Oceana Canada

From Vancouver Island to Howe Sound, spawning herring hit B.C.'s waters The B.C. coastline is on the verge of one of its biggest natural events of the year: the annual herring spawn.

Each spring, billions of Pacific herring eggs blanket British Columbia’s coastline, turning the water a milky turquoise.
From February to April, the herring spawn unleashes a surge of life that feeds seabirds, whales, salmon, and coastal communities.
Learn more: www.timescolonist.com/local-news/f...

There are only around 380 North Atlantic right whales left (and only about 70 females of breeding age), making them one of the world’s most endangered whales. These whales can’t protect themselves, but you can help. Join us this World Wildlife Day: Oceana.ca/Join

Climate change is slowing southern right whale birth rate, 33-year study finds Southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) off Australia’s southern coast are having calves less often than they used to. A new study links this slowdown to warming water and shrinking sea ice in the...

A new study shows southern right whales are having calves less often, with longer gaps between births since 2015.
Researchers link the decline to warming oceans and shrinking sea ice, reducing the availability of food females need to recover after nursing.
news.mongabay.com/2026/02/clim...

Eelgrass looks much like the grass on your lawn; except it’s a common species of seagrass found in brackish waters. In British Columbia, up to 80 per cent of commercially important fish and invertebrate species rely on eelgrass at some point in their life cycle.
#WorldSeagrassDay

Did you know: Humpback whales were nearly wiped out by commercial whaling. Thanks to the International Whaling Commission’s 1985 moratorium, their numbers have rebounded to more than 80,000 worldwide!

YouTube video by Polar Bears International Rare Polar Bear Cub Adoption Captured on Video

In a rare family moment, a female polar bear was filmed adopting another’s cub. Scientists tracking over 4,600 individuals in the Western Hudson Bay subpopulation say this observation marks only the 13th known case of adoption.

Watch here

https://youtu.be/SsqUBvpk3S4?si=yXPOIqNaw6tuFeQH

Shrinking cold-water habitat means more whales get caught in nets, research finds | CBC News Humpback whales are more likely to get entangled in fishing gear in years when rising ocean temperatures make cold-water habitat harder to find, according to new research published Wednesday.

New research from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows rising ocean temperatures shrink cold-water habitat and increase humpback whale entanglements.
Learn more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/cold-water-habitat-shrinking-whales-caught-in-nets-research-9.7106170

DID YOU KNOW: Humpback calves “whisper” to their mothers.

According to scientists, this soft vocalizing is a clever safety strategy. The calves only make these sounds while swimming, helping their mothers keep track of them while avoiding unwanted attention from predators or other whales.

DID YOU KNOW: Kemp’s ridley sea turtles are the smallest sea turtles in the world. They also have a hooked, parrot-like upper jaw, called a “beak,” which sets them apart from other sea turtles found in Canada.

Learn more: https://oceana.ca/en/marine-life/kemps-ridley-sea-turtle/

From the Arctic to the Atlantic and Pacific, Canada’s oceans sustain wildlife, communities, and cultures. Protecting them is a responsibility we all share.
Join us Oceana.ca/Join

Meet the longspine thornyhead, a deep-sea rockfish adapted to low oxygen and extreme pressure. In Canada’s Pacific waters, it dominates life on the seafloor more than 800 metres deep.

Thick-billed murres live in large groups called colonies, which sometimes can reach sizes of more than one million adult birds. They can be found in these dense aggregations during the breeding season on coastal cliffs. Learn more: https://oceana.ca/en/marine-life/thick-billed-murres/

Meet the bushy-backed nudibranch, a fascinating sea slug named for the rows of bush-like structures and antennae along its back.
These antennae, called rhinophores, can help indicate the animal’s age, similar to counting the rings of a tree trunk.

From pods to schools to rafts, family comes in all forms.
Happy Family Day.

#14DaysOfOceanLove Atlantic puffins are monogamous throughout the nesting season, with some pair bonds remaining consistent from year to year. Pairs exhibit their bond by rubbing their bills together.

Marc Lefort has been fishing lobster and snow crab for 36 years. Over the past few years, he’s also been testing whalesafe gear technologies to help reduce the risk to endangered right whales.
Learn more: https://oceana.ca/en/2026/02/12/fishers-adapting-protect-endangered-right-whales
#WorldWhaleDay

Northern gannets form long-term pair bonds that can last for years. Each season, mates reunite through a ritual called “fencing”. This Valentine’s Day, learn more about marine life behaviours that celebrate love → https://oceana.ca/en/blog/ocean-love-stories-marine-behaviours-that-celebrate-love/

#14DaysOfOceanLove Male ghost sharks have a reproductive organ called a tenaculum on their forehead. During mating, the male attaches to the female’s pelvis and transfers sperm to her sperm sac, which she can store for later fertilization.

Last week, Canada rolled out its Whalesafe Fishing Gear Strategy. This came just days after an endangered North Atlantic right whale, known as Division, died from entanglement.

Watch right whale campaigner Hanna Vatcher break down what this five-year plan includes.

#14DaysOfOceanLove Among lobsters, a dominant male typically controls a territory and attracts multiple females. To signal reproductive readiness, females release urine containing pheromones toward the male. Once admitted to his den, a female molts her exoskeleton before mating.

#14DaysOfOceanLove During mating season, male cuttlefish compete for females by performing intricate displays of flashing patterns and postures. These “dances” help them showcase their strength, size, and suitability as a mate.

#14DaysOfOceanLove Some male deep-sea squids use a strategy known as “drive-by mating" slapping sperm packets onto any other squid of their species (male or female) before jetting away. This behavior may help them survive encounters with larger, potentially cannibalistic females.

#14DaysOfOceanLove Sea otters are polygynous, with males forming pair bonds consecutively with several females. During the summer and fall, breeding-age males leave male groups to establish exclusive breeding territories in female areas, then rejoin male rafts afterward.

#14DaysOfOceanLove Female snow crabs can only mate after their terminal molt, when their shells are soft and they are especially vulnerable. To secure a mating opportunity and protect the female, males may guard a single partner for days to weeks to ensure reproductive success.

14DaysOfOceanLove Male octopuses use a specialized arm called the hectocotylus to transfer sperm, sometimes detaching it to escape. After mating, males die within weeks, while females guard their eggs until hatching and then die. This life cycle is known as semelparity.

#14DaysOfOceanLove Narwhals, often called the “unicorns of the sea,” have a surprising courtship ritual. During mating season, males cross and rub tusks together, a behavior thought to show their size and strength to potential mates.

GOOD NEWS: Canada has released a new Whalesafe Fishing Gear Strategy, establishing a national framework to reduce deadly entanglements with whales while supporting sustainable fisheries.

Learn more: oceana.ca/en/press-rel...

#14DaysOfOceanLove The Venus flower basket is a delicate glass sponge that houses a pair of tiny shrimps inside its glass skeleton. They enter when they are young, but as they grow, they can no longer escape. The result is a lifelong partnership spent inside a natural glass home.

The federal government scored a win at the Federal Court of Appeal last Friday, which affirmed its 2021 decision to list “plastic manufactured items” as toxic.

Watch Anthony Merante, Senior Plastics Campaigner at Oceana Canada, explain why this victory is worth celebrating.

Big Oil is wrecking our seas & marine life is paying the price 🐬

We're working with scientists to lift the lid on the oil & gas industry’s dirty secrets, using marine strandings to expose the truth.

The data will speak for the animals that can’t.

🚫 End new oil & gas: https://bit.ly/490ZLPq