The Canadian government, through PacifiCan, has announced a $3.5 million investment in eight Vancouver Island organizations. This funding will support innovation, tourism, and job creation, positioning the region as a leader in ocean technology and Indigenous tourism.
Krystal Janicki, a commercial and residential painter from Black Creek, British Columbia, has been diving for nine years and has developed a unique bond with the local octopus population. Her extraordinary encounters with these cephalopods have now been featured in the National Geographic series ‘Secrets of the Octopus’. Along with underwater cinematographer Maxwel Hohn, Janicki spent hours searching for the perfect octopus to film, leading to remarkable footage of these elusive creatures. Janicki hopes that her involvement in the series will raise awareness about the importance of respecting and protecting octopuses and the ocean ecosystem.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) are investigating a fatal hit-and-run incident that occurred on Highway 1 in Duncan last week. A woman was struck and killed by a vehicle on April 18, and the suspect vehicle has now been identified as a 2011-2013 model Hyundai Elantra, gray in color. The vehicle is believed to have significant damage to the front driver’s side. The RCMP is urging the driver or anyone with information to contact the North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP.
A driver is sought by police following a fatal hit-and-run on Vancouver Island last Thursday. The incident occurred on the Trans-Canada Highway in Duncan, B.C. at approximately 9:50 p.m. The driver struck and killed a woman who was pronounced dead at the scene. Police released new details about the suspect vehicle, which is believed to be a grey Hyundai Elantra from 2011 to 2013 with significant damage to the front driver’s side. Investigators are appealing to the public for information and urging the driver to come forward.
The search for two missing kayakers off Vancouver Island has expanded to U.S. waters. Daniel MacAlpine, 36, and Nicola West, 26, disappeared Saturday afternoon while traveling between Island View Beach and D’Arcy Island. Multiple search-and-rescue teams searched the area Sunday, but found no trace of the men. Search efforts are now being concentrated along the Haro Strait, towards San Juan and Lopez islands in the U.S., and towards Coal Island in the north.
Authorities from Canada and the U.S. have resumed their search for two missing kayakers off Vancouver Island. The men, identified as Daniel MacAlpine, 36, and Nicholas West, 26, went missing on Saturday while kayaking from D’Arcy Island to Island View Beach Park near Victoria. Their teal-blue, fibreglass tandem vessel has also not been located. The RCMP is now focusing its search on the Haro Strait near San Juan Island and Lopez Island in Washington State, while the West Coast Marine Services unit is searching the area of Coal Island near Sidney, B.C. The Canadian Coast Guard and the U.S. Coast Guard are also assisting in the search.
