The T’Sou-ke First Nation on southern Vancouver Island and Victoria-based MarineLabs are working together in an effort to preserve and build up capacity for seafood harvesting. Marine Labs, has been collecting real-time data about the ocean to better understand what’s going on in the Sooke Basin and other areas it uses. Climate change has wreaked havoc on the area: increased temperatures both in the air and the sea have killed off marine life, including important traditional food sources for the nation; while extreme storms are becoming more common, something the nation’s leaders want the community to be better prepared for. T’Sou-ke Nation Chief Gordon Planes said. “Knowing a history of what’s been happening in the last few years will be able to really tell us where we are. It will set a foundation for the future.” Planes, who also goes by Hyakwacha, said he hopes the buoys will help detect an increase in shipping, reveal what environmental concerns exist and help determine what his First Nation can do to address and adapt to climate change.
