Canadian Yachting
More than just a sandy beach clean-up. Since August 18th, a fleet of nine boats has been combing about 1,000 kilometres of remote coastline. The Marine Debris Recovery Initiative (MDRI), a collaboration with the Clean Coast, Clean Waters Fund (Ministry of Environment & Climate Change Strategy), the Small Ship Tour Operators Association of British Columbia (SSTOA) and Coastal First Nations, embarked on an expedition to remove marine debris and plastics.
The expedition was administered by the Wilderness Tourism Association of BC and supported by the Commercial Bear Viewing Association of BC - over 100 crew and Indigenous community members collected 127 tonnes of marine debris washed up onto beaches over the past 6 weeks.
In the weeks to follow - it's expected that up to 100 tonnes of marine waste will be removed and will be taken to northern Vancouver Island for disposal in the Seven Mile Landfill.
Removing marine debris and plastics is a priority under the global Oceans Plastic Charter and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, to which Canada has committed. It’s a priority for Indigenous governments and communities, for sustaining ocean health and protecting community food harvests. Marine debris also poses threats to species at risk including fish, seabirds and marine mammal populations – and derelict fishing gear (also known as ghost gear) makes up almost half of all marine debris.
The Small Ship Tour Operators Association of BC (SSTOABC) is a coalition of 7 companies in British Columbia who all operate overnight nature tours from 5-10 days in duration. The members of the SSTOABC have informally collaborated for decades, as the model of these operators’ expeditions requires that they share access to places and resources with one another. They also work together to protect the coastal areas they operate in, develop best practices based on ecotourism, and collaborate on maritime regulations and other areas that are unique to overnight small ship tours.
Tourism ships normally loaded with adventure seekers heading to the Great Bear Rain Forest this time of year are now filling their hulls with plastic waste.
It was an innovative project by the small-ship companies, which had to cancel their lucrative tourism seasons amid the pandemic.
The cleanup is being paid for as part of the province’s COVID-19 stimulus funding and will provide work for more than 100 crew and guides on nine ships, from five B.C. ecotourism companies. It will also employ a tug and barge and helicopter. A related in-shore cleanup done by members of Coastal First Nations communities will employ another 75 people.
The crews include scientists who are collecting data on the debris to be used by the Environment Ministry.
Removing marine debris and plastics is a priority under the global Oceans Plastic Charter and the UN’s sustainable development goals. It’s a priority for Indigenous governments and communities to sustain ocean health and protect food harvest.
The Great Bear Rainforest’s outer coast is strewn with reefs, far from roads and communities, making cleanups challenging.
The Small Ship Tour Operators Association said it has seen first-hand how marine debris can pile up on remote beaches, only to be washed out into the ocean again during the next big storm.