Observing Interactions Between Pacific Harbour Seals (Phoca vitulina richardii) and Recreational Fish Cleaning Practices throughout Greater Victoria

This project is designed to provide a baseline dataset for fish processing stations on Southern Vancouver Island. From this dataset, researchers aim to identify broad-scale trends in nearshore marine systems and identify future research needs. Main objectives of the project include monitoring both seal behaviour and fish waste subsidies near these recreational fish processing stations in order to assess the nearshore ecological impacts of fish carcasses and waste products. To achieve these objectives, fish carcass consumption by seals, daily seal activities, fish processing methods, vessel traffic, and raw estimates of carcass matter entering the water are documented in this project. Expected outcomes of the project include an improved understanding of seal feeding preferences, developing a baseline for subsidy patterns in recreational fisheries, enhancing knowledge about human-mammal interactions, and producing recommendations for ongoing research needs in these understudied and highly developed nearshore marine systems.

Faculty Supervisor:

Francis Juanes

Student:

Partner:

Wildlife Conservation Society Canada

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Other services (except public administration); Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

University of Victoria

Program: