HEAT MARINE WILDLIFE MASSE SERIES

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On the right, a close up reveals the ochre sea star (Pisaster ochraceus) prying open a mussel to feast on its lunch. This intertidal zone displays a variety of life from sea stars to sea grasses, kelp, anemones, limpets, chitons, barnacles, snails and mussels. As we continue to face the many challenges ahead, I chose to imagine that we will meet them with #OceanOptimism and offer these basic observations as a way forward. The big question arises: What are we to do? The mind reaches for “lessons learned,” pathways forward and “building back better,” but how much can we truly control?Īt Ocean Conservancy we continue to rally around #OceanOptimism, the resolve that in order to protect the ocean from today’s greatest global challenges we need to have the courage to face daunting environmental threats head on and encourage governments, corporations and individuals to take action. Walking the nearby shores this week, some littered with dead mollusk shells, clams and mussels crunching under foot with barnacles baked on the rocks, the perils we face seem daunting.

HEAT MARINE WILDLIFE MASSE SERIES

And across much of the Northwest and central United States, another series of heat waves are looming, threatening to set off who knows how many chain-reactions of adverse effects. Unfortunately, now less than one month after the shellfish mass-mortality event in the Pacific Northwest, health advisories warn of record-breaking shellfish poisonings across Washington state, likely due to the heat dome priming the waters for shellfish-borne contagions. Scientist believe that the death of these animals will likely affect water quality in the area. Left gaping on the rocks, many of these mussels and barnacles show the outcome of being ‘baked’ in the extreme heat. We know, too, that respecting the natural world, telling its stories and recognizing its many gifts are cultural treasures that sustain us. From the humble barnacles, limpets, periwinkles, mollusks and anemones busying themselves along the intertidal shores to the mighty orca plying the swirling currents, a healthy Salish Sea is integrally linked to the survival and well-being of us all. The living creatures on our shores and in our waters have nourished Indigenous and colonial families and their descendants in the Pacific Northwest for generations, but their significance goes far beyond being just a source of food. The Coast Salish people have stewarded the lands and waters in this area since time immemorial. And in some instances, they are helplessly bearing the brunt of our consumerism.

Orcas, salmon and oysters are among the sentinels of environmental change in this area. This heat wave was linked to the deaths of hundreds of people throughout the Pacific Northwest, and I can’t help but wonder about the safety of some of the iconic touchstones of my childhood as well. Thanks for signing up for Ocean Conservancy emails.Īccording to a recent report from a team of international climate researchers, though higher temperatures in this region are not unusual during summer months, the perilous “heat dome” event that lasted five days in late June was not only extreme, but “would have been at least 150 times rarer without human-induced climate change.”Īs a life-long resident in this region, I found it both alarming and bizarre how quickly the heat dome seemed to descend upon us and how unprepared and ill equipped even we humans are for such extreme heat events.

Heat marine wildlife masse