Erica Gies

Author bio

Erica Gies is an independent journalist who covers science and the environment from Victoria, British Columbia, and San Francisco. Her work appears in the New York Times, TakePart, Ensia, the Economist, Yale Environment 360, National Geographic, Scientific American, and other outlets.

Articles by Erica Gies

sunset on British Columbia's Sunshine Coast

Designing Marine Protected Areas in a Changing Climate

How can vulnerable marine species be protected when climate change is a reality?

March 21st, 2018 | 700 words, about 3 minutes

aerial shot of the sunken Natan E. Stewart tug

Oil Tanker Moratorium Act Not a Moratorium on All Oil Tankers

Despite its name, the new law would still allow many vessels to transport fuel along British Columbia’s coast.

January 25th, 2018 | 1,100 words, about 5 minutes

a large earthquake recorded on a seismograph

New Underwater Sensors to Watch for the Big One

Canada’s west coast is getting a new earthquake early-warning system.

December 14th, 2017 | 950 words, about 4 minutes

First Nations Test the Political Water with Fish Farm Protests

First Nations’ occupations of fish farms are rooted in a deeper conversation about Indigenous land rights.

October 13th, 2017 | 1,000 words, about 5 minutes

Proposed changes to the Canadian Oceans Act and Canada Petroleum Resources Act would affect how marine protected areas are established, and the types of activities that would be permitted within them. Photo by xPacifica/Alamy Stock Photo

Proposed Amendment Could Actually Protect Marine Protected Areas

New legislation would give planned MPAs interim protection during the years-long approval process.

August 30th, 2017 | 750 words, about 3 minutes

The proposed Laurentian Channel marine protected area was drastically cut in size following input from stakeholders. Photo by National Geographic/Getty Images

Canada’s New Marine (Less) Protected (Than It Could Have Been) Area

A string of concessions to the oil and gas and fishing industries has severely weakened the protective value of Canada’s largest planned marine protected area.

May 9th, 2017 | 1,200 words, about 6 minutes

Fisheries and Oceans Canada Was Ignoring Its Own Habitat Protection Guidelines

In 2012, the federal government relaxed rules limiting the degradation of fishing habitat, claiming the requirements were overly burdensome. But research shows they weren’t enforcing the rules in the first place.

April 5th, 2017 | 900 words, about 4 minutes

Is China’s Hands-Off Approach to Fisheries Producing More Fish?

China’s fishers indiscriminately target predators as well as prey, putting different pressures on the ecosystem.

February 23rd, 2017 | 800 words, about 4 minutes

Political Suppression of Science: Lessons from Canada

Canadian scientists are lending support to worried American peers.

January 23rd, 2017 | 750 words, about 3 minutes

A Cull to Save the Kelp

An innovative project is rehabilitating California’s kelp forests after decades of degradation at the hands of environmental decay and sea urchin predation.

May 5th, 2016 | 800 words, about 4 minutes

Hakai Magazine

Coastal science and societies