Pacific Rim

Posted by John Blatchford May 19, 2008

I was recently fortunate enough to visit Vancouver Island. My friends in Nanaimo have a unique knowledge of the wildlife, since Paul has been involved in forestry for many years and has spent hours alone in some of the remotest areas.

Long Beach

As a European I found the scale of things in Canada overwhelming at first. Long Beach, for example, is much bigger than anything I have ever seen in Britain (although Scarista Beach on the Isle of Harris, where I once lived, comes close!) – but where I would expect to find driftwood there were hundreds of entire tree-trunks. Where I would expect to find a little detached seaweed along the strand line there were enormous piles of Bull Kelp (up to 30 metres long!).

Wickaninnish and Giant Barnacles

Further south along the beach there are rocky outcrops near the low-water line, here I found the creature of my dreams – Balanus nubilis, the Giant Acorn Barnacle. This huge barnacle (over 3 inches tall and more than 4 inches across!) had me chuckling with delight. I managed to resist the temptation to take one away with me, but only just. They are so big that they were roasted and eaten by First Nation people in the past, and I would love to know what they taste like!