|
Seamounts are underwater mountains that form through volcanic activity. They
rise steeply from the ocean floor, but do not reach the surface, and represent one
of the most common types of deep sea geological features. Many seamounts support
rich biological communities including fish, birds and other marine life. Recent
scientific exploration suggests that there may be as many as 50,000 seamounts greater
than 1,000 metres in height in the Pacific Ocean alone.
Bowie Seamount is located 180 kilometres west of the Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte
Islands) in the northeast Pacific, off the coast of British Columbia. Also known
by the Haida as Sgaan Kinghlas, which means "Supernatural Being Looking
Outward," Bowie Seamount is probably the shallowest seamount in Canada's Pacific
waters. It rises from a depth of approximately 3,000 metres to within 24 metres
of the sea surface. By comparison, if Bowie Seamount were on land it would stand
approximately 600 metres higher than the summit of Whistler Mountain. The marine
Protected Area in the vicinity of Bowie Seamount will give protection to a complex
of three offshore seamounts – Bowie, Hodgkins and Davidson Seamounts.
The Bowie Seamount area measures approximately 55 kilometres long and about 24
kilometres wide for a total spatial area of 6,122 kilometres. Bowie Seamount is
relatively young, having formed less than one million years ago, and scientists
believe it was an active volcanic island during the last ice age.
The area is known to support a rich biological ecosystem; a result in part from
peculiar interactions with ocean currents, which play a role in transporting animals
to seamounts, and are essential to the long-term maintenance of these communities
as well.
It is abundant with a rich food source of phytoplankton and zooplankton, the
microscopic plants and animals at the base of the marine food webs, which attract
and support a thriving marine community. Many species of fish including rockfish,
sablefish and Pacific halibut, as well as a wide variety of birds including the
black-footed Albatross, fork-tailed and Leach’s storm petrels share the Bowie Seamount
habitat. Larger marine animals such as the Pacific sleeper shark, wolf eels, squid,
Steller sea lions and many cetacean varieties such as the Pacific white-sided dolphin,
Dall’s porpoise, Orca, humpback and northern right whales also congregate around
Bowie. There are also high densities of crab, sea stars, sea anemones, and sponges.
Seamounts, due to their small size, fragile nature and geographic isolation,
are extremely vulnerable and require protection to ensure their continued survival.
In Canada, there is growing recognition that marine protected areas have a critical
role to play in the conservation and protection of marine life and their habitats.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and the Council of Haida Nation have signed an
agreement to work together on the planning and management of the Bowie Seamount,
a proposed Marine Protected Area (MPA) under the Oceans Act.
The Oceans Act defines a marine protected area as a coastal or oceanic
area given special status in order to protect and conserve the plants and animals
that live within it. This agreement moves the process one step further towards designation
of the area as the second Marine Protected Area on the Pacific Coast of Canada.
There are currently six MPAs in Canada.
|
