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| ©The Globe and Mail |
| Bowie Seamount called an oceanic oasis because of the variety of life around it |
Vancouver - A jagged volcanic island that sank below the ocean off the West Coast around 15,000 years ago has been added to Canada's growing network of marine protected areas.
The Bowie Seamount, which has been called an "oceanic oasis" because of its rich marine life, jutted above the surface during the last ice age, but now lies 24 metres below the surface of the Pacific, 180 kilometres west of the Queen Charlotte Islands.
The pinnacles of the seamount, which are made of fragile volcanic rock, are richly carpeted with red and green seaweed and coral. There are dense schools of more than 20 species of brightly coloured rockfish living among the crevices, while passing species include dolphins, seals, Steller sea lions and several species of whales.
Greg Savard, director of ocean programs for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, said it took 10 years to designate the area because consensus had to be reached with provincial and federal governments, the Haida First Nation, environmental groups and commercial fishing interests.
He thanked the World Wildlife Fund for helping to move the process forward.
Vince Collison, a spokesman for the Haida, said he was thrilled that the Bowie Seamount has become Canada's seventh marine protected area.
"It's a very exciting day for the Haida Nation," he said. "Any time there's a partnership like this and it's taken as long as this ... it's a very monumental event."
The submerged volcano is the shallowest seamount in the northeast Pacific Ocean. It rises from a bottom depth of 3,100 metres. If it were on land, it would stand 600 metres higher than Whistler Mountain.
Brian Fuhr, a scuba diver who works as a land planner for the province in Smithers, is one of the few - perhaps the only - recreational diver ever to explore the remote seamount.
He said when he looked over the side of his boat he thought he could see the bottom. But as he swam down he realized it was a vast cloud of rockfish.
"The place is just full of life," he said. "It's very cool."
Mr. Fuhr said because it is so far offshore it is unlikely that the Bowie Seamount will ever become a popular diving spot. But those who go there will never forget it.
"It's a dive of a lifetime," he said.
Marine Conservation: Bowie Seamount
The Bowie Seamount is an underwater mountain, formed by volcanic activity. It has been declared a Marine Protected Area by Fisheries and Oceans Canada under the Oceans Act because it is home to a rich variety of marine animals and plants.
The base is 3,000 metres below sea level. If on land, Bowie would stand about 600 metres higher than the summit of Whistler Mountain
The summit comes within 25 m of the surface. Bowie Seamount was likely an island, well above sea level, during the last Ice Age.
A clockwise current around the seamount brings cold, nutrient-rich waters wellingup to within 85 m of theocean's surface. The abundant food source supports a thriving marine community.
Probably the shallowest seamount in Canada's Pacific coastal waters.
53ยฐ18'N
135ยฐ39'W
Home to many
The shallow waters of Bowie are a meeting place for deep water, oceanic and shallow subtidal coastal species.
There are at least 158 different organisms on the seamount and in surrounding water including:
Cnidaria ............................................................TYPES
(anemones, jellyfish, hydroids) 7+
Mollusca
(snails, octopus, squid, bivalves ) 6
Arthopoda
(barnacles, crabs, copepods) 30
Echinodermata_(sea stars, sea cucumbers) 6
Chondricthyes
(sharks, skates) 7
Osteichthyes
(flounders, soles, rockfish, sculpins) 53+
Aves
(albatrosses, auklets, puffin, petrel) 16+
Mammalia
(seals, sea lions, dolphins, whales) 8+
Other Marine Protected Areas
Eastport Peninsula, Bonavista Bay, Nfld. Coastal water protected to sustain and enhance local lobster fishery.
Gilbert Bay, Labrador Coastal waters support resident population of genetically distinct Atlantic cod.
Basin Head, PEI Coastal lagoon is home to unique type of Irish moss and supporting ecosystem.
The Gully, Nova Scotia (east of Sable Island) Submarine canyon is home to coral communities, dolphins and northern bottlenose whales
Endeavour Hydrothermal Vents (250 km. southwest of Vancouver Island) Active zone hosts one of highest levels of microbial diversity on Earth.
Musquash Estuary, Bay of Fundy, N.B. One of region's last ecologically intact salt marshes undisturbed by humans.
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