Read the video transcript here
Dale Warren, oyster collector:
"We knew the heat would be bad, but we didn't expect to see this."
Dale Warren is an oyster collector on the west coast of Canada and he's shocked.
After the heat wave in western Canada at the end of June, the extent is now visible to them: The extreme heat is said to have killed almost a billion marine animals, according to the assessment of marine biologists.
It's low tide and Dale Warren is spreading a sea of rotting clams, snails and crabs:
Dale Warren, oyster collector:
"It has never smelled like this here, never before."
Measurements have shown that the rocky shore has heated up to 50 degrees Celsius.
Temperatures at which shellfish and crustaceans have no chance, they were simply heated to death.
Dale Warren, oyster collector:
"These are just dead"
Joe Tarnowski, mussel collector:
“Basically the oysters, clams and mussels were cooked.
Most of the mussels here are all gone. "
Joe Tarnowski also lives from the marine animal business; his father founded the family business 65 years ago.
The coast has always been known for its cool and fresh water, said Tarnowski.
Perfect conditions for marine animals such as oysters.
But over the past ten years the water temperature has continued to rise, making the coast more and more hostile to mussels and co.
For Tarnowski life threatening.
Joe Tarnowski, mussel collector:
“I've probably lost between 30 and 40 percent of my oysters, and my clams are a little higher.
They didn't like the heat. "
The water quality is also suffering from mussel death: Algae and mussels clean the sea, so a single oyster can filter over 200L of water per day.
Scientists agree: Without climate change, such temperatures would not be possible on the west coast of Canada, the local researchers speak of a "millennium heat" in the North Pacific. But they estimate that from 2040 onwards, climate change could cause such weather extremes to repeat themselves every five to ten years. The next heat wave in Canada and the northwestern United States is expected next week.