Tag Archives: DFO

Rivers & Oceans, Waste

The story behind the Tire Islet clean-up

A waste education program from Powell River recently cleaned up an islet that was partially buried under tires. Cortes Currents re-published the story from qathet Living and that probably would have ended the matter, except some of you had questions. The biggest one was something between shock and disbelief that such a beautiful Islet had actually been turned into a tire dump. So Cortes Currents asked Abby McLennan of Let’s Talk Trash for an interview. 

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Animals, Rivers & Oceans

Endangered salmon are left to flounder as Canada hosts COP15

National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The federal government is touting lofty goals at the United Nations biodiversity conference underway in Montreal, but Ottawa is failing to save iconic salmon and steelhead trout populations on the edge of extinction, B.C. conservation groups say. 

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Rivers & Oceans

Harbour Authority Cortes Island: The Small Craft Harbours connection

Harbour Authority Cortes Island (HACI) has embarked upon a campaign to inform the public who they are and what they do. Harbourmaster Jenny Hartwick provided Cortes Currents with a concise description of the organization. 

“The Harbour Authority is a nonprofit organization, which is made up of an eight volunteer board of directors. All of whom are local year round, residents  and are actively involved in boating on Cortes, either commercial fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, or as recreational boaters. Under contract with Small Craft Harbours, the Harbour Authority is responsible for the operation and basic maintenance of the four government docks on the island: Squirrel Cove, Manson’s Landing, Cortes Bay, and Gorge Harbour,” she said. “We also operate the Whaletown Dock, which was formally divested from Transport Canada in 2009. The Harbour Authority actually owns that dock outright.” 

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Rivers & Oceans

Feds launch licence buyback plan to scale down B.C.’s salmon fishing fleet

National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Ottawa has launched its awaited fisheries licence buyback program to protect plummeting Pacific salmon stocks on the West Coast. 

Looking to fix the problem of too many boats chasing too few fish, on Wednesday, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) unveiled details on its voluntary commercial licence retirement (LRP) program that will pay salmon harvesters to exit the industry. 

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Indigenous Nations, Rivers & Oceans

52,000 Chum eggs come to Cortes Island

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The Klahoose water taxi brought 52,000 Chum eggs to Squirrel Cove yesterday. ‘Goat 1’ tied up at the Klahoose dock around 11 AM. 

“The eggs come from Tla’amin Fish Hatchery in Powell River. I think the amount is probably based on what they get on returns, because they have their own creeks and rivers where they get their Chum eggs,” explained Klahoose Fisheries Officer Byron Harry.

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