Race Rocks Marine Protected Area

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The Race Rocks Marine Protected Area is a marine ecological reserve in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Started in 1978 as a marine science project by the students of Lester B. Pearson College under the supervision and guidance of their teachers, Garry Fletcher and Marks McAvity, it became ecological reserve #97 under Provincial B.C. Parks protection. In 1998 it became a Canadian Marine Protected Area designate. It is managed by the staff and students at the college, and is available as a resource for research and education.

An extensive website linked below (1) racerocks.com has been created to provide access to the educational resources of the protected area.

Race Rocks Ecological Reserve
Race Rocks Ecological Reserve

Located at a narrow part of the Strait, the area covers 3 square kilometres of ocean, rocks, and reefs, but does not include the small envelope of land with the foghorn and the Race Rocks light tower itself. That area is leased by the Canadian Coast Guard.

Because of the location in a high current area, there is an exceptional variety of marine life to be found, including marine mammals, sea birds, fish, marine invertebrates, and marine algae and sea grass. A detailed taxonomy and species database referenced below (4) is maintained on the site

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There are also live video feeds from Race Rock, with remotely operated cameras, and a videocam archive available from the website.

In 2006 and 2007, the Integrated Energy system was installed at Race Rocks, with solar energy and tidal currents powering the energy needs of the island.


[edit] External links

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