The Last 10 Per Cent from Comox Valley Voice

Expressing my concern by pictures. Aquaculture has been growing in Baynes Sound. Only 10 per cent is left for nature and recreation, free from aquaculture tenures. However right now applications for shellfish operations are being applied for between Gartley Point and Union Bay, in the face of Comox Valley residents and adjacent to the Courtenay Estuary. Sandy Island and Henry Bay, in the Marine Park, may not be protected now either.

This video is a plead for action to preserve the last 10 per cent of Baynes Sound for recreation and nature. A green space/buffer zone for people to relax and aquatic creature to live in harmony, apart from the aquaculture industry.

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.

October 24 – CVRD invites input on Royston waterfront trail design

CVRD invites input on Royston waterfront trail design The Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) is inviting public comment on its plan to reconstruct the former trail along the Royston foreshore beginning one lot south of Chinook Road and extending via Hilton Road to the bottom of Lince Road, a recently constructed gravel road. Input will be sought on the trail and foreshore protection design concepts at a public open house on Wednesday, October 24, 2012 from 5 – 8 p.m. at the Fallen Alders Hall at 3595 Royston Road. Presentations by the design team will take place at 5:15 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
The CVRD received a grant from the Province of British Columbia in March of this year to assist in the funding of the project. Earlier this summer, the CVRD hired ISL Engineering and Aquaparian Environmental services to assess the trail corridor and gather information on foreshore and marine habitat, the extent of the erosion and required stream and ditch crossings. Overtime, the waves have eroded sections of the old railway grade and winter storms have dislodged rock fill – leaving sinking holes and exposing log cribbing. “Based on the consultant’s findings, conceptual designs drawings with proposed erosion protection and trail options have been prepared for this open house,” said Bruce Jolliffe, CVRD’s director for Baynes Sound-Denman/Hornby Islands (Area ‘A’). “We encourage people to participate by asking questions and providing feedback on the project renderings.” For those who cannot make the meeting, design concepts and project information will be posted by October 24 at www.comoxvalleyrd.ca/roystontrail. If you have questions about the project, please contact Karin Albert, CVRD parks planner, at 250-334-6000 orkalbert@comoxvalleyrd.ca. The Comox Valley Regional District is a federation of three electoral areas and three municipalities providing sustainable services for residents and visitors to the area. The members of the regional district work collaboratively on services for the benefit of the diverse urban and rural areas of the Comox Valley. -30- Media contact: Karin Albert , Parks planner Comox Valley Regional District Tel: 250-334-6067

CVRD invites input on Royston waterfront trail design – TideChange

TideChange http://tidechange.ca/cvrd-invites-input-on-royston-waterfront-trail-design Export date: Thu Oct 18 16:51:19 2012 / +0000 GMT

CVRD invites input on Royston waterfront trail design The Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) is inviting public comment on its plan to reconstruct the former trail along the Royston foreshore beginning one lot south of Chinook Road and extending via Hilton Road to the bottom of Lince Road, a recently constructed gravel road.

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

Cumberland BC Cumberlander: What’s all the stink about Sea Cucumbers?

Cumberland BC Cumberlander: Articles.

What’s all the stink about Sea Cucumbers?
Zelda Wamzutta
The deadline for public input on the two Sea Cucumber Applications is quickly approaching on Tuesday, July 31st.

Just in the knick of time, comes a response with the Proponents’ Business Plan to a Freedom of Information Request from the Ministry of Labour, Citizens’ Services and Open Government.
Click on this link to find that Document – http://friendsofbaynessound.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/response-records-blog.pdf

I think it all boils down to this: why did the Proponents keep this Business Plan under wraps until now? My guess is that the information about 4.6 million plus 6.2 million = 10.8 million sea cucumbers being a harvested a year from Gartley Point to Buckley Bay wouldn’t sit well with residents. Indeed those figures are not given in the Document. However, it’s only a matter of doing a little math to figure out how much 1,500 metric tonnes a year of sea cucumbers would work out to be. (See Page 15 of Document.)

Also, take a look at the diagrams of blue predator tubing on Pages 53 and 56. There is a note that the tubing will be “removed after 4-6 months”. What if there is a storm that bounces around those tubes along with the 1.5 metre high containment fencing (see Page 29)? These plastic materials will undoubtedly end up on our beaches, causing even more biofouling in Baynes Sound.

If you have a few minutes this weekend, go to this link and follow the instructions to send in your Letter of Concern to the Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resources – http://friendsofbaynessound.wordpress.com/
“CC’s” can also be sent to DFO and other governmental contacts. The deadline is Tuesday, July 31st.

Questions for Management Plan

Thanks for sending this Bob Loblaw.

Proponents’ Sea Cucumber Management Plan

FOR Proponents’ Sea Cucumber Management Plan” CLICK HERE

This document was obtained by a Freedom of Information Request from

the Ministry of Labour, Citizens’ Services and Open Government.

Note: All information specifically about the number of sea cucumbers which will be planted has been withheld from the public.

There are, in fact, three passages which are marked as “s.21″ or “Disclosure

harmful to business interests of a third party” as follows:

(1) Information in Paragraph 6 on Page 8, under Section D “Socio-

Community” entitled “Rough planting and harvest projections” (i.e.

the number of plantings of sea cucumbers) has been withheld; and

(2) Information on Page 2 under Section 2 “Marketing” – the latter half of the paragraph has been withheld, and

(3) Page 58 has been deleted in its entirety.

FOR Proponents’ Sea Cucumber Management Plan” CLICK HERE

We don’t really know the impact of sea cucumber farming as proposed for Baynes Sound.

We don’t really know the impact of sea cucumber farming as proposed for Baynes Sound. What we can probably all agree on is it is wise to use a precautionary principle – do no harm. However, how can we predict such an outcome? According to the David Suzuki Foundation, “many of the basic scientific studies that are required to understand the impacts of shellfish farming have not been completed, and few studies of long-term impacts are being undertaken.”

Although the proponents of the proposed sea cucumber tenures in Baynes Sound state there is a research component attached to this application to add to the knowledge base for the industry and the world, one has to ask, is this the appropriate site for a pilot project of 270 hectares in size (667 acres – essentially stretching between Royston to the Union Bay log sort, then from the other side of the Union Bay boat launch to just short of the Denman Island Ferry Crossing). Do we really want to stress this area beyond the 50 per cent of the BC shellfish production it already supports? What parameters would be used as the end-point of this experiment to do no harm? Can we really be certain that this experiment will not create a long lasting negative impact if something unexpected goes wrong. Is it ethical to take the chance that there will be no impact on our local recreation, local economy, tourism, biodiversity and the overall quality of life for residents?

The proponents believe there is no risk but only benefit. However, perhaps we can learn from the salmon farming industry. The outcome of that industry is not what they had initially expected and continues to be controversial. Do we want to risk having to live under the social stress of another long-term aquaculture controversy in this pristine area? As can be seen in the video below, the salmon farming industry felt assured of the potential benefits of the industry but there were many negative effects that were not predicted. This leads one to ponder: is allowing any risk by the growing aquaculture industry in this pristine Baynes Sound area wise?