Clams are filter feeders. Through a small tube called the inhalant siphon, they take in the water around them that contains their food, often small organisms like plankton and bacteria, before flushing it out again. You can find them in shallow intertidal zones, making them an accessible source of food for both humans and other animals like otters, birds, fish, and raccoons. Clams are an integral part of the intertidal ecosystem. For Haíłzaqv Nation, the clams are a staple food source that the community relies on for sustenance, culture, and the local economy. But their access to this staple changed with the Nathan E. Stewart oil spill.
On October 13th, 2016, a tug without a certified pilot ran aground and spilled over 110,000 liters of diesel oil in Gale Pass, near Haíɫzaqv’s ancestral village of Qvúqvái, on the central coast of British Columbia. Haíłzaqv community members waited 17 hours for Canada’s spill response team to show up as the tug dragged against the rocks for hours before the fuel began to leak. Despite Haíłzaqv’s heroic efforts to lessen the impact of the spill, there was nothing more they could do as the oil seeped into their waters.
Photo taken by Marilyn Slett
As clams are sedentary, there was no avoiding the oil that made its way into their habitat. It poisoned the water that the clams indiscriminately inhaled to feed with hydrocarbons (the compound that primarily makes up fossil fuels) that accumulate in their flesh and are difficult to metabolize, meaning they stay in their bodies for long periods of time. As clams are near the bottom of the food chain, their contamination impacts everyone and everything that lies above them. But the clams were not the only source of food impacted by the oil spill.
Haíɫzaqv harvested at least 25 food species from the affected area, including commercial harvests of manila clams, halibut, red sea urchin, sea cucumber, salmon, and herring spawn on kelp. The affected area is also a significant habitat for recovering sea otters and the Northern Abalone, an endangered species. The impact felt by the spill goes beyond the loss of food; it has altered Haíłzaqv’s way of life, their economy, their history and identity, and their spiritual connection to the land.
Photo by April Bencze
Despite the weight of this incredible loss, Haíłzaqv Nation has continued to lead by example. They undertook their own Indigenous-led Environmental Impact Assessment when no one else did it. They also showed up on the international stage at the United Nations to speak about Canada’s inaction to protect Indigenous cultures from oil spills. And in 2018, they made the decision to go to court against Canada, the Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund, and B.C. to seek redress for the harm caused to their community and to the ecosystem, and on top of that, they are fighting for all coastal communities as they seek to toughen oil spill laws.
As the 10-year anniversary of the spill approaches on October 13th, 2026, and as Haíłzaqv still can’t fully harvest clams from the impacted marine harvesting site, we ask you to show your solidarity with Haíłzaqv Nation and their legal action by signing this pledge. Together, we will hold the Canadian and B.C. governments accountable for tighter oil-spill regulations and compensation for economic and cultural loss. Together, we rise.
