Great Bear Sea

In the seas off the Great Bear Rainforest, humpback whales feed by releasing a circular curtain of bubbles beneath a school of herring, trapping the fish and pushing them upwards. The whales follow the fish and break the surface with open mouths.

Steller, or northern, sea lions are the largest of all the sea lions, reaching a length of three metres (10 feet) and a maximum weight of 350 kilograms (770 pounds). The population off the coast of British Columbia and nearby Alaska has declined by 50% since the 1960s, resulting in these sea lions now being listed as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act. One theory for this dramatic decline is the overfishing of ground fish, an important prey item.

The sunflower sea star is one of the most voracious invertebrate predators in the world. Its preferred prey is the red sea urchin, which is usually a rather sedentary creature. However, when this giant sea star is on the prowl, the sea urchin quickly springs to life and tries to crawl to safety at surprisingly great speed.

The seas of the Great Bear Rainforest are home to more than 75 species of jellyfish. This dense school, though, is made up mainly of just two species: the lion’s mane jellyfish and the moon jellyfish.

Despite its name, the North American river otter also forages in the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean. It prefers to hunt fish and a single animal can consume up to 1.5 kilograms (3.5 pounds) in a single day. A river otter’s metabolic rate is 50% higher than that of a similar-sized land mammal, which accounts for the high daily intake of calories.

Considered to be the world’s most delicious crustacean, the Dungeness crab is an important food source for the Gitga’at First Nation. Schoolteacher and Hartley Bay councillor Cameron Hill pulls up one of his traps filled with crabs.