Regional district directors have asked for options to develop a service that might address the proliferation of private mooring buoys within Capital Regional District (CRD) waters, responding to alarms sounded during an April workshop and linking those buoys to a growing number of derelict vessels in harbours from Sooke to Ganges.
That growth, according to CRD staff, is the direct result of a regulatory change by the Government of Canada, which in 2009 eliminated authorization requirements for so-called “minor works” such as buoys, so long as they did not impede navigation. Those buoys, according to a CRD presentation, directly resulted in an increase in abandoned, wrecked and derelict boats, which, even apart from environmental or safety concerns, have had a financial toll on the regional district, as more government staff are needed to address varying community impacts.
In Ganges Harbour, according to a CRD staff review of historical aerial photographs, what in 1996 was 45 boats and 60 buoys became 138 boats and 144 buoys as of last year. Nearly 500 mooring buoys were counted within the Gulf Islands in 2023; across the CRD, staff tallied 1,185 buoys holding 862 boats, docks and other structures throughout 21 bays and harbours.
At the CRD board’s direction, staff hosted a regional workshop on April 30 –– titled “Collaborative Action to Resolve Boat-Related Issues in the Capital Region” –– that saw nearly 60 elected officials, staff and representatives from First Nations, regional government and municipalities. Senior environmental protection manager Glenn Harris told the CRD Environmental Services Committee Wednesday, July 17 that the gathering also included some provincial government staff, including assistant deputy minister James Mack; and while lack of provincial regulation around buoy placement –– and B.C.’s deference to federal authority on the matter –– had been problematic for coastal communities, Mack gave a brief presentation on the BC Coastal Marine Strategy, meant to directly address the issue of derelict vessels through its focus on marine pollution.
More than 1,400 abandoned or derelict vessels await cleanup in the coastal marine waters of B.C., according to the BC Coastal Marine Strategy’s 2024 summary document.
The Canadian Coast Guard was invited to the April meeting, according to CRD staff, but ultimately there were no federal officials or staff in attendance. That absence was keenly felt by Salt Spring CRD director Gary Holman, who repeated his call for both federal and provincial levels of government to increase their involvement –– while supporting an investigation into establishing a regional service, albeit chiefly as a way to hold the issue in the public eye.
“If the CRD doesn’t continue keeping the discussion going at some level, the senior governments who basically have abandoned the field for sure will do nothing,” said Holman, adding that without the province at least being more “forthcoming” in their support, he was reluctant to establish a regional service.
Harris reported that the workshop participants seemed to agree that without a coordinated regional approach, locally driven changes in one area simply shift issues elsewhere.
“We’re seeing that not only within the region, but between regions,” said Harris, noting that when False Creek moorages saw some restrictions, the number of boats there did decrease. “[But] those boats moved over to the Gulf Islands.”
Harris said the task at this point would be for staff to return with options for the CRD board, and officials could decide then what level of engagement they wanted to pursue –– from a coordination or facilitation role helping local authorities at one end, to establishing regional licences of occupation at the other. CAO Ted Robbins said staff would also look at whether expanding or amending the existing Saanich Peninsula Harbour Service to take on a more regional role might be appropriate.
“That would be our first look,” said Robbins. “Moving forward, we’ll also think of the governance structure around this service. I would expect given that we’re considering this report here today with Environmental Services, ultimately –– either through a service amendment or the establishment of a new service –– this service would report up to the Environmental Services Committee.”