TALES FROM THE FRONT LINES OF RECOVERING SPECIES AT RISK...

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE ENCOURAGING

Laurie Convey, a resource management biologist at Fisheries & Oceans in Canada’s Pacific region, has been leading recovery efforts for several threatened aquatic wildlife, from whales to abalone and sea otters. It’s a tough job, where the setbacks discourage and the rewards, at times, seem small.

Other times, a breakthrough occurs and with that, hope for recovery of a species. Take the case of the threatened northern abalone. Abalone is a mollusc found in B.C.’s marine waters. Its numbers have drastically declined since the 1970s. A complete harvesting ban was imposed in 1990, and in 2003 abalone became formally protected as a threatened species under the federal Species at Risk Act. Killing, harming, harassing, capturing or taking abalone is prohibited. But the sad reality is northern abalone populations continue to decline and their future is uncertain.

“It’s the poachers. The ongoing harvests, that is the biggest factor working against abalone,” says Convey. “Abalone rely on being close together to spawn, so if you even take just a few from the group, you can accidentally drastically reduce their spawning success.”

That’s why her team has focused so much on ending this lucrative poaching. There’s a toll-free line designated for reporting suspicious activities out in the ocean (1-800-465-4336). Fisheries & Oceans gives high priority to any reports it receives of abalone poaching. DFO does enforcement patrols. They have dogs and handlers visit airports and ferries, sniffing for signs of poached abalone. “We’ve also had fisheries officers in the market, attempting to buy abalone in the marketplace. We also have genetic testing capability, an ability to differentiate the northern abalone from the Mexican abalone and others. The illegal market will often have taken the meat from the shell, or dried the meat, so that's when the genetic testing becomes really valuable,” says Convey.

“The other thing we’re doing that’s extremely important is our community activities. People are raising awareness in the communities, and we’ve developed an Abalone Coast Watch program. We’ve had a lot of support from the First Nations communities, and when they’re out food fishing on the water they keep an eye out for suspicious activities and call our toll-free number.”

The diligence has paid dividends, in the form of a major break late last winter. Working from a tip, for three days and four nights, BC Fishery Officers hid in the bushes along the shoreline near remote Port Edward. Finally, in the dark night, they watched poachers offload dozens of large sacks from a fishing vessel onto a pickup truck. What followed was the biggest bust of illegally caught abalone in the nation’s history: about 11,000 northern abalone. The animals were returned to the ocean, the men arrested, and the fishing vessel and truck impounded.

Convey releases tagged abalone. PHOTO : DFO

Meanwhile, Native Canadian groups have rallied behind the cause to save the northern abalone, a species with deep cultural and historical significance to many Aboriginal coastal communities. “It’s a success story I find very encouraging,” says Convey. Stewardship groups, many of which are from Aboriginal communities, have joined forces with DFO’s team to improve the abalone's spawning success. Hundreds of thousands of abalone larvae have also been raised by these groups and, once the juvenile abalone is strong enough, they are planted in the ocean.

Helping out, DFO researchers have been tagging abalone and then monitoring the abalone’s movements to see what these mollusks consider prime habitat. It’s a lot of work, but one that’s showing promise in the quest to restore abalone.

All in all, the story of northern abalone is turning into one of hope and cooperation. Hopefully, as poaching diminishes, the effervescent abalone will again shine brightly through B.C.'s shallow coastal waters.

*TOP PHOTO : DFO biologist Laurie Convey, leading the Northern Abalone Recovery Implementation Group, assists her team by recording tagged abalone numbers and locations, trying to assess residency and whether rehabilitaton efforts will be successful. CREDIT : DFO