I have had the privilege and the responsibility as Fisheries minister and chair of numerous special committees to bring to government and those we elect an accurate picture of the beauty of the...
The Sea Among Us
The Amazing Strait of Georgia
Edited by Richard Beamish and Gordon McFarlane
The Strait of Georgia is one of the world’s great inland seas, a 6,515 square kilometre body of water lying between the British Columbia mainland and Vancouver Island. Rich in history, teeming with wildlife and marine traffic, the waterway is essential to British Columbians for food, jobs, travel and recreation. The sheltered shores of the strait are home to Canada’s largest seaport and over two-thirds of the province’s population.
The Sea Among Us is the first book to present a comprehensive study of the Strait of Georgia in all its aspects, featuring chapters on geology, oceanography, invertebrates and marine plants, fish, marine mammals, birds, and human history. Expert contributors describe how fjords formed, what the sea floor is made of, and why coastal BC is so prone to earthquakes; they advise on which jellyfish sting, how to tell the difference between Dall’s and harbour porpoises, and where to find whales; and they address how climate change and human impact could affect the strait, noting that though marine ecosystems are tough and adaptable, there are limits to this resiliency.
