Milky waters of herring spawning in Gartley Bay.

Looks like a hazard in the fog!

Boat that ran aground may be stuck a long time

BY MICHAEL BRIONES, COMOX VALLEY ECHOJANUARY 18, 2013

The sailboat that ran aground on the shore near Argyle Road in Union Bay almost two weeks ago is still there.

The owner of the dead boat has yet to retrieve it from the water. But what if he doesn’t do it or is unable to do it?

There lies the question. Who becomes responsible for cleaning it up – the Comox Valley Regional District, the Comox Valley RCMP, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, or the Canadian Coast Guard?

It seems like nobody knows. RCMP spokesperson Cst. Nicole Hall said the beached sailboat that resulted in the death of a Courtenay woman was not insured. She pointed out that the responsibility lies solely with the owner.

“If he doesn’t move it, it may stay there for quite some time, unfortunately,” said Hall. “At this time the RCMP has no reason for seizing it as we simply had an assist file to the coroner and no authority to seize it at this time.”

The Comox Valley Regional District’s media person, Leigh Carter said it’s not their responsibility.

“The regional district have no jurisdiction for boats aground in the water,” said Carter.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Canadian Coast Guard are also not claiming any jurisdiction.

“In the absence of pollution, the Canadian Coast Guard has no role in the administration or disposal of derelict vessels,” said Carrie Mishima, spokesperson for the FOC.

“Under the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, Fisheries and Oceans Canada may only remove a vessel from the marine environment if the vessel is discharging, has discharged, or is likely to discharge a pollutant that the owner is unable or unwilling to address and only when the removal of the vessel is considered the best option.”

The owner was seen attempting to upright the boat during high tide on Wednesday morning. It was tied to a truck that tried to force it up but the rope snapped said a resident in the area.

“I’m looking at this stuff everyday and it just bothers me because of having seen the whole event and what it had cost,” said Elliotte Lewis, who reported the boat when it ran aground on the shore in front of his house last week. He also saw a body float away. “It’s kind of depressing when I see it because someone died, and for what? So it bothers me in that sense.”

Lewis also made the effort of finding if the boat will be taken off the beach. But he wasn’t able to find out who would do it.

“I called up the Coast Guard too and they said it’s up to the owner and that they can’t do anything,” said Lewis. “They gave me a number to call the environmental pollution people. I called them and I got no response.”

Lewis said it’s going to be difficult for the owner to retrieve the boat because it has a big hole on one side.

“I don’t know how he’s going to get it out,” said Lewis. “He probably will need a crane to lift it up from the ocean-side.”

The owner returned Wednesday afternoon to retrieve some of his belongings from the boat.

The name of the woman who died, is not being revealed as requested by the family. The identity of the boat owner is also unknown at this time.

Public watching sea cucumbers

COMOX VALLEY ECHO

NOVEMBER 13, 2012

Re: Applications for Licenses of Occupation for sea cucumber ranches.

We, the public, must be diligent in protecting the health of our Baynes Sound shores and waters from compromise and degradation due to the pressure of profit. A long-range plan clearly setting aside areas absolutely protected for recreation, untampered by industry, is essential for this valley.

May our elected decision-makers and their staff act with care, diligence, vision, and integrity when evaluating these two applications for Licenses of (massive) Occupation of our coastal waters.

Enough is enough! Please place these areas of Baynes sound yet unlicensed to industry in the hands of the public to preserve in beauty, balance, and health for this and future generations of Comox Valley. The public IS watching this carefully!

Eleanor Riddell Courtenay

© Copyright (c) Postmedia News

Why are they testing for Geoducks?

On Monday Sept 8 2012: When the operators of the Jolly Dog where asked what they were doing they replied “testing for Geoducks”. What for?

P.S. Those pumps are not so whisper quiet!

One of the early signs on the Old Island Highway

This was one of the signs that was vandalized on Old Island Highway.

Groups divided on sea cucumber application

By Lise Broadley

Echo Staff

A “beef” in last Friday’s Comox Valley Echo has sparked a new flurry of discussion about two proposed sea cucumber farms in Baynes Sound.

The anonymous comment ran in the Echo’s “Beefs and Bouquets” on Aug. 3 and reignited a public discussion about the controversial applications to research, farm and harvest sea cucumbers over 262 hectares in Baynes Sound.

