BC Shellfish Growers Association

Beach Clean-Up Activity

Shellfish farmers are proud to be stewards of the marine environment. We are working towards improved husbandry practices to eliminate losses of equipment from farms to ensure beaches are free of farm-related debris. The BCSGA is the point-of-contact for the public to call if they have concerns about lost shellfish farming equipment. We coordinate various industry-wide beach clean-up efforts throughout the year, in addition to ongoing regular clean-ups. If you have questions about this issue, please call us at (250) 890 7561.

Baynes Sound Beach Clean-Up – April 19th, 2009

Well, we had a great turnout, and half decent weather for the 3rd annual Earth Day Baynes Sound Shellfish Farming Industry Beach Clean-Up.  About 30 people showed, including volunteers from industry, families new to Courtenay, and four staff from the BC Ministry of Agriculture & Lands – a huge thanks to all that participated!  We collected about one and a half bins full and we reckon the beaches of Baynes Sound are in decent shape for the upcoming summer season.  However, we remain vigilant and will continue our ongoing regular beach clean-up activity,

Thanks to Al, Brian, Bill, and Alex for coming out on their day off!  Much appreciated.

Great fleet.  This is the end of the day Beach BBQ at the park N of Bulkley Bay.

Courtenay resident, Ken who brought his family, and David McCallum (at right) enjoy a beverage.

Diane and Greg – who has been an excellent steward of the Sound for the past three years.

The Bin at the end of the day.  Whew.

And finally, I thought I’d share the letter to the Editor of the Comox Valley Record:

Dear Editor:

It is no secret that the shellfish farming industry is responsible for much of the equipment and debris that is found on the foreshore and beaches of Baynes Sound.  Despite this industrial issue, shellfish growers are hard-working people who live here too, and are proud of the lifestyle and living that their employment provides.

In claiming responsibility for marine environmental stewardship, growers and residents alike turned up over 30 strong to participate in our Earth Day annual industry-wide Baynes Sound beach clean-up event, held Sunday April 19th.  While we may not have cleared every last piece of plastic or rope from the Sound, we feel very good about the state of the beaches in advance of the summer season.  We are committed to regular ongoing clean-ups throughout the year and ask residents to call the BC Shellfish Growers Association office to report debris at any time – (250) 890 7561.

Many thanks again to all who participated and had a great time doing it!

David McCallum
R&D Coordinator
BC Shellfish Growers Association
T: (250) 890 7561

TD Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup – September 20th – 28th, 2008

Shellfish farmers around the Province will be participating in this excellent event, organized by the Vancouver Aquarium and funded by the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation.  Various clean-ups are planned for September.  To participate, either login to the TD Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup website, or give David a call at the BCSGA office (250 890 7561) for more information.

Baynes Sound Beach Clean-Up – April 5th, 2008

The Baynes Sound Industry Environmental Stewards and crews were out in full force on Saturday for a a great time of nailing the coffin shut on Beach Debris for the 2007/2008 winter season. We feel really good about the state of Baynes Sound beaches and we all had a good time doing it. In the photos below, we’re having a great BBQ after the clean-up effort at the Comox Valley Regional District’s Joe Walker Community Park. BBQ’d Oysters… gotta love ‘em!

The goal for this clean-up was to have Baynes Sound beaches completely free of shellfish industry-related equipment and other non-industry related debris! While nothing’s perfect, we do feel like we’ve succeeded in doing a really good job at addressing the problem. If anyone finds any industry-related equipment on beaches, call the BCSGA office at (250) 890 7561 and we’ll deal with it right away.

Thanks for the effort to all volunteers who came out on Saturday, especially Gordy McLellan, Sally Kew and Crew (Macs Oysters); Alex Munro, Francis Tran and Crew (Fanny Bay Oysters); Greg Holst-Larsen (for all your excellent hard-work); Mark and Cindy James (Summer Breeze Aquaculture); Barb Bunting and Holly (Island Scallops); Ed and Crew (Pentlatch Seafoods); Clark Munro and Crew (Raincoast Seafarms); Brian Kingzett and Crew (Centre for Shellfish Research – Deep Bay Field Site); and finally, Alex Millar (Fisheries Inspector with the BC Ministry of Agriculture & Lands). Awesome effort, all!!!

Okeover Inlet Beach Clean-Up – March 6th through 10th, 2008

It was a great turnout of many of the local growers from Okeover Inlet. At least five boatloads nearly filled two bins at the Okeover dock. Francoise brought a huge pot of Oyster soup for the after-party, which was awesome! Everyone worked hard and had a good time!!! Pics, below:

Shellfish Industry Environmental Stewards

During the winter of 2007/2008, the BCSGA established a series of Shellfish Industry Environmental Stewards – to take environmental responsibility for specific sections of beach similar to the common “Adopt-a Highway” clean-up program. Stay tuned for more detail on this program (as at Jan 7, 2008 – still in DRAFT form).

New Deepwater Raft Designs

As at April 2008, plans are underway for the development of a new design of raft, built stronger and more effective. The BCSGA plans to create drawings and a parts list for this new raft – which will be made available to BCSGA members free of charge.

Updated August, 2008: The Centre for Shellfish Research, in partnership with the BCSGA has been funded by DFO’s new Aquaculture Innovation and Market Access Program (AIMAP) to create new engineered design options of shellfish deepwater rafts.   Stay tuned for more information in the coming months.

Shellfish Farming Equipment Recycling and Disposal Site

Located at the “Brico” parking lot just north of Fanny Bay, this is a dedicated site where reusable or damaged equipment can be brought and either disposed of (in the bin) or recycled. A sign indicating this as such a site has been installed (early-December, 2007).

Gear Tagging Program