Ocean Outfitters Tofino Adventures

This month, the @wildernesstourismassociation launched their #BellyUp campaign in partnership with tourism operators across British Columbia to save wild salmon - and everything that depends on them - from open-net pen fish farms. Wild salmon form the backbone of this coast ecologically, culturally and economically. If Canada doesn’t get the open-net fish factories out of BC waters, the wild salmon will disappear forever - and so will orcas, bears, wolves, old growth forests, indigenous culture and all tourism jobs. Help us turn things around. Visit bellyupBC.ca to show your support for BC’s tourism industry and say NO to open net fish factories. 🙇‍♂️@modestwhale 🎥 @nicole.holmann with wildlife footage from @jeremy_mathieu_photographie

It’s that time of year again 💪 Biannually, we perform regular safety training programs with our staff. During these training drills, the entire Guide Team comes together to discuss and practice various scenarios such as Man/Woman over board, abandon ship, fire, loss of power, and towing. We believe in keeping these skills sharp, fresh and regularly practiced so that when you step aboard one of our vessels your Tofino adventure is in good hands 🙌

It’s time for our weekly Sustainability Spotlight! This week, meet Strawberry Isle Marine Research Society's previous Executive Director, Michelle Segal. SIMRS is a group of naturalists dedicated to conducting long-term research and monitoring, providing emergency marine mammal response, and educating the public about marine ecosystems. Thank you Nate Laverty for the video and Strawberry Isle Marine Research Society for all that you do! We’re so proud to donate our profits to such incredible partners. We’ll be posting weekly Sustainability Spotlights in hopes that it energizes you, invigorates your week and inspires you to take action!

IIt’s time for our weekly Sustainability Spotlight! This week, meet Dan Lewis from Clayoquot Action. Clayoquot Action Clayoquot Action is a Tofino-based conservation society working to protect the biocultural diversity of Clayoquot Sound. Specifically, their work focuses on getting polluting fish farms removed from Clayoquot Sound. If you’ve seen the Get Wild! sticker around Tofino, then you have seen the work of Clayoquot Action, in action! Get Wild! is an educational program, fully funded by Ocean Outfitters, with the goal of protecting wild salmon, by encouraging people to ask for and purchase only wild, not farmed salmon. Thank you Clayoquot Action for all that you do! Video: Nate Laverty

It’s time for our weekly Sustainability Spotlight! This week, meet Bob Hansen from WildSafeBC. Wild Safe BC is the provincial leader in preventing conflict with wildlife through collaboration, education and community solutions. WildSafeBC provides information on how we can reduce human-wildlife conflicts in all aspects of our lives, including how we live, work, play and grow. Thank you Wild Safe BC for all that you do! Video: Nate Laverty

In case you hadn’t heard, for the next 2 months we are going to be posting weekly “Sustainability Spotlights” every Monday! These call-outs will feature a number of different environmental non-profits we partner with here on the coast that are working towards protection and health of Clayoquot Sound through a variety of initiatives. This week we are excited to feature Raincoast Education Society ! Their mission is to shape an environmentally sustainable future for the Clayoquot and Barkley Sound region through education and community stewardship. They work to deliver a broad range of high-quality educational and interpretive programs such as field school, speaker series, summer camps, school programs, and events focused on the natural environment, cultures, and communities of the Clayoquot and Barkley Sound region. Thank you Nate Laverty for the video and Raincoast Education Society for all that you do! We’re so proud to donate our profits to such incredible partners. We’ll be posting weekly Sustainability Spotlights in hopes that it energizes you, invigorates your week and inspires you to take action!

In case you hadn’t heard, for the next 2 months we are going to be posting weekly “Sustainability Spotlights” every Monday! Last Friday the Department of Fisheries and Oceans announced that all 19 salmon farms in the Discovery Islands will be removed over the next 18 months. In light of this great news, we are pleased to feature Alexandra Morton Gwayum'dzi for this week’s Sustainability Spotlight and highlight her work to #BuildBackBetter. Alexandra Morton is an independent biologist who has dedicated her life to restoring the balance between the people and the wild salmon off the coast of British Columbia. For decades she has fought the destructive forces of the salmon farming industry in order to protect keystone wild salmon populations. An important point she makes is that tourism operators need to become involved in efforts to protect wild salmon. Our federal government makes decisions based off of business and the economy, and the weight of the wilderness tourism sector in terms of jobs and economy size vastly outweighs that of salmon farming. Since tourism is a much larger industry than farming fish, we have a large role to play in addressing this issue. For this reason, in 2017 Ocean Outfitters started supporting efforts to protect wild salmon being made by First Nations, concerned citizens, and conservation organizations in the Broughton Archipelago. Since then, we have implemented communications to all of our passengers about the real cost of salmon farming on the coast and have funded initiatives for restoration, research and campaigns through Central West Coast Forest Society, Cedar Coast Field Station , and Clayoquot Action The federal announcement to remove all 19 salmon farms from the Discovery Islands is a huge step in the right direction and we want to continue to bring energy and support to this movement working to remove all of them from British Columbia’s waters and #BuildBackBetter. What are your thoughts on thoughts on the

For the next 2 months, we are going to be posting weekly “Sustainability Spotlights”! These spotlights will feature a number of different environmental non-profits we partner with here on the coast that are working to protect the health of Clayoquot Sound through a variety of initiatives. The talented Nate Laverty has put together a series of short videos that spotlight each organization and the different environmental issues they are working to address. This week, meet Simon Nessman from Cedar Coast Field Station Cedar Coast Field Station ! The Cedar Coast Field Station is an independent, not-for-profit society with a mission to preserve ecological health through place-based research and education that celebrates the cultural and biological diversity of Clayoquot Sound. The station provides researchers, educators, and students with the resources and an inspiring space to learn from the ecology of Clayoquot Sound in a nature-based setting. We’re so proud to donate our profits to such incredible partners. We’ll be posting weekly Sustainability Spotlights in hopes that it energizes you, invigorates your week and inspires you to take action!

Orca pod spotted near Tofino (August 2020)

Our tour group was quite excited to say the least! (You can see the orcas mostly at the start of this video). Video by nikkidanyluk on a recent tour.

We Spotted this Black Bear on our Kayak Tour

It's fairly common to see bears on our 1/2 day kayak tour. This was filmed on a recent tour. Vancouver Island black bears are omnivorous and eat many different types of food. In this video, the bear is wandering down the beaches at low tide to find crabs and any other easy meals. In the spring and summer, they eat succulent roots and shoots, any berry crops that are available, and assorted grubs and insects. In the fall, the salmon return, and the Vancouver Island black bear turns its attention to spawning salmon, which provide a high percentage of the bears’ yearly protein intake. More info on our kayak tour: http://bit.ly/2Ko7cFX Video credit: OO team member, Diondra. Info source: The Institute for Coastal and Oceans Research (ICOR) at the University of Victoria, British Columbia Canada.

Our Wildlife Camera Caught this Minx

Check out this little mink spotted on the wildlife camera! Do you see the resemblance between a mink, a river otter and sea otter? They’re all from the weasel/mustelids family. Weasels are known for their long, slender bodies with thick necks, short feet and little ears. They’re also carnivores so they eat a lot of stuff, like small mammals, sea life, insects to amphibians 🦀🐟🐛🦎 Video by Chenoah Shine using a wildlife camera hidden in the forest near Tofino, BC. #HeartofTofino