It read, “Wondering why the Comox Valley Project Watershed organization is not actively supporting the Friends of Baynes Sound, as part of their mandate for Baynes Sound Stewardship? All environment groups should be concerned about increased netting on the sea bed in Baynes Sound and the increased commercialization of this scenic and important ecosystem.”

Just days later the Echo ran a response from Paul A. Horgen, chair of the Comox Valley Project Watershed Society board of directors.

“Project Watershed believes that the sea cucumber proposal is based on good science and sustainability and is designed to maintain an environmental balance within the marine habitat and to contribute to the conservation of Baynes Sound,” he wrote.

In an interview, Horgen confirmed Project Watershed’s support of the research portion of the proposal, provided a strict set of conditions are imposed and enforced.

Those conditions are laid out in a document submitted to the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, the body responsible for granting the tenure. The document, submitted by the Comox Valley Conservation Strategy Community (CVCS) partnership, outlines the conditional support of 20 different partner organizations. Those organizations include Project Watershed, the Comox Valley Land Trust, the Tsolum River Restoration Society and the Comox Valley Environmental Council.

“We see [the proposal] as sustainable, put together by people that are scientifically competent,” Horgen said on behalf of Project Watershed. “I am much more concerned personally about the Raven Coal Mine and the Enbridge Pipeline.”

One day after Horgen’s letter was published in the Echo, CVCS published the full text of its submission to the Ministry on its website.

“The applicant should be issued a license and tenure for the period of time required to carry out the research phase of the proposal,” said CVCS’s letter. “When and if the applicant decides to apply for a commercial harvesting license they should have to reapply for tenure. The goal of the research phase is to determine how an environmentally sustainable and economically viable sea cucumber aquaculture business can be operated. By reapplying for both a commercial license and tenure a public process with agency oversight would be initiated. A full review of the license and tenure once the applicant establishes how they will operate a commercial venture should include the results of publicly available peer reviewed research from the research phase. Peer reviewed research should be a key component of the agency review process.”

CVCS also requires that a “precautionary principle” be applied, meaning that in the absence of scientific knowledge of the impact of large-scale sea cucumber farming, conservation measures must be taken to prevent or mitigate any possible harm. Specifically, the group calls for a number of actions including the exclusive use of drug and disease-free sea cucumbers grown from local wild stock, the preservation of local ecosystems with no net loss of the flora and fauna already present in the tenure area and the use of predator controls that will not impede wild animals’ access to their natural food sources or cause harm to predators. In addition, CVCS calls for independent third party monitoring of environmental impacts as well as peer review of the research completed by the applicants.

The applications for tenure have not yet been approved but they are currently before the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.

In contrast to the local expressions of support, a number of commercial fishing organizations are opposed to the proposals, stating environmental and financial concerns. The Herring Industry Advisory Board, the B.C. Seafood Alliance and the Underwater Harvesters Association have all sent submissions to the Ministry outlining their misgivings. All three named the sheer size of the proposed farms, combined with the unknown environmental impacts, as a top concern.

“From our perspective, [the applications] cover a very large area that is important to commercial fisheries,” said Christina Burridge of the B.C. Seafood Alliance. “There has been no assessment of feasibility or environmental impact – it is highly speculative in nature.”

She added that Baynes Sound is vital herring spawning territory and that herring play a key role in the wider health of the coastal marine ecosystem and the commercial fishery.

Lorena Hamer of the Herring Industry Advisory Board echoed Burridge’s concerns.

“It is an extremely large footprint,” she said. “There are strong biological questions. The area is one of the top spawning areas on the coast…It could change the water quality or the oxygen content of Baynes Sound. The impact on the ecosystem is unknown.”

Added Michelle James of the Underwater Harvesters Association, “It is a very large area and there is not a proven track record.”

She added that the organization is not completely opposed to the idea, but they would rather see the research conducted on a smaller scale before it is expanded to cover over 250 hectares.

She also said there is some concern in the industry that the large footprint will simply give the proponents freedom to harvest the wild population while keeping commercial fisheries out.

“Aquaculture needs to be aquaculture, not just a way to gain access to wild stocks,” said James.

