Island Insider

Canada's National Observer is a proud participant of the Local Journalism Initiative, which supports the creation of original civic journalism that covers the diverse needs of underserved communities across Canada.

Rochelle Baker will be covering Quadra and Cortes Islands in British Columbia.

556 Articles

Ottawa to implement historic fisheries agreement with West Coast First Nations

Years of negotiation to develop a collaborative fisheries governance model between Canada and eight First Nations along the West Coast came to fruition this week.

Rochelle Baker

August 6th 2021

Sacred Journey exhibits rich history of Indigenous canoe culture

The canoe’s resurgence signifies more than reviving an essential means of transport, it conveys freedom and the enduring strength of First Nations and their resistance to colonization.

Rochelle Baker

July 28th 2021

Anglers and researchers delve into fish guts to save salmon

Squeezing out fish stomachs and poking through intestines may be distasteful, but it’s part of a collaborative effort by researchers and recreational fishermen to save endangered salmon and divine shifts to the marine food web as climate change advances.

Rochelle Baker

July 27th 2021

Green coalition challenges certification claims that Canada’s forestry products are sustainable

The Canadian Standards Association’s sustainable forestry designation is greenwashing harmful old-growth logging practices in B.C. and blatantly misleading wood product consumers, say those calling on the federal Competition Bureau to investigate.

Rochelle Baker

July 21st 2021

Mother of First Nations man shot by police confronts Campbell River RCMP

The family of the slain Wet’suwet’en man, Jared Lowndes, says RCMP remains a colonial tool to control and kill Indigenous people.

Rochelle Baker

July 21st 2021

Virus abundant in West Coast waters doesn’t appear to impact sockeye salmon fitness

The key mystery remains of why PRV causes disease and mortality in farmed Atlantic salmon in Norway or other regions differently than it does on the West Coast.

Rochelle Baker

July 20th 2021

B.C. expands safe supply to curb overdose crisis death toll

Fentanyl patches and injectable opioids will be prescribed as alternatives to deadly street drugs and be covered by PharmaCare as part of B.C.'s new safer supply plan.

Rochelle Baker

July 16th 2021

West Coast drought puts fish and forests in dire straits

The recent heat dome, forest fires, and now drought threaten the ecosystems and watersheds that wild salmon need to survive, says Jason Hwang of the Pacific Salmon Foundation.

Rochelle Baker

July 14th 2021

West Coast heat wave burned B.C.’s shellfish sector

The nasty irony is that shellfish farmers had already been hobbled by COVID-19, which shuttered restaurants and export markets last year.

Rochelle Baker

July 12th 2021

A billion tidal creatures likely baked to death in B.C. heat wave

The heat and the stench was staggering after masses of mussels, barnacles, clams, hermit crabs and starfish cooked to death at a number of Lower Mainland beaches, says biologist Chris Harley.

Rochelle Baker

July 8th 2021

Should DFO rein in sport fishing to help save salmon?

The federal government has failed to do enough to reel in the recreational fishery, which also impacts salmon returns, despite making historic and dramatic reductions to the commercial fleet on the West Coast, say conservation groups.

Rochelle Baker

July 8th 2021

Sudden deaths triple in B.C. amid unprecedented heat wave

A minimum of 486 sudden deaths occurred over the past five days after dangerously high temperatures gripped coastal and Lower Mainland communities in an unprecedented heat wave this week, the BC Coroners Service reports.

Rochelle Baker

June 30th 2021

Old-growth in contentious Fairy Creek region could be worth more standing than logged

Protecting old-growth forests near Port Renfrew could result in an additional $40 million in net economic benefits compared to logging as usual, according to a new study.

Rochelle Baker

June 30th 2021

West Coast cleanup nets over 200 tonnes of marine debris

A shocking 210 tonnes of flotsam and plastic detritus was removed over six weeks from a mere 300 kilometres of B.C.'s intricate 25,000-kilometre shoreline in a massive cleanup of the ecologically sensitive shores of the Great Bear Rainforest.

Rochelle Baker

June 28th 2021

B.C.’s new old-growth advisory panel 'a glimmer of hope' for ancient forests

The new panel will ensure the province is using the best science and data available to identify at-risk old-growth ecosystems and prioritize the areas slated for old-growth logging deferrals, said Forests Minister Katrine Conroy.

Rochelle Baker

June 25th 2021