2024

Joseph - Joe to those close to him - was an incredible intellect whose passion for learning and teaching took him all around the continent: from his home in West Vancouver, where he graduated from WVSS and led salmon preservation efforts with the Streamkeepers, to teaching with the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales in the northeastern United States, to working with Indigenous communities amid the rivers and mountains of northern BC. Although he suffered from the effects of trauma and mental illness, he faced his struggles with courage. He was a profoundly moral person whose strong sense of justice and commitment to his Catholic faith shone like a beacon to everyone who met him. Most of all, though, he was deeply loved.

Ted grew up in Woodbridge, Ontario, completed a BSc in Biology at York, then moved with Corinne to Vancouver where he completed a Masters in Zoology at UBC. Ted brought enthusiasm and dedication to his 33 year career with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Beginning as a biologist in 1976 in Vancouver, he progressed through management positions to become a director at the Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo from 2000 until his retirement in 2009.
Ted was not just a marine biology enthusiast at work. He enjoyed many fishing adventures with his family and friends and had a surprising amount of fish related art. He relished the many years spent living on Nanaimo's waterfront beside Pipers Lagoon Park, where he could kayak, swim, and watch eagles, whales, river otters, bathtubs, and all manner of other passing life.
Ted was an environmentalist and supporter of the arts, spending many years volunteering with worthy causes, including Streamkeepers in North Vancouver, the Nanaimo Advisory Committee on Environmental Sustainability, Nanaimo's Port Theatre, and Meals on Wheels.

It is with great sadness that we lost one of our outstanding biologists, Steve Rochetta, this past week. Steve was an exceptional grizzly bear expert who had tremendous respect and understanding of our backcountry. Steve was both a colleague, friend, and mentor to the Squamish River Watershed Society and many of the people we work with. We regularly relied on his vast knowledge and experience and were always amazed how he could seemingly be in so many places throughout the Squamish watershed at once! How many of us would venture into the far reaches of our headwaters and bump into Steve! Our hearts go out to the Rochetta family and all his friends. He will be missed in this community.