120 Tonnes of Debris Collected
1000 Cubic Metres of Debris
Nearly 800 Lift Bags Transported
1000+ Kms of Coastline Cleaned
Nine Vessels to Support Crew
More than 100 People Employed
42 days in the field
The Marine Debris Removal Initiative (MDRI) is a project that aims to help clear marine debris from the central and northern coastline of British Columbia. Throughout August and September of 2020, five BC owned small ship tour operators took part in a six-week expedition that helped clean more than 127 tonnes of debris from over 1000kms of coastline. The small ship tour operators developed this innovative project in response to tourism shutdowns due to COVID-19. The project was funded by the provincial Ministry of Environment & Climate Change Strategy.
Members of the MDRI worked closely with Indigenous leaders in the region. Some of the Indigenous Nations took part in a related inshore coastal cleanup working with more than 75 members of their own communities to help clean debris along the coastlines throughout their regions. “Cleaning up plastic and garbage from beaches has been identified as a priority for our Nation and is critical to the long-term health of the marine environment in our territory,” says Danielle Shaw, Chief Councillor for the Wuikinuxv Nation.
The Great Bear Rainforest’s outer coast is extremely remote and can be challenging to access. There are no roads and no communities in the regions where the clean up took place. The ecotour operators who took part in the clean up had the appropriate vessels, skills, and experience to access these areas. The use of a helicopter and barge was also used to help transport and store the debris.
The MDRI employed more than 100 individuals, who were based on nine different vessels throughout the duration of the expeditions. The ships are self-sufficient so no contact was required with remote communities. The crews, which include several scientists, are also collecting data on the debris they clean up, which they’ll provide to the Ministry of Environment & Climate Change Strategy.
The project was administered by the Wilderness Tourism Association of BC, of which the small ship tour companies are members. Their group, the Small Ship Tour Operators Association (SSTOA), is composed of seven 100% Canadian owned and operated, small-ship-based travel companies that specialize in providing niche wilderness travel experiences for groups of 6-24 guests along the British Columbia coastline. In particular, they operate in the Vancouver Island, Haida Gwaii, and Great Bear Rainforest regions. They have seen first-hand how marine debris can pile up on remote beaches only to be washed out into the ocean again during the next big storm, where they inevitably break down and become ocean microplastics.
Fast Facts- Marine Debris Removal Initiative:
- Each year an estimated 8.8 million tons of marine debris, or marine litter, enters the world’s oceans in the form of a wide range of industrial, residential, and single-use plastics.
- In 2018, the Governments of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the European Union signed the Oceans Plastics Charter in a commitment to move towards a more resource-efficient and sustainable approach to the management of plastics.
- Marine debris poses threats to species at risk including fish, seabirds and marine mammal populations – fishing gear makes up almost half of all marine debris.
- As marine plastics lie on beaches, the sun breaks down their strength. Then winter storms wash the plastics back into the ocean, where, already weakened, they break down further into microplastics, enter the food chain, and threaten fisheries and human health.
- In British Columbia, despite being sparsely populated and relatively inaccessible, the accumulation of vast amounts of marine debris derived both domestically and internationally, are increasingly a source of alarm and great concern.
- 1 helicopter will assist in the removal of debris which will be loaded onto a barge. From there marine debris will be taken to northern Vancouver Island for safe disposal in the Seven Mile Landfill.
Leaders of the MDRI:
Kevin Smith – Owner, Maple Leaf Adventures, President, Wilderness Tourism Association. Captain Smith brings over 35 years of experience exploring the rugged BC coast, most recently 20 years as an eco-tourism businessman, captain and expedition leader. Previously as a geographer and park ranger, he worked with coastal communities on the Great Bear Rainforest land use agreement.
Russell Markel – Owner, Outer Shores Expeditions, Captain Markel holds a Ph.D. in Marine Ecosystem Ecology and brings extensive experience leading and coordinating large interdisciplinary projects, including working closely with coastal First Nations.
Randy Burke – Owner, Bluewater Adventures, Captain Burke has over 30 year’s experience leading an award-winning eco-tour company on the BC Coast. He is an eco-tourism pioneer, educator, and conservationist with long-standing friendships with coastal First Nations. Bluewater Adventures’ fleet of locally built, custom motor-sailers; Island Roamer and Island Odyssey are now joined by the new flagship, Island Solitude.