The Ministry is currently considering the proposals and it is not known when a decision on the matter will be made. To read CVCS’s entire submission go towww.cvconservationstrategy.org.

lbroadley@comoxvalleyecho.com.

http://www.comoxvalleyecho.com/article/20120810/COMOX0101/308109964/-1/comox/groups-divided-on-sea-cucumber-application

Bullfrogs and sea cucumbers

AUGUST 14, 2012

Last week we attended the Merville Frogfest, an annual community potluck and gathering to help publicise the problems caused by the introduced bullfrog species (and, for some attendees, to consume them). These large frogs were apparently introduced to the Fraser Valley and southeast Vancouver Island to be bred and used as food, but as so often happens, they somehow escaped into the wild and are marching relentlessly up island, multiplying by the millions. They arrived in the Comox Valley ten years ago, and continue their spread north and west from here. They prey on anything they can get hold of, which includes all our native frogs, spawn and tadpoles, as well as fish of all kinds, baby birds and even dragonflies. There are so many of them that it is easy to scoop up in nets 50 or 60 in an hour out in a canoe on ponds and wetlands in Merville, as well as many other places in the Comox Valley, and all over the south of the island. Many environmentalists are keen to attempt to limit the bullfrogs as much as possible by catching and killing them, although it will never be possible to eradicate them, let alone make much of a dent in their population. Thus the island ecosystem is being changed forever. Before too long many of our native pond and wetland dwellers will be endangered or extinct.

From what i read in the papers, i understand a certain local entrepeneur wants to introduce aquatic animals called sea cucumbers in large numbers into our local ocean waters for the purpose of a commercial enterprise to sell them to the Chinese, who we hear relish eating these disgusting looking creatures.

I have an idea. Forget messing up our ocean ecosystem forever, and start up a bullfrog industry instead to sell to the Chinese, who already eat frogs as part of their diet. This could solve all our resource and unemployment problems. Those outdoorsy types with hunting instincts could earn a living catching the frogs, and others could work in the processing plants where frogs could be made into every conceivable product. Entrepeneurs, secretaries, sales people and transport trades would all be involved. Bargeloads of the frogs could be sent to China along with the barges of metal and plastic now going there. Start a rumour about the aphrodisiac properties of the exceptionally prolific bullfrogs, and the Chinese would be clamouring for them. Perhaps body parts (ahem) other than the legs would become popular there. Vancouver Island would become world famous, and B.C. a wealthy province. Who needs resources like oil and coal when you’ve got something as valuable as bullfrogs overrunning the place and free for the picking? No forests need to be cut down or mines opened or oceans infested with unnatural quantities of foreign animals. The absense of millions of bullfrogs would do no harm at all, in fact the project would receive accolades for cutting edge environmentalism. And think of all the secondary industries that would boom, things like bullfrog fertiliser, made with the leftovers since much of the frog isn’t eaten, bullfrog art, stationary, jewellry, shopping bags, you name it. Plenty of harmless scope for entrepeneurs. The bullfrog could become the symbol of the Comox Valley, and our gateway to wealth.

So i hope a few of you, while considering the sea cucumber issue, have taken note of the vast history of disasters caused by species introduced to non-native environments by humans. In every case it has been preventable. Why allow this history to repeat itself yet again? If Mother Nature intended there to be sea cucumbers in vast quantities in our strait, they’d be there; but instead, a small number now live in balanced harmony with their surroundings. Think of the bullfrog: A Pandora’s Box can never be closed again. What gives one commercial enterprise the right to change our ocean ecosystem now and forever? Our oceans not only belong to all of us, they belong to future generations too. They do not belong to one small interest group out to make huge profits. Please make your voices heard against this commercial application. Write to the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations at 2500 Cliffe Ave. V9N 5M6.

And no, generally sticking to vegetarian food myself, i didn’t try the frog, or even really want look at it. Yuck. But my husband tried a leg, and yes apparently, just like chicken.

Summer Joy

Merville

Sea cucumber proponent denies seeding has begun in Baynes Sound

Sea cucumber proponent denies seeding has begun in Baynes Sound

SOME KILMARNOCK DRIVE residents are worried by the amount of sea cucumbers they’ve seen lately on the beach in front their homes, especially because they have never seen one in the area before.

Roshin Photography

http://www.comoxvalleyrecord.com/news/165361966.html

By Renee Andor – Comox Valley Record
Published: August 07, 2012 5:00 PM
Updated: August 07, 2012 5:40 PM

Some area residents are concerned sea cucumber seeding has spread to Baynes Sound — before a controversial project has been approved.

A 155-hectare application for tenure for growing sea cucumbers between Royston and Union Bay is being reviewed by the various government arms responsible for granting licensing and use of the area. If approved, the area would be used for research and commercial growing of sea cucumbers, which are edible.

Controversy has surrounded the application and many area residents have expressed numerous concerns such as danger to the area’s biodiversity and sensitive habitat, and issues with recreational use.

Kilmarnock Drive resident Bob Ell is concerned about the proposed project, but he’s also concerned that he’s never seen sea cucumbers on the beach in front of his house in the 18 years he’s lived there, until now.

“I have been walking this beach at low tide for many years in all seasons and this spring was the first time that I saw sea cucumbers at low tide,” said Ell in an e-mail, adding he’s seen many young sea cucumbers on the beach since he first spotted them in April.

“It is very interesting that, after all of the 18 years that I have lived here, that in the year in which applications for sea cucumber ranching are submitted to the provincial government, that we are seeing for the first time a blooming of sea cucumbers on our beach.

“This leads me to believe that the applicants may already be seeding different areas along our beaches even before their applications have been approved or rejected.”

Applicant Dan Bowen said this is “absolutely not” the case.

“The sea cucumbers have always been there,” said Bowen, adding there isn’t a great number of them. “I was out there about a month ago because we were doing some surveying and I saw one, but it was sort of near about the three-foot-plus tide and there was a big adult sea cucumber there, and I said ‘oh that’s interesting, I haven’t seen one out here before’ and when I was over on Hornby Island I saw a couple over there, too.

“It’s just that now that people are thinking about sea cucumbers they’re seeing more of them, maybe because they’re finally becoming aware of their surroundings.”

Don Israelson, Ell’s neighbour, noted he has only lived in the area part-time for about six years, but he hadn’t seen a sea cucumber there before this year either, and he said the amount that are on the beach worries him.

“It was very disconcerting because it’s not just a couple, you know, there are dozens and dozens and that’s without really going on a hunt and looking,” he said, adding he could see larger sea cucumbers in the water at low tide late last week, (three-foot), and he could see smaller, thumb-sized ones further in to land.

“Almost casually, we start to roll over rocks and thought, ‘Holy crap, you know, here they are, and here’s more here’ — very, very unnatural, and again, it just raises a whole bunch of questions.”

Bowen pointed out that a sea cucumber the size of a thumb would be about one year old, and thus would only have been spawn last August or September. The application was submitted last October.

He also said the Gartley Point Hatchery, which is owned by his co-applicant Eric Gant, could not be responsible for the sudden burst of sea cucumbers.

“A hatchery has never created, never spawned out successfully, sea cucumbers, ever,” said Bowen. “This is all brand new science here — so we’re working on the science of how to spawn sea cucumbers — and, hopefully, we’re successful.”

Ell pointed out Bowen told attendees of a public information meeting that recreationally-used beaches would not be impacted by growing sea cucumbers because the creatures live in deep water. However, Ell noted the ones he’s been seeing lately are on the beach where he walks when the tide is low.

“At low tide no one will be able to walk along the low tide mark on our beaches without stepping on literally thousands of so called ‘deep water’ sea cucumbers for every hundred metres of beach,” said Ell.

The public comment period for the application closed at the end of July, and it is now being reviewed by government branches including the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations.

A separate second application for a 107-hectare sea cucumber tenure from Union Bay to nearly Buckley Bay has been filed. Bowen is acting as a consultant during the application process.

writer@comoxvalleyrecord.com

Sea cucumber farm details made public – Lise Broadley, Comox Valley Echo

http://www2.canada.com/comoxvalleyecho/news/story.html?id=bb2fd41c-3f90-440c-b474-d3fb37bd4e71&p=1

Sea cucumber farm details made public

Lise Broadley, Comox Valley Echo

Published: Tuesday, July 31, 2012

If the applicants have their way, two proposed sea cucumber farms in Baynes Sound could involve underwater netting, tubing and cement blocks.
The management plans for the aquaculture ventures were released last week following a Freedom of Information request and they show more details about the proposed sea cucumber farms – one covering 155 hectares and the other 107.
Those details include different options for creating environments attractive for juvenile sea cucumbers, as well as a better idea of the seeding and harvesting plans for the two tenures.
“In the sub-tidal nursery areas, the juvenile sea cucumbers need protection from predators for the first 6-8 months. We have identified several known predators such as diving ducks, sea stars, crabs and fish. We will use several methods of on-bottom protection for the juveniles as part of the research,” he wrote.Dan Bowen, one of the applicants in the larger venture and a consultant on the smaller, wrote the nearidentical management plans for the joint research and commercial operations. In the plan he indicates that a number of options exist for placing predator protection in the subtidal area of Baynes Sound.
“The planned physical nursery area will have several natural oyster shelled features in specific patterns with different shapes contained with heavy fish net, poly-coated gabion and/or concrete cube or reef ball type protection to be placed on the substrate to provide sanctuary for the juvenile sea cucumbers. The sea cucumbers will remain in the protected area for about five to six months.”
The Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources is in the process of weighing the application for Crown land tenure. If granted, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and Transport Canada will also have to provide approval for specific parts of the project before it can go ahead. The formal public comment period on the tenure application wrapped up this week, but the Ministry has indicated that written comments will still be accepted until they make a written report on the matter. It’s not clear when that will be.
The proposed sea cucumber farms have drawn plenty of ire from Comox Valley residents who fear the industrialization of Baynes Sound. The body of water is a popular recreational area and already home to numerous shellfish growers responsible for about half the commercial shellfish grown in B.C.
A recent meeting of the Friends of Baynes Sound, a group formed in reaction to the proposed farms, drew over 100 people concerned about their impact and bent on preventing the applications from being approved.
Until the business plans were released last week, some details of the aquaculture farms have been unavailable to the public; however some areas of the plans are blacked out under Section 21 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Under Section 21, items can be held back from public knowledge if they could be harmful to the business interests of a third party.
The proposed management plan indicates that there will be no need for marker floats, though Bowen has since said that buoys may be necessary to mark specific locations in Baynes Sound.

Also in the plan, Bowen describes how the young sea cucumbers, grown at the Gartley Point Hatchery, will be seeded and harvested.
“To schedule harvest times, we are working with an area rotation within the tenure based on three larger areas. Each are will be planted at one year intervals in order to get annual harvest times. Within each area… nursery stations will be set up. (25 nursery areas each year for three years). Each 1.0 ha nursery area will contain five nursery stations. This planting strategy will start up the timing for the harvest cycle that will be able to provide product that will be available 12 months of the year from the larger tenure area of 1.55 ha,” wrote Bowen.
The management report indicated that there have been ongoing discussions with DFO to ensure that the sea cucumbers remain in the designated area and don’t interfere with the natural population, though Bowen and the applicants argue that containment is not necessary.
“In both cases out research will provide hard scientific data to resolve these DFO concerns… Based on…past research and the research of other biologists who have written reports and abstracts about sea cucumbers’ movement we will confirm that containment is not necessary. Our biologists will provide a record of sea cucumber movement, it will be a revelation.”"In our discussions with DFO and others there is clear message of concern that there is the need to contain sea cucumbers within the tenure. DFO has advised our group from the first discussions that they have two main issues they believe must be addressed. First, the possible genetic variation of hatchery spawned Parastichopus californicus by escapement and interacting with the wild stock. Second concern is introduction of disease of hatchery stock,” he wrote.
Bowen then goes on to indicate that fencing, as requested by DFO, creates an unhealthy environment and an unpopular product with consumers.
However, at a meeting hosted by the proponents in June, Bowen said that DFO still required the use of underwater fencing to contain the animals.
To submit written comments on the proposed farms email AuthorizingAgency.Nanaimo@ gov.bc.ca or write to the manager, aquaculture, Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations at 2500 Cliffe Avenue, Courtenay, B.C., V9N 5M6.
lbroadley@comoxvalleyecho.com

© Comox Valley Echo 2012

Friends of Baynes Sound: Question

Lost propeller in front of Kingfisher Resort. Will there be more casualties due to the proposed structures to be placed in our waters?

Lost propeller in front of Kingfisher Resort. Will there be more casualties due to the proposed structures to be placed in our waters?