Tag Archives: Cortes Island Aquaculture

Animals

Mike Moore Talks About The Waters Around Cortes Island

Originally posted on Cortes Radio.ca

Mike Moore obviously has an intense passion for the ocean and for the waters around Cortes Island in particular. He has been working on the water or under it for more than 40 years, as a commercial halibut, crab and prawn fisherman, as a diver harvesting sea cucumbers, sea urchins, scallops and the giant pacific octopus, as a Navigation Officer with the Canadian Coast Guard for 11 years and finally, along with Samantha Statton, he was owner/ operator of Misty Isles Adventures, Cortes Island’s kayaking and passenger schooner tourism business, which was the vessel by which many tourists and locals got to appreciate Cortes as an island, seen from the water.

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Rivers & Oceans

Last Fall’s Chum Returns On Cortes & Quadra

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Last fall’s chum runs were poor throughout British Columbia. Wilf Luedke, the chief biologist for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, described reports from the Sooke River, on Vancouver Island, as “the worst yet.” On the Fraser River, the Alouette River Management Society counted 500 instead of the 60,000 they expected. The chum returns on Cortes & Quadra Cortes were dismal. 

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Community

Cortes Island’s Second Annual Gumboot Toss

By Roy L Hales

In the beginning, the Harbour Authority of Cortes Island (HACI) looked after three docks. Now there are five: Whaletown, Gorge Harbour, Mansons Landing, Cortes Bay and Squirrel Cove. While most of the traffic is pleasure craft during the summer, the docks are still home to Cortes Island’s flourishing aquaculture industry. From 11 AM to 2 PM on Sunday August 4th, HACI will celebrate 20 years of service with a nautical swap meet and second annual gumboot toss. 

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History

The 1960s & 70s – A Time Of Transition

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This is the second in a series of broadcasts in which Andy Ellingsen describes the changes he has seen on Cortes Island. In this episode he talks about the 1960s & 70’s. 

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Animals, Environment

Stop Recreational Boaters From Polluting Cortes Islands Protected Areas

There are good reasons that boaters are not allowed to dump chemicals, sewage and other debris in Carrington Bay, Cortes Bay, Gorge Harbour, Squirrel Cove, or Manson’s Landing. “[Cortes Island] has the best oysters in the area, [possibly] because it is supposed to have such pristine clean water,” says Julia Rendall, President of the 13 member Bee Islets Growers Corporation. She explained that violations “could close us down and if we are closed down I think we have to have three tests, three weeks in a row, clear. So it could, in theory, close you down for about a month.” Cortes Island’s unique environmental features resulted in the creation of  several marine parks. Contamination is a concern for all islanders, whether they are shellfish harvesters or not. These areas are currently designated as “No Discharge Zones” under federal regulations. Never-the-less, violations periodically do occur and a recent incident illustrates the difficulties of trying to stop recreational boaters from polluting Cortes Islands protected areas.

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