Ross Campbell – Owner, Mothership Adventures, Captain Campbell is also a retired helicopter pilot and will be responsible for liaising with a local helicopter company for picking-up and transferring debris to a marine barge.
Eric Boyum – Owner, Ocean Adventures Charter Company, Owner Eric Boyum’s 39 years’ experience as a captain, his years in commercial fishing, and as a firefighter in West Vancouver for 25 years bring specialized skills to the project. As well as working onshore with his team, Eric is the SSTOABC liaison with the Heiltsuk Nation and Heiltsuk Horizon (who own and operate the tug and barge involved in the clean-up) as well as with the Kitasoo Xai’Xais Nation and their community’s Spirit Bear Lodge.
These companies are internationally recognized, offering “Signature Canadian Experiences”, and have for decades worked closely with Coastal First Nations establishing protocol agreements to recognize Indigenous rights and title. Three of the member companies have been awarded the Sustainable Tourism Award from the Tourism Industry Association of Canada.
Media Contacts:
Scott Benton-Wilderness Tourism Association of BC
Phone: 250-655-4103
Email: scott.benton@wilderness-tourism.bc.ca
Deirdre Campbell- Beattie Tartan
Phone: 250-882-9199
Email: deirdre.campbell@beattiegroup.com
News Releases and Resources:
AUG 31: SHORELINE CLEANUP-FUNDS CREATE JOBS, PROTECT COASTAL WATERS
Government of British Columbia: Environment and Climate Change Strategy
Shoreline clean-up funds create jobs, protect coastal waters.
Environment and Climate Change Strategy
Media Contacts
Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy
Media Relations 250 953-3834
Wilderness Tourism Association
admin@wilderness-tourism.bc.ca, 250 655-4103
British Columbia’s central coast, including the Great Bear Rainforest, is the focus of a unique partnership to rid the shoreline of marine debris.
The Clean Coast, Clean Waters Initiative Fund (CCCW) helps small ship tour operators, Indigenous Nations, local communities and others participate in a $3.5-million cleanup of the shores of the central coast, including the increasing amounts of plastic waste. The cleanup also creates jobs and supports coastal communities as they recover from the COVID-19 economic downturn, impacting tourism.
“The ocean environment sustains all life and needs our attention and action,” said Sheila Malcolmson, Parliamentary Secretary for Environment. “This funding will create jobs for local communities. It strengthens our partnerships with Indigenous Nations, tourism operators and local communities as we work together to clean up our shorelines, protect marine life and support our world-class coastal tourism economy.”
The program responds to the strong public call to action on marine debris that Malcolmson heard when she toured coastal communities last summer.
“This is the first time a cleanup of this scale has been launched on the Central Coast of British Columbia,” said George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy. “It is a great example of how our future, both environmentally and economically, must be built on partnership and reconciliation.”
This is the first in a series of CCCW initiatives that are creating jobs for tour operators, clean-up crews, community educators and specialized positions in areas such as oceanographic data collection.
“B.C.’s coastal environment is one of our greatest assets, attracting visitors from all over the world and supporting tourism in British Columbia,” said Lisa Beare, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture. “Funding for these projects not only protects the marine environment, but provides jobs for people affected by the significant decrease in tourism as a result of the pandemic.”
The Small Ship Tour Operators Association (SSTOA) will conduct two marine debris removal expeditions, each up to 21 days, including nine vessels and more than 100 crew who will inspect and clean up to 1,000 kilometres, weather permitting, of remote shoreline around 100 small islands. The clean-up operations will be performed by various marine-based tourism operators, which may include but is not limited to member companies of the SSTOA.
“When it became clear that we all would have to cancel a sold-out season, we asked ourselves how we could use our skills to protect the environment that sustains us,” said Kevin Smith, president, Maple Leaf Adventures, and member of SSTOA. “It’s really rewarding to work with our colleagues, First Nations communities, the Wilderness Tourism Association and the Province of B.C. on projects that help the ocean we love and support our industry during this unprecedented time.”
The SSTOA will lead projects to remove marine debris from B.C.’s central coast. It will recycle the collected debris where possible, reