#sensitive ecosystems

Friday Jun 7, 2019

A fuel slick spotted in the waters of Burrard Inlet Friday afternoon is unrecoverable, according to the Coast Guard.

The fuel was discovered streaking from the area of Stanley Park's Brockton Point Lighthouse all the way into Coal Harbour Marina at around 1 p.m.

The slick passed directly through the Chevron Barge, though officials said the gas station wasn't the source of the spill.

Coast Guard environmental response officers were dispatched the area to assess the situation, and determined the fuel came from "a vessel transiting from the fuel dock to its moorage in Coal Harbour."

"The product on the water was determined to be an unrecoverable sheen," a Coast Guard spokesperson said in an email.

Source: https://twitter.com/brockmclaughlin/status/1209937140827582464

“It really shows the importance of studying these systems,” he said. “Although these events may happen naturally, when compounded (with) all the other pressures — a warming ocean, pollution, overfishing, sea level rise — the species has reduced resiliency.”

In 2016, anchovies were seen in “phenomenal numbers” in Howe Sound, likely as a result of El Niño’s warming impact on West Coast waters, a Vancouver Aquarium biologist said at the time.

Massive schools of the fish were also reported off California coast in 2014.

According to the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the northern anchovy is easily recognized by its long upper jaw. The fish, which can reach 25 centimetres in length, are coloured blue-green on the back and have a silver belly and sides.

Anchovies are a good source of food for other species.