While out with divers at Prison Rocks this afternoon, we were treated to various spectacles, including a gull standing on the water (above) and Eskil doing his internal assessment work (below).
We also saw one tugboat, then a second tugboat come around William Head followed by a frigate, the HMCS Ottawa. The frigate was being escorted and assisted by the tugboats as she headed to the Navy dock in Pedder Bay. The Ottawa certainly dwarfed our Pearson College sailboats!
Some very sad news to report about one of the ocean’s strongest and most passionate advocates, Rob Stewart. He died last week while exploring the depths off the Florida Keys.
Pearson College Marine Science students did have the chance to meet and hear Rob Stewart speak when he came to Victoria five years ago, in February 2012. See photo below and link.
Article in Globe and Mail by Paul Watson.
Article in Outside on ‘What happened to Rob Stewart?’
His courage and dedication to conserving marine organisms and ecosystems will live on in his films and all of the people that he inspired. Thank you Rob!
After learning from Ivonne yesterday that there was a dead sea lion at Weir’s Beach and after getting permission from DFO, first and second year Biology students participated in a necropsy of a California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) this morning.
Above is how we found it initially yesterday (31 January 2017) – apparently the sea lion washed up on Weir’s Beach, headless, on 20 January.
We began the necropsy by opening up the abdominal cavity.
We excised the liver, stomach and small intestine.
Several students worked on stretching out the small intestine then they measured it to be 51.7 m long!
We then moved into the thoracic cavity, after cutting through the blubber and thick, dark red pectoral muscles.
The heart, right lung and and trachea were removed and examined by students.
We were blasted by sand and a bitterly cold wind throughout, but students remained engaged & interested. An amazing opportunity!
The photo below is my favourite – Emily is holding the mesentery in the wind.
See Flickr page for many more photos.
Pearson College Marine Science 