Scubaism

Approximately 175 sea stars were found dead at Belcarra Regional Park last Friday, and preliminary findings suggest those deaths were caused by human tampering.

Ron Wood, an operations supervisor with Metro Vancouver, spoke to The NOW Thursday after conferring with officials from the federal department of fisheries and oceans. Though he couldn’t speculate on the exact cause, he did say that the marine animals — known as pisaster stars — were found too far above the high-tide mark to have gotten there on their own.

“There is the suspicion that this was some very irresponsible human behaviour,” Wood said, adding that Metro staffers have increased their presence in the park since the incident. “It’s really disturbing.”

Though the park is monitored by Metro Vancouver staff, its waters fall under the jurisdiction of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. A representative from the federal department told The NOW Thursday that the lead investigator in the Belcarra case was not available for comment after being called to look into the Robson Bight oil spill off northern Vancouver Island.

The sea star incident came to light last Friday after a series of photos submitted to The NOW showed the dead marine animals scattered about the shores near the first lookout point of the regional park.

Incidentally, Coquitlam resident Fiona Situ told The NOW Thursday afternoon that she and her husband had been walking near the lookout area on Saturday, Aug. 11 when they came across a couple collecting about a dozen sea stars in a plastic bag.

Situ estimates the animals had been out of the water for about 10 minutes before she and her husband asked the couple to stop what they were doing. “They threw them back immediately into the water — but not in a gentle way,” she said.