BC is funding shore cleanup projects across Vancouver Island and the rest of the province!
The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy released a statement, promising that BC residents will soon benefit from cleaner coastlines.
The Province will collaborate with small businesses, non-profit organizations and First Nations as they complete 17 more projects this year as a part of the Clean Coast, Clean Waters (CCCW) initiative.
A total of $8 million is being invested in tackling marine debris and plastic pollution along BC’s coastlines—around $4 million of that being allocated to Vancouver Island.
“British Columbians and communities along our spectacular coastline want and deserve to enjoy an environment free of marine debris and plastic pollution,” said George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy.
“We now know the harms that plastic waste causes to marine life and also how it finds its way into human-food sources as it breaks down. We are proud to support these innovative projects to reduce and collect plastic waste and create a cleaner, healthier shoreline for communities and wildlife to enjoy today and in the future.”
In fact, one of said projects involving two local small ship tour operators, Maple Leaf Adventures and Bluewater Adventures, is just returning from an industrial-scale marine debris removal expedition.
Working with local Indigenous nations and funded by the CCCW program, they were able to remove 32.5 tonnes of fishing gear, nets, rope, polystyrene floats, plastic bottles, and more from the Great Bear Rainforest and Great Bear Sea region.
These regions are marine and terrestrial protected areas, critical habitats for whales, seabirds, and sea otters, and dozens of islands—which both our companies are dedicated to protecting through sustainable tourism practices.
“To us, it’s not done until whales stop being entangled, plastic stops breaking down on beaches and seabirds are out of danger of ingesting plastic. As eco-tourism operators, doing this work as part of travel is what to us the future of tourism looks like,” said Kevin Smith, Expedition Leader and President of Maple Leaf Adventures.
“After 50 years operating nature tours on this coast, Bluewater Adventures understands how deeply inter-connected the health of the ocean is to wildlife survival, visitor experience and First Nations’ futures,” added Randy Burke, Captain and Director of Bluewater Adventures.
“This expedition cleaning up marine debris is an example of how business needs to be responsible for their actions and our common future. If we don’t get involved [sic] giving back, we really can’t justify the impacts our small group expeditions actually do have.”
According to a media release, since 2020, the CCCW has removed 215 neglected/abandoned vessels and cleaned up more than 2,100 tonnes of marine debris from more than 6,400 kilometres of shoreline.
Not only does this improve the overall quality of our waters, it also creates and maintains nearly 2,400 well-paying jobs!
“What people often miss when marvelling at the beauty of British Columbia is the devastating impacts humans have caused to the marine ecosystem,” said Kyle Watters, assistant field supervisor at Let’s Talk Trash—one of this year’s recipients of CCCW funding.
“[CCCW funding] allows us to contribute directly to maintaining the health of this beloved ecosystem, which is an essential life-support system of the planet and has inherent value in climate resiliency.”
This $8 million in funding for these projects is a part of a $25 million provincial investment announced in May of last year and fund marine-shoreline cleanup, derelict-vessel removal and derelict aquaculture-site cleanup.
