View source for Robson Bight

{{Short description|Bay of Vancouver Island}}
'''Robson Bight''' is a small [[Vancouver Island]] [[bay]] at the west end of [[Johnstone Strait]] across from West Cracroft Island in [[British Columbia]], [[Canada]] that includes a protected [[killer whale]] habitat famous for its whale-rubbing beaches.<ref name = cbc>{{cite news   | last = The Canadian Press  | title = Environmentalists investigate Robson Bight wreckage  | publisher = CBCNEWS.CA  | date = October 19, 2007  | url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/environmentalists-investigate-robson-bight-wreckage-1.651877  | access-date = 2008-06-04}}</ref>  The [[bight (geography)|bight]] is adjacent to [[Lower Tsitika River Provincial Park]].
The nearest access point is [[Telegraph Cove, British Columbia|Telegraph Cove]] on the east coast of Northern Vancouver Island.

==Ecological Reserve==
Robson Bight (Michael Bigg) Ecological Reserve was established in 1982 as a sanctuary for killer whales.  The area, 10&nbsp;km south east of [[Telegraph Cove, British Columbia|Telegraph Cove]] and 40&nbsp;km from [[Port McNeill, British Columbia]], is restricted.  Access by boat or land is prohibited.  The Robson Bight Warden Program is operated by the Cetus Research and Conservation Society. This program educates visitors to the area about the Ecological Reserve and asks visitors to remain outside the Ecological Reserve boundaries.  The Reserve extends 1&nbsp;km offshore from markers at either end of the Reserve. The total area of the reserve, including upland and foreshore, is 5,460 hectares.<ref>{{cite web  | last = Ministry of Environment, BC Parks  | title = Robson Bight (Michael Bigg) Ecological Reserve  | url = http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/eco_reserve/robsonb_er.html  | access-date = 2008-06-05}}</ref> It is named after the late killer whale researcher [[Michael Bigg]].

==Naming==
Robson Bight is named for Lieutenant Commander Charles Rufus Robson of the gunboat [[HMS Forward (1855)|HMS ''Forward'']] who died in [[Victoria, British Columbia]] on November 5, 1861, from a fall from a horse after a commendable career.<ref>{{Cite book  | last =Walbran  | first =Captain John T.  | title =British Columbia Place Names, Their Origin and History  | url =http://www.nosracines.ca/e/toc.aspx?id=3545  | place =Vancouver/Toronto  | publisher =Douglas & McIntyre  | year =1971  | edition =Facsimile reprint of 1909  | isbn =0-88894-143-9  | url-status =dead  | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20160303220337/http://www.nosracines.ca/e/toc.aspx?id=3545  | archive-date =2016-03-03  }}</ref>{{rp|426}} <ref name = Akrigg>{{Citation | last =Akrigg | first =G.P.V. | last2 =Akrigg | first2 =Helen B. | title =British Columbia Place Names | place =Vancouver | publisher =UBC Press | year =1986 | edition =3rd, 1997 | isbn =0-7748-0636-2 | url-access =registration | url =https://archive.org/details/britishcolumbiap0000akri_w1q9 }}</ref>{{rp|228}}

==Barge Spill==
On August 20, 2007, a barge carrying vehicles and forestry equipment lost 11 pieces of equipment within the boundaries of the protected area.  On April 18, 2008, the British Columbia Ministry of the Environment announced that the federal and provincial governments would share the expense of salvaging the equipment.<ref>{{cite press release  | title = GOVERNMENTS PLAN TO SALVAGE ROBSON BIGHT WRECKAGE  | publisher = British Columbia [[Environment Canada|Ministry of Environment]]   | date = April 18, 2008  | url = http://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/news_releases_2005-2009/2008ENV0042-000569.htm  | access-date = 2008-06-04}}</ref>  The equipment, which was 350 m below the surface and contained 10,000 litres of diesel fuel, was successfully recovered on May 20, 2009, by first surrounding the sunken tanker truck with a yellow container to prevent fuel loss and then raising it by crane to a floating barge.<ref name = cbc2>{{cite news   | last = CBC   | author-link = Canadian Broadcasting Corporation   | title = Sunken fuel truck recovered from Robson Bight  | publisher = CBC.CA  | date = May 20, 2009  | url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/sunken-fuel-truck-recovered-from-robson-bight-1.827464  | access-date = 2009-05-21}}</ref>

{{Coord|50.483|-126.583|format=dms|display=title|region:CA_type:waterbody}}

==See also==
* [[Whale watching]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{BCGNIS|40817|Robson Bight}}
* {{BCGNIS|41341|Robson Bight (Michael Bigg) Park}}
* [http://www.britishcolumbia.com/parks/?id=349 BC Parks - Robson Bight (Michael Biggs) Ecological Reserve]
* [http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/eco_reserve/robsonb_er/robson_b_brochure.pdf BC Parks, Map and Information Guide]
* [http://www.elp.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/eco_reserve/robsonb_er/robson_bight_map.pdf Map of Robson Bight, Ministry of Environment]
* [http://cetussociety.org/marine-stewardship-programs/robson-bight-warden-program/ Cetus Research & Conservation Society - Robson Bight Warden Program]

{{British Columbia parks}}

[[Category:Bodies of water of Vancouver Island]]
[[Category:Northern Vancouver Island]]
[[Category:Bays of British Columbia]]
[[Category:Bights (geography)]]


{{BritishColumbiaCoast-geo-stub}}