August 20th

Disaster struck Robson Bight this morning as a large barge transporting heavy machinery capsized in the reserve emptying its cargo into the depths resulting in a fuel spill over 8 km long! Robson Bight was established as an ecological reserve back in the 198o's when it was discovered to be a hub of activity for the resident orcas during the summer months. The scale of this disaster has yet to be gauged, but can perhaps be best illustrated by the diverse wealth of wildlife living in these waters. Today alone we were privileged to encounter eight different types of marine mammal, this included the resident orcas, transient orcas, a humpback whale, a minke whale, harbour porpoise, Dall's porpoise, Steller sea lion and harbour seal. A fuel spill like this can take months to clean up and have a huge effect for the environment and the wildlife in it. A clean-up mission is currently underway which will hopefully minimise the damage already done and set in place procedures to make sure this never happens again.