Blue Futures Pathways Expedition: Newfoundland and Labrador – Update 4
On Tuesday, we sailed through Placentia Bay. We were able to launch the remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) we built on the ship. It was really exciting to see what’s under the water using a tool we built ourselves!
In this part of the expedition, we welcomed Kendra MacDonald, CEO of Canada’s Ocean Supercluster, on board. Kendra shared about the opportunities within the Sustainable Blue Economy. From ocean mapping and fish-waste processing to artificial intelligence, there are many points of entry for young people interested in the ocean sector.
“One of the challenges of the ocean economy is that most Canadians don’t understand it, don’t pay attention to it, and don’t understand the opportunities and risks in it,” Kendra said.
She said that too often, conversations about sustainability separates activities on land from activities on the water. But it’s important to have a more holistic perspective.
“We need to have a full planet conversation about sustainability,” she said.
From there we sailed to Witless Bay Ecological Reserve. Interpreter Chris Mooney met us on the ship and shared about the reserve, which hosts the largest Atlantic Puffin colony in North America (over 260,000 pairs!). It’s also home to the second-largest colony of Leach’s Storm-petrels in the world, and thousands of Black-legged Kittiwakes and Common Murres.
Many researchers track the birds who come to nest in the four islands of the reserve. Tracking seabirds’ behaviors, movements and population help scientists understand changes in the environment, as the seabirds follow the fish they feed on or catch diseases like the avian flu.
“Right now the Atlantic ocean is 7 percent warmer than last year,” Chris said. “We’re seeing birds that should not be here showing up because of climate change.”
Since the ecological reserve was created in 1983, it has brought controlled tourism to the area, creating an economic base for the surrounding communities. The town of Witless Bay welcomes visitors from all around the world who want to see birds and whales in the area. They come to take part in the Puffin and Petrel Patrols program facilitated by CPAWS-NL. These patrols started as a community tradition to help puffins and Leach’s Storm-Petrels that become stranded in nearby towns like Witless Bay during fledging season.
That afternoon, Kianna and Kaylee took some time to share their experience on the expedition and perspectives on climate change at the virtual UNITAR Global Indigenous Youth Summit on Climate Change.
On Wednesday evening, we arrived in St. John’s, back where we started. To carry out the tradition from previous expeditions, the team created a mural on the ship’s hangar. We ended the evening by sharing reflections, hearing a Mi’kmaq traditional song from youth participant Connor, and seeing some videos and photos taken throughout the journey.
“It was really heartwarming at the end to hear how people who perhaps thought they knew what the Sustainable Blue Economy was found out that it was so much more,” said Tara Mascarenhas, SOI’s Director of Programs who is part of the expedition management team.
“We’re all connected to the ocean and bodies of water.”