are signs that we do have herring in the area again.” “I think it’s safe to say we only have about 10% of the herring we used to have,” said Sirois. Fishermen used to line the Craigflower Bridge as the fish swam through the Gorge Waterway, and large balls of herring were common off the waterfront. ![]() He said large amounts of herring have all but disappeared from Greater Victoria waters over the past few decades. The emergence of an abundance of herring around Greater Victoria is encouraging, said Sirois. Hundreds of pinnipeds are also gathering and hauling out at Race Rocks, off Metchosin. Steller sea lion bulls can weigh up to 1,500 kilograms, said Tucker, while the California sea lions average about 400 kilograms. Most of those at Trial Islands are males, which migrate north from Oregon and California to feed around Vancouver Island. He said California sea lions are especially vocal with their barks. Research scientist Strahan Tucker said herring are a chief food source for sea lions and seals and a plentiful supply will keep them around certain areas for long periods. He said it’s the first time he’s visited Trial Islands when mammals outnumber the birds, “so that’s pretty amazing.”Ī healthy population of herring is what’s causing the crowd of pinnipeds to stick around, said Sirois.ĭepartment of Fisheries and Oceans officials agree. Since then, we’ve had four or five sea lions here, but nothing like this.” “The last time sea lions were waking people up in the morning was 1997. “We haven’t seen anything like this for over 25 years,” said Sirois. The sound is even audible up the Lansdowne slope and around Mount Tolmie and beyond, before morning traffic hits the roads.īiologist Jacques Sirois, a volunteer warden at the Trial Islands Ecological Preserve, counted 150 California sea lions, five Steller sea lions and 300 harbour seals on a kayak trip around the rocky shores late last month. The clatter carries throughout Oak Bay, waking people in the pre-dawn hours. The locals are calling it the Sea Lion Symphony.Įvery morning since early December, hundreds of California sea lions, Steller sea lions and harbour seals have been hauling out at Trial Islands off Oak Bay and letting loose with a cacophony of growls and barking.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |