Megan

“The service at the lodge and the hands-on friendliness of owner Valerie Hoperich. Valerie has been doing this for years and she brings a welcoming touch to the lodge that was not lost on many of the guests there. Little things like a warm bowl of homemade soup waiting for you when you came in off the boat were a huge hit.” -Shawn Arnold

Shawn Arnold of Fish Taco Chronicles has been great friends with Valerie and her family for over 20 years. Last season, he brought up eight friends from Orange County with him to catch the early bird fishing in June. Shawn wrote an article about his adventures in Sandspit that came out Fall 2022. This article features stories about his experience catching halibut as well as his favorite features provided by our lodge. Check out the link below to view the full article!

Fish Taco Chronicles Blog

Image by Daishi Naruse via Flickr

We’d like to believe the salmon think about us as much as we think about them, but for the salmon- it’s all about the herring!

The herring are critical to the Haida Gwaii ecosystem, keeping it all in balance. The First Nations of Haida Gwaii refer to them as an “indicator species” and “cultural keystone species”, greatly recognizing their importance. In the Haida Gwaii culture, herring are referred to throughout history as a valuable resource and are to be protected. Some say, with spring they signify the food season. Where life is coming back to Haida Gwaii.

The relatively shallow waters in Haida Gwaii, specifically, where Haida Gwaii Safaris goes to fish (in the Cartwright sound), are full of baitfish, including huge schools of herring, which provide perfect feeding grounds for the salmon. Each spring, they arrive by the thousands of tons to this pristine habitat on the B.C. coast, for their spawning ritual. Interestingly, they can spawn for years throughout their lifespan, unlike salmon. This is ideal for the hungry, homeward-migrating salmon, where herring is most of their diet. Each spring, the salmon begin their migration from the Arctic southward in March, and they arrive to Haida Gwaii by April.

Located right along the continental shelf. No matter where the salmon are headed home to spawn, they must all pass through Haida Gwaii. The salmon continue to migrate throughout the summer. Wave-upon-wave, feeding on the herring. Uniquely, Queen Charlotte Safaris offers a lengthier fishing season than most. Three cheers for the herring that bring our beloved salmon!

By Guest Blogger Elizabeth Kempton

Haida Gwaii Safaris is located in Haida Gwaii in the little town of Sandspit. Sandspit is on the east coast of Moresby Island. And if you didn’t know, we do all of our fishing off the west coast of the islands in Cartwright Sound. So how do we get there? Well, we definitely don’t go around the island, that would take way too long. Lucky for us, there is a channel that goes between the northern and southern main islands (Graham Island and Moresby Island respectively). This is the Skidegate Channel.

The Skidegate Channel

This channel is narrow, winding, and fairly shallow. The depth of the channel is greatly influenced the daily tides. Because of the constantly changing depths it can be difficult to navigate through, if not impossible, for typical fishing boats with outboard motors. Even up to a few years ago, we had to go out to fish and come back to the lodge with the tide to make sure it was safe to travel through the Skidegate Channel. This meant leaving to fish at different times every day and sometimes leaving to fish before the sun came up! But we now have an amazing fleet of jet boats, so our fishing times are no longer as influenced by the tide.

The travel from Sandspit to Cartwright Sound takes about an hour and it’s an incredible journey! The Skidegate Channel is a very scenic route, to say the least. The forests of Haida Gwaii go right up to the coasts, so the views from the boats are full of lush trees and little beaches. And not to mention all of the wildlife! Bald eagles often nest among the trees through the channel, and many can be seen flying and eating through this area. Deer and sometimes Haida Gwaii Black Bears can be seen on the beaches as well! The Skidegate Channel may be a long, winding journey, but we think it’s a journey well worth it.

Photo by David Gurr

Haida Gwaii Black Bears

Meet the Haida Gwaii black bear. These bears are endemic to Haida Gwaii. Meaning that they are not found anywhere else in the world! The Haida Gwaii black bear is a subspecies of the American black bear. They are considered the largest of the subspecies. Over time they have evolved to have a larger head, jaw, and molars to crack open crabs and barnacles more easily [1]. Unlike mainland subspecies of the American black bear, the Haida Gwaii black bears are exclusively black with tan muzzles.

They are omnivorous. Meaning they eat a mixture of shellfish, salmon, and greenery (including berries in the summer). They hibernate for three to five months during the winter and make their dens in hollow cedar trees or stumps. Females typically give birth in while they’re hibernating in January to two or three cubs before coming out of hibernation in April or May. Haida Gwaii black bear cubs stay with their mothers for about a year and a half before moving on to make a life of their own [2].

Ecosystem

Haida Gwaii black bears serve as a keystone species to the islands. Their presence has changed their environment. Their ecosystem would not function the same way without them. A large part of the bears’ diets include salmon. They tend to bring at least part of the salmon carcasses inland to the forests. As I stated in a past blog post about the difference between Chinook and Coho salmon, salmon carcasses release nitrogen and phosphorous into the environment as they decomposition. By bringing dead salmon into the forests, the bears are fertilizing the soil and promoting healthy plant growth [3].

The bears prefer to avoid areas on the islands that have high populations of people but will enter these areas when hunting or foraging. If you come across a bear on the islands, it is recommended by Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve to calmly leave the area. Bears typically will only attack people if they are startled or believe that their food source or cubs are being threatened [4]. They tend to prefer to mind their own business as they just want to live their lives and eat food like the rest of us!

[1] “Meet Haida Gwaii’s Black Bear.” Haida Tourism, accessed January 27, 2022, https://www.haidatourism.ca/news/blog-post-title-four-kp8hj.

[2] “Haida Gwaii Black Bear,” Bear Conservation. accessed January 27, 2022, http://www.bearconservation.org.uk/haida-gwaii-black-bear/.

[3] “Meet Haida Gwaii’s Black Bear.”

[4] Government of Canada Parks Canada Agency. “Bear Aware – Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area Reserve, and Haida Heritage Site.” May 8, 2019, https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/bc/gwaiihaanas/securite-safety/ours-bears-1.

1. Longer days

June has the longest days of Summer with more daylight than the later months. More time with the sun up means more time fishing, touring, and having fun!

2. Less rain

Not only are June days the longest, but they are also the driest in Haida Gwaii! We never let the rain stop us from our fun activities, but that doesn’t mean we don’t prefer to spend our time warm and dry!

3. Better fishing

The early bird catches the worm! Or fish! Salmon begin their yearly migration from the Bering Sea in March and arrive in Haida Gwaii by the end of April. June is the beginning of the fishing season in Haida Gwaii, so there has been little to no fishing pressure on the fish during this time. And who doesn’t want to be among the first to fish of the season when it’s even more likely to get an amazing catch?

4. Less crowds

Did you know the busiest month of summer travel is July? Beat the travel crowds and go on your summer trip early! There will be less people in airports, on planes, and in Haida Gwaii!

5. Greater chance of seeing whales

Humpback whales migrate from Mexico and California up to Alaska in the late spring. June is the tail end of their travels and many of them pass through Haida Gwaii during this time (“Humpback Whale”). Humpback whales also tend to stick to the coasts at the beginning of summers for feeding, and because it’s the beginning of the fishing season, there’s more fish for them to eat!

Although there is a small population of grey whales that live year-round in British Columbia, most grey whales migrate from Mexico to Alaska in late spring and can be seen passing through the west coast of Canada in June (“Grey Whale”). Grey whales feed on small invertebrates in eelgrass beds that grow abundantly around Haida Gwaii which makes the islands a great place for a lunch break in June (“Eelgrass Beds”).

6. Best chance of seeing all other types of wildlife

In addition to whales, there are many other types of wildlife that are commonly seen in June. In June, you might see a northern fur seal during its migration to Alaska for the summer breading season (“Northern Fur Seal”). Sitka black-tailed deer are typically born in late May to early June, so it is the most likely to see a baby deer with its mother in June (“Sitka Black-Tailed Deer Biology”). And the Haida Gwaii black bears come out of hibernation with their cubs in May and are most commonly seen in June (“Haida Gwaii Black Bear”). Did you know that Haida Gwaii black bears are endemic to Haida Gwaii and can’t be seen anywhere else in the world?

7. Father’s Day

Is there a better way to celebrate Father’s Day than by fishing? We don’t think so. Here at Queen Charlotte Safaris we know how to celebrate. For this June holiday we have fun games, specialty cocktails, and a delicious surf and turf dinner!

Sources

“Eelgrass Beds.” Oceana Canada, https://oceana.ca/en/marine-life/eelgrass-beds/. Accessed 25 Feb. 2022.

“Grey Whale.” B.C. Cetacean Sightings Network, https://wildwhales.org/speciesid/whales/grey-whale/. Accessed 25 Feb. 2022.

“Haida Gwaii Black Bear.” Bear Conservation, http://www.bearconservation.org.uk/haida-gwaii-black-bear/. Accessed 27 Jan. 2022.

“Humpback Whale.” B.C. Cetacean Sightings Network, https://wildwhales.org/speciesid/whales/humpback-whale/. Accessed 25 Feb. 2022.

“Northern Fur Seal.” NOAA Fisheries, 8 Feb. 2022, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/northern-fur-seal. Alaska, West Coast.

“Sitka Black-Tailed Deer Biology.” The Sitka Black-Tailed Deer Coalition, https://sitkablacktail.org/deer-biology. Accessed 25 Feb. 2022.