Official Blog of the Great Bear II

Tiare "Buoys"

I am an avid diver and an underwater photographer who loves nothing more than to swim through kelp forests in our coastal ecosystems here on Vancouver Island and I am dedicated to actions that help keep our coastal waters healthy.

I also grew up in the fishing community here on Vancouver Island. My dad started fishing to put himself through his master's degree in marine biology at UBC and my mom met my dad while working as a salmon trolling deckhand. When it was my turn to go off to school, I paid my way through an undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies at UVic and then a master's degree in Marine and Coastal Management through going to sea harvesting wild Pacific halibut. Today I work closely with organizations such as the Marine Stewardship Council, an independent fishery assessment organization that helps people make sustainable seafood choices in the supermarkets and in restaurants and I am an advocate for the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 2: Zero Hunger and SDG 14: Life Below the Water.

I have always been both a conservationist and an advocate for sustainable fisheries and addressing global food security issues. These concepts should not be at odds.

I know our Ocean is facing major human-created challenges such as acidification, temperature rises, over-fishing and plastic pollution. With all these huge problems going on sometimes I feel quite helpless as to how to make a positive difference.


Marine debris from the fishing industry is a major contributor to ocean pollution, but I want to highlight that not all fisheries create Ocean pollution, and we can be very proud of many of the fisheries in BC, some of which are world leaders in accountability, monitoring and innovative integrated fisheries management policies.

But our local beaches are covered in marine debris, some of it from fisheries and I wanted to help do something about this.

I source old fishing gear, either donated by local fishermen, or collected by beach combers. Instead of throwing these old floats into the landfill, I divert them from the waste stream and turn them into art. I paint kelp forests on these recycled buoys because it is my vision of a healthy marine ecosystem. We are lucky to have many such kelp forest in our clean waters here on the West Coast of Canada.

This is my way of making a tangible difference to the health of our blue planet and my way of dealing with that feeling of being helpless in the face of such large-scale problems.


This year I partnered with Great Bear II Ocean Adventures, a local ecotourism company who participated in the coastal clean ups this summer. Eric and Trish, owner/operators were kind enough to collect an entire helicopter lift bag full of floats for me to recycle. Their heroic efforts and the selfless efforts of all those involved in our shoreline clean-ups help keep our coastal environment clear of marine debris so that marine wildlife can thrive and you can enjoy plastic-free beaches this summer.

I donate 10% of the proceeds from sales of these recycled floats to the Ucluelet Aquarium's Marine Debris Initiative, one of many incredible organizations on our coast fighting to keep our Ocean healthy and plastic free.

I'd like to send a huge life bag full of gratitude to Trish, Eric,
and all those involved in keeping our coastal ecosystems healthy.

Thank you for working towards a better future!

~Tiare Boyes

"On the Slippery Back of a Dragon" by Cindy Lewis

When I first heard about the Marine Debris Removal (MDRI) project, I had envisioned cleaning up miles of sandy beaches along the coast of British Columbia, working hard but in a beautiful location for a great cause!

After the first few days, it became clear that this was much bigger than I expected, especially after spending time working on the slippery, rugged, rocky shores along the outer coast of the Great Bear Rainforest.

On our first day, it seemed harmless enough, as we slowly meandered around islets in the aluminium skiff to find the safest place to get ashore.

Beautiful kelp pulsating in the water, a sea otter swimming by, and the charming little islands with the beautiful green forests set the stage.

Flowers growing out and mosses covering buried marine debris..

Knowing that these islands are part of an ecological reserve for a variety of nesting seabirds was definitely inspiring.

It wasn't until we climbed out of the boat and up and over the jagged rocks (thankfully with gloves to grasp each rock), that I thought that this was more like climbing on the back of a wet dragon!

(Once safely ashore, I contemplated my future on this project and wondered if I should ask to be replaced by someone that might be more sure footed. As the days wore on, I never did enjoy climbing the wet, slippery rocks, but I got the job done.)

This ecological reserve, created primarily for the nesting seabird colonies, made our job here seem especially urgent, but there was much to consider while working here.

To avoid predators, the seabird parents leave their nesting burrows in the forest floor of these islands during the night, to fish for their young. Even as we were gathering marine debris during daylight hours, we stayed away from the burrows, dug deep into the forest floor, to avoid scaring the seabird parents away from their nests.

Along the edges of the forest near high tide marks, some debris is deep in the ground, covered by moss, with lilies growing out of it. It felt like we were constantly making decisions about taking the buried debris and risk ripping plants out or leaving the debris buried.

Find the crew members. Hint: one has an orange jacket. These are no "beaches".

Getting off these slippery, rugged, rocky shores and safely back to the skiff was always a relief to me. I was very happy to help rid this beautiful, wild part of the coast of some debris. Also knowing what a special location this is and that we had special permission to be there, was priceless. Since working along the shores of this ecological reserve, we have cleaned other shorelines along the central and north coast.

(Our crew agreed that we are not to call these slippery, rocky, rugged shorelines ""beaches" any longer and anyone that does, actually has to pay a dollar if we say the word "beach".)

I get great satisfaction picking debris. I still haven't found a glass ball (antique glass fishing floats from Japan), but this is what keeps me going as I bang my shins, get poked by branches and bitten by flies. I can't wait to see what the next half of the journey brings.

Looking forward...

2022 will be a beautiful year in which we get to welcome you back to some of THE most soul stirring places on earth!
Adventure, renewal and lots of photos taken to remember the moments! It's been a struggle.. but we're almost there! In the meantime enjoy the photos and please keep in touch!  We love hearing from you!

Join us... and discover how "you're connected with everything."

As he approaches where we sit, Eric begins talking to him in a low, soft voice.

This handsome bear stops, looks at us, sniffs the air and then lowers himself into the neck deep water of the river behind us, as if needing the cold water to wake himself up.

As he sits in the river, he assesses his surroundings, including us. "Who are we and can we be trusted?"

He soon lifts himself out of the river and lumbers slowly but deliberately across the nearby gravel bar, to a huge Chum salmon carcass, some yards in front of us.

We hope that you enjoy our "Moments in Nature that Inspire Us" that help remind us who bears and other wildlife really are. We also hope you will join us in sharing these stories in an effort to have more people learn or be reminded that we are not separate or superior to nature, but a part of nature.