These small herring –12cm were found washed up on Taylor Beach
Pacific Herring, (Clupea pallasii) found on Taylor Beach-photo by G.Fletcher
Cause of death unknown.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Clupeiformes
Family: Clupeidae
Subfamily: Clupeinae
Genus: Clupea
Species: C. pallasii
Link to other posts on this website on Fish ;
Link to the organisms added to our species list for Metchosin shores.
In July 2013 at Low tide, the loss of sand from near the south end of Weir’s Beach has become obvious. This was predictable because of the hardening of the shoreline several years ago with the installation of large rock rip-rap along the front of the adjacent Weir’s Beach Trailer Park. As many of the references such as Hardening the shorelines indicates: “Hard structures, especially vertical walls, often create conditions that lead to failure of the structure. In time, the substrate of the beach coarsens and scours down to bedrock or a hard clay. The footings of bulkheads are exposed, leading to undermining and failure. … Failed bulkheads and walls adversely impact beach aesthetics, may be a safety or navigational hazard, and may adversely impact shoreline ecological functions.”
Large rock riprap on the berm
Trailer park perched on the edge of the berm.
Loss of fine sand material from the beach in front of the trailer park.
See this file for earlier images of the beach and comparisons: https://metchosinmarine.ca/7taylorbeach/weirs/beachcompare.htm
Over the summer of 2013, a new seawalll was built at the south end of Weir’s beach. The purpose of the wall is not obvious, other than to create a walkway to the ocean for the residence above.
The provincial government owns the ocean floor and the foreshore (the area between the low water level and the natural boundary) along Metchosin’s Coastline. This structure sits within this foreshore area, as there is sand at it’s base, so it is questionable how this shoreline modification was permitted.
UPDATE:
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Readers are recommended to read all parts of the publication below before attempting any alterations on shorefront property:
Another reference on hardening the shorelines states the problem rather plainly: “Hard structures, especially vertical walls, often create conditions that lead to failure of the structure. In time, the substrate of the beach coarsens and scours down to bedrock or a hard clay. The footings of bulkheads are exposed, leading to undermining and failure. … Failed bulkheads and walls adversely impact beach aesthetics, may be a safety or navigational hazard, and may adversely impact shoreline ecological functions.”
View of the seawall from the south.
View of the seawall from the beach directly in front.
View of sea wall from the north.
See this post on Sandlance on Taylor Beach: 
Image from the presentation below
One of the unusual characteristics of sandlance on Taylor Beach is that in less thAN a minute after emerging from the sand after spawning, If they are not consumed by crows or gulls, then they will die. ( so far I have not found this reported in the literature?)
| Kingdom: Animalia |
| Phylum: Chordata |
| Class: Actinopterygii |
| Order: Perciformes |
| Family: Trachinoidea (Bonaparte, 1832) |
| Genus: Ammodytes |
| Species: A. hexapteris |
| Binomial name Ammodytes hexapterus |
The Metchosin Environmental Advisory Select Committee of Metchosin District submitted this report to Council in June 2013.
See the complete report as a PDF: Metchosin Shoreline Report 2013June 10-2
Executive Summary
The unique values attributed to the Coastal Areas of Metchosin have been recognized both historically and by outside researchers. They have also been outlined at length in the Official Community Plan and other documents produced for the District.
The objective of the Metchosin Shoreline Report is to provide Mayor and Council with a background document and decision-making tools for issues related to Metchosin’s shoreline environment: the jurisdictional boundaries are delineated; examples of ecologically sensitive areas are highlighted; and the biological and geographical values of eight zones of the forty-five km of shoreline are profiled.
The values of biodiversity, education, natural capital, aesthetics, philosophy, and ecotourism are all affected by our coastal areas. Therefore, the risks from human activity on the sustainability of these areas are emphasized.
With the increasing likelihood of changing climatic events impacting on our shoreline, and in order to mitigate these risks, a number of recommendations are proposed for the Municipality to implement:
See the complete report as a PDF: Metchosin Shoreline Report 2013June 10-2
Charlie Carpenter found several clingfish today under rocks at low tide on the mid-north section of Taylor Beach .
| Kingdom: Animalia | |
| Phylum: Chordata | |
| Class: Actinopterygii | |
| Order: Gobiesociformes | |
| Family: Gobiesocidae | |
| Genus: Gobiesox | |
| Species: G. maeandricus | |
| Binomial name: Gobiesox maeandricus (Girard, 1858) |
June 8, 2013: Charlie Carpenter my neighbour arrived from next door with a bucket with a 15cm. gunnel and cling-fish he had found down on the rocky intertidal at the mid-north section of Taylor Beach. We took this photo for the species list before returning it.
These gunnels live under the rocks which are exposed at low tide.
| Kingdom: Animalia |
| Phylum: Chordata |
| Class: Actinopterygii |
| Order: Perciformes |
| Family: Pholidae |
| Genus: Apodichthys |
| Species: A. flavidus |
| Binomial name Apodichthys flavidus, Girard, 1854 |
Tonicella lineata, the lined chiton : These photos taken in May, 2013 were submitted by Gretchen Markle . They were taken on the area known as Laird’s Beach (on Parry Bay south of Taylor Road)
| Kingdom: Animalia |
| Phylum: Mollusca |
| Class: Polyplacophora |
| Order: Neoloricata |
| Family: Ischnochitonidae |
| Genus: Tonicella |
| Species: T. lineata |
| Binomial name:Tonicella lineata , Wood, 1815 |
Cryptolithoides sitchensis, the turtle crab : These photos taken in May, 2013 were submitted by Gretchen Markle . They were taken on the area known as Laird’s Beach (on Parry Bay south of Taylor Road)
Also see another more colourful example of this species found at Christopher Point by a diving student in the Pearson College Marine Science class in October, 2014
Cryptolithoides sitchensis, turtle crab
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Infraorder: Anomura
Family: Lithodidae
Genus: Cryptolithodes
Species: C. sitchensis
Cryptolithodes sitchensis (Brandt, 1853 [1]