The Bowie Seamount Expedition

Bowie Seamount is located 180 km west of the Queen Charlotte Islands, rising from the seafloor at a depth of 3,100 m to within 24 m of the surface. In 1998 Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced that the area had been declared a Pilot Marine Protected Area in order to recognize this highly productive and unique ecosystem.

Although there have been a number of expeditions to the seamount, the lack of a thorough survey of the summit's marine life has been recognized as one of the primary data gaps. In the summer of 2003, a small group of divers travelled from Campbell River, B.C. to Bowie in order to carry out a comprehensive biological survey of the pinnacle within scuba diving depths and to document the area with both still photography and digital video.

The five-member team included fisherman Gary Grant, photographers Randy Haight, Donnie Reid and Neil McDaniel and biologist Doug Swanston. Over the course of three days the divers carried out biological inventories and collections of fishes, invertebrates and algae. They also shot underwater still photographs and shot about 90 minutes of video.

A full report on the findings of the expedition and links to more information about seamounts can be found on the Fisheries and Oceans Marine Protected Area website: www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca-oceans/Bowie/bowiefinalreport10.doc

A 47-minute documentary, "The Bowie Seamount Expedition," is available from Producers Randy Haight and Neil McDaniel on VHS tape for $20 (includes s&h) by contacting vacilador@shaw.ca

Return to Index