Tag Archives: BC shellfish Grower’s Association

Rivers & Oceans

B.C. shellfish growers experiencing a watershed moment


National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Quadra Island oyster farmer Steve Pocock believes B.C.’s shellfish sector is facing a watershed moment. 

West Coast growers have endured a tough couple of years as the COVID-19 pandemic dried up demand from restaurants and international markets, and extreme temperatures in June cooked countless beach-grown oysters and clams alive in their shells.   

And now growers have another sink or swim dilemma — the need to change farming practices and tackle marine debris created by the shellfish sector, said Pocock, who is also president of the BC Shellfish Growers Association (BCSGA). 

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Rivers & Oceans, Waste

Coastal communities ‘fed up’ with B.C. shellfish sector’s plastics problem

National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Coastal communities are tired of paying to clean up plastic and debris from the B.C. shellfish industry to protect the marine environment, stewardship groups say.

The amount of garbage being retrieved from beaches in areas where shellfish aquaculture is concentrated grows year after year, and there’s little apparent enforcement by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to deal with the issue, said Dorrie Woodward, chair of the Association for Denman Island Marine Stewards (ADIMS).

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Indigenous Nations, Rivers & Oceans

Oyster Farm receives much needed underwater clean-up

qathet Living, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Tla’amin Oyster plant in Okeover went through a major underwater clean up by the Deep-Search Diving team, led by Director, Dylan Smith. This project took place throughout the month of July and has resulted in a cleaner sea. The cleanup was funded by Shellfish Farm Environmental Plan (SHEP), a new program launched by the BC Shellfish Growers Association (BCSGA). SHEP requires sites to be kept much cleaner than what they have previously been, to protect the environment and wildlife. Other shellfish plants and farms will undergo the same
clean up.

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Rivers & Oceans, Weather

Oyster & Clam sectors burned during heat wave

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National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Dave Nikleva walks the shoreline of a Cortes Island beach nudging oysters with the toe of his boot.

“Dead. Dead. Dead,” Nikleva mutters as he goes along.

The shellfish farmer stoops over to pick up one bigger specimen for inspection before tossing it back on the beach.

The stench along this stretch of Gorge Harbour at low tide is tremendous. But it was even worse two weeks ago when a record-breaking heat wave cooked thousands upon thousands of oysters in their shells in the final days of June.

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Rivers & Oceans

Cortes Island’s #1 Industry is back

When British Columbian restaurants closed their doors last March, they virtually shut down Cortes Island’s #1 industry. Though sales are still below pre-COVID levels, the shellfish sector is coming back. 

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