Established in 1996, the Howe Sound Research and Conservation Group (HSRCG) support the efforts of the Vancouver Aquarium’s Fish Research Team with an annual pledge of $1,000 per donor.  Under the direction of Dr. Jeff Marliave, researchers conduct natural history studies, baseline documentary work, and monitoring of depleted groundfish stocks, enabling the Vancouver Aquarium to help enhance and protect marine life. 

Howe Sound

Adjacent to Downtown Vancouver, Howe Sound is one of North Americas southernmost fjords.  With waters up to 800ft deep Howe Sound is rich in biodiversity, being home to more than 650 different species of fish and invertebrates.  Howe Sound was one of the first regions in BC that experienced depletion of groundfish stocks (rockfishes and lingcod).  Along with depletion of fish stocks Howe Sound is faced with other issues such as pollution from pulp mills and mining.  There has been little biological monitoring of Howe Sound as a whole, making comparisons difficult as to the extent that certain species have been harmed.   

The Fish Research program has integrated laboratory rearing of fish and shrimp from local marine waters with natural history study of these species in the field. Aquarium research in Howe Sound has included long term monitoring of boot and cloud sponges, the re-introduction of black rockfish, annual surveys of lingcod spawning and juvenile spot prawns, rockfish monitoring and conservation, as well as efforts to photo-document the nature of Howe Sound's underwater habitats. Read more about some of the projects the HSRCG helps sponsor.

The support of the HSRCG is shared between the integrated laboratory and field efforts of the Fish Research Team. Since the inception of the HSRCG, the success of the laboratory propagation program has become unprecedented (see a list of successful propagations). This success not only results in further scientific documentation of early life histories, but provides specimens which make the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre a producer, rather than a consumer, of aquatic wildlife.  The Fish Research Team at the Vancouver Aquarium is the only continuous field presence monitoring Howe Sound, and is the only continuous program in the entire Strait of Georgia region.

Video

Watch the video of a "Sunflower Star Landslide" recorded recently by Aquarium research diver Donna Gibbs.

Contact

For more information about HSRCG and fish research at the Aquarium please contact Kevin Kaufman: kevin.kaufman@vanaqua.org