Archeologists to launch historic fishing expedition off B.C.’s Haida Gwaii

HAIDA GWAII, B.C. – Parks Canada and the Haida First Nation will plumb the depths of time and tide for archeological treasures off the northern British Columbia coast.

An underwater project will search for everything from potentially millennia-old cultural sites such as fish weirs, middens and harbours to ancient shipwrecks dating back to first contact in the late 1700s.

Oral and written history from the Gwaii Haanas region suggests two shipwrecks occurred in 1794 during the maritime fur trade, while another ship went down in 1851 during the gold rush.

Parks Canada says an underwater team will spend about three weeks in the waters off Gwaii Haanas, along the southern tip of Haida Gwaii, southwest of Prince Rupert.

They will use various diving techniques and remote sensing, such as side-scan sonars and underwater rovers, to continue to build an inventory of the area’s rich archaeological heritage.

The often treacherous and stormy waters are blanketed with First Nations history and Haida Nation President Peter Lantin says locating sunken vessels and other items from the time of contact will provide valuable insight into that era and also open discussions about relationships today.