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Howe Sound remains vulnerable to development, shipping and fishing pressures despite impressive improvements in the region’s marine health in recent years, a report released Friday concluded.

The Vancouver Aquarium’s Coastal Ocean Research Institute found that the return of whales and other marine life to Howe Sound is a welcome environmental achievement. The discovery of 16 glass sponge reefs also hints at the unique features found within the fjord’s waters.

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The problem is that less than one per cent of its fragile ecosystems fall within designated protected areas.

“Howe Sound is a rare gift, a wild place adjacent to a major city that, despite extensive industry, is beginning to flourish once again,” Andrew Day, the institute’s executive director, said in a statement. “We must take steps to protect and rebuild it.”

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In 2015, the B.C. Cetaceans Sightings Network received 141 reports from 100 volunteer observers in Howe Sound, the highest numbers since recording began in earnest in 2003. The regular presence of species such as killer whales and humpbacks, dolphins and porpoises “after a near 100-year absence is a huge victory for conservation efforts,” the report found. Prey fish such as herring are also returning.