The Pacific Rim Visitor Centre offers a primary arrival and meeting destination for those venturing to the Pacific Rim region on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Immediately following your drive over the Pacific Rim Highway (Hwy 4) from Port Alberni, you will reach our headquarters at the Junction between Ucluelet and Tofino.

Our wheelchair accessible facilities offer a staffed visitor information centre, Parks Canada center, large maps of the region, secure garbage and recycling boxes, public restrooms and plentiful parking for both RV”s and regular vehicles.

The Pacific Rim Visitor Centre has been part of the Tourism British Columbia Tourist Information Network since 2004.

Credit: Sarah Douziech

The Pacific Rim Visitor Center was pleased to welcome Conservative MP Dr. James Lunney to our headquarters on July 15th, 2009, to join us in celebrating our 5th year of operation and the addition of 12 new Information Counselors for the summer season!

Dr. Lunney was instrumental in acquiring the support of Summer Jobs Canada for these new student employment positions and for this we thank him. The Pacific Rim Visitor Center is a primary welcome center and often the first point of contact for guests visiting the Pacific Rim Region, often seeing a record 1000+ guests per day during peak season. Having enough staff to meet this demand is essential in providing quality tourism information to guests and facilitating their accommodation and sightseeing requests.

“What a great looking group of people to greet visitors as they first get to the area,” commented Dr. Lunney to the assembled student workers. “You serve as the ambassadors to the West Coast.”

Joining us for our celebration were also Violet Mundy of Ucluelet First Nation, Kim Seward-Hannam Parks Canada superintendent, Marilyn McEwen of the Ucluelet Chamber of Commerce and Ucluelet Mayor Eric Russcher.

We thank all our dignitaries for spending the time to come down and meet our new summer staff, as well as Tom Mureika of the Westcoaster and Sarah Douziech of the Westerly newspaper.

Credit: Sarah Douziech

Humboldt Squid washes ashore in Chesterman Beach

You may have seen or heard of the the dozens of Humboldt Squid that washed ashore on Chesterman Beach last night (and were there this morning and all day in the wrack line at the high tide mark).

This voracious species of squid usually lives at depths of 200 to 700 meters and is typically found in the warmer areas of the Pacific Ocean. In recent years, it has expanded its geographic range and has been sighted regularly in the Pacific Northwest since 2004. In 2004, there was a mass stranding in Long Beach, Washington. Just three weeks ago, there was another mass stranding in La Jolla, California. In both cases, as with the squid at Chesterman Beach right now, the squid appear to be immature juveniles. Adults can reach 6-7 feet and 110 to 110 pounds! What likely happened is that they came closer to the water’s surface during the night (when they hunt) as they were chasing their prey (in this case herring and mackerel, which were also found in the wrack line), and they may have encountered colder water or stronger currents and washed ashore on the beach. The presence of the squid and their prey is a reminder that we are experiencing an El Niño event this year – a climatic oscillation that occurs every 3-8 years and which results in warmer waters off the west coast of Vancouver Island. Interestingly, this species of squid is expanding its range southward  off the coast of Peru and Chile at about the same rate as it is expanding northward. Some biologists report that this expansion in range may be linked to climate change.

These animals are voracious predators and hunt in packs using the tooth edged suckers on their eight tentacles to grab and hold prey, which they repeatedly stab with their very sharp beak. Indeed, the stomach we dissected on the beach contained herring scales and small chunks of herring flesh. They are very curious animals and have been reported to “attack” underwater cameras as well as SCUBA divers. If you find a Humboldt Squid still alive on the beach, it is best NOT to touch it as the beak can inflict a lot of harm.

Please take a look at some photos I captured while looking at these magnificent creatures. Mary Bewick, who has lived on Chesterman Beach for 30 years, told me that she has never heard of Humboldt squid washing ashore like this before. Please let me know if you have seen them before!

Submitted by:

Josie Osborne
Raincoast Education Society