In late October, I began receiving emails expressing substantial concerns about an application for a shellfish aquaculture proposal in Booth Bay, on Salt Spring Island.
The application is to the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (FLNRORD) by Penelakut Seafoods Ltd. Their request is for a License of Occupation over 13.6 hectares of intertidal area. They want access to the beach so they can to harvest Manila and Littleneck Clams and Pacific Oysters.
Plastic predator netting greatest concern
I have heard substantial concerns from Salt Spring Island residents about this project. The concerns have ranged from access to the beach and size of the operation to the use of plastic predator netting. This latter issue is intrusive, threatens the environment and is the greatest concern of letter writers to my office.
When the flow of correspondence started, I contacted senior staff in FLNRORD to get answers to basic questions about the timeline for consideration of this application. I was told that it would not be before Summer 2019 as the Ministry has a backlog of applications.
In addition to connecting with his senior staff, I have had an initial conversation with Minister Doug Donaldson. I let him know about the concerns from our community about this application. He is aware of the situation and I will connect with Minister Donaldson as necessary throughout this process.
Last week, the BC Green Caucus attended the First Nations Leadership Gathering where I met with Penelakut Chief Joan Brown. In that meeting, it was confirmed that Penelakut intends to harvest shellfish from the beach as they are doing in a few other locations around their territory. This is a practice they have undertaken for countless generations.
Shellfish important part of Coast Salish culture and economy
As you may know I am a member of the W̱SÁNEĆ community. Shellfish harvesting is an important part of the Coast Salish culture. They are used both for food provisions, and also as an economic engine for our communities. These seafood products have been traded for a very long time.
But, this application and the proposal need to be addressed directly. So, I offered to host a neighbourhood meeting with local residents and Penelakut officials to offer some clarity and to have a community dialogue about the proposal.
I believe it is important to bring people together to have these discussions in person. I am happy to facilitate that conversation. My staff will coordinate this neighbourhood meeting for a time in early January.
Advocacy will continue!
Finally, thank you to everyone who has expressed their concerns and provided feedback on this proposal. I will continue to engage local residents and the Penelakut community to help foster a positive relationship going forward. Throughout this process, I and my staff will ensure the BC NDP Government understands the concerns of our constituency on Salt Spring and Saanich North and the Islands.
The Ministry has extended the deadline for public comment by one month. It is now January 10, 2019. This is due to the volume of correspondence and high levels of concern from the public. Click here to write the Ministry with your comments and feedback.
Also, please make sure you copy my office at Adam.Olsen.MLA@leg.bc.ca as I will be continuing to advocate you our behalf with my colleagues in government and I will be providing regular updates with new information as I receive it.
Thank you for your comments Adam. I feel fortunate that we can count on you for a balanced approach. I walk this beach often and am always aware that it must have been a vauable source of food in the past. It’s also an amazing place to see herons, Eagles, otters, oystercatchers and kingfishers. I look forward to the meeting in January.
Thank you Wilma!
My family used to stay in a cabin at Acland’s Salt Spring Island resort harvest clams in the Booth Bay canal. There was an abandoned derelict house on a point of land adjacent to the canal which we called the “boat house”. I asked Mr. Acland one day what was the story behind this abandoned house that had lost many shingles and where you could see through the boards. He told me that it belonged to the Indians who came there every year to harvest clams and stayed in the cabin. I used to look around that house for rocks and one day I found a spearhead about 2″ long, attesting to long use of that area by First Nations. I recently revisited Salt spring and went for beach walk along the shore by Acland’s. I was upset to see all traces of the “boat house” gone and private property signs and benches on the point where it had stood.