The East Porpoise Bay Community Association has released a video designed to show that the problem with derelict and abandoned boats goes beyond what people can see on the surface of the water.
The association hired diver and videographer Neil McDaniel, a part-time Sechelt resident, to film the ocean bottom between the government wharf and MacKenzie Marina.
The area is known for one of the Coast’s highest concentrations of abandoned and derelict vessels.
Association president Mike Hoole said the video is another way of bringing attention to the issue and putting pressure on governments at all levels to do more to tackle the problem, which the association said goes beyond abandoned, sunken and derelict boats to unregulated live-aboards and other anchored vessels.
“We’ve been very concerned about the abundance of boats that have been brought in here and basically dumped,” Hoole said. “We see Sechelt Inlet and Porpoise Bay as being a huge resources for the District of Sechelt and it’s important that it be properly maintained. We wanted to make sure people were aware of what the situation is and pictures are worth a thousand words.”
McDaniel’s video highlights three boats that have gone to the bottom in recent years, including the tugboat R B Green, which is marked by a floating “Wreck” sign.
McDaniel said the big problem with wrecks like the R B Green, which was largely empty of fuel and contaminants when it went down, is the location. “It’s the middle of a trafficked area,” he said, adding that moving it to a safer location by towing it out to rest in deep water can be very costly.
As well as the three wrecks, McDaniel’s video shows a sea floor littered with the usual debris found near docks – bottles, tires, etc. “That area of Porpoise Bay is kind of typical of what you would find close to government docks and commercial operations and areas where lots of boats are moored, especially derelict vessels,” he said.
The biggest danger to the sea life amid the debris, according to McDaniel, is the large amount of discarded netting. McDaniel said he found evidence that cormorants had become entangled in the nets. “How many diving birds are dying in that netting, I don’t know.”
The District of Sechelt was recently granted $70,000 to assess the boats, and communications manager Julie Rogers said they’re currently trying to contact the owners of the vessels they want to assess, which is one of the requirements under the federal funding.
The Pender Harbour Advisory Council was granted $10,000 under the same program.
At the council’s May 6 community meeting Penny Harrison, one of the volunteers working on the project, said they’ve contacted the owners of the two vessels they plan to assess, the Lulu Island and the Kwatna in Gerrans Bay, and have started the process of getting bids from salvage companies.
She also said they plan to apply for money to assess at least three other vessels through the next round of funding from the program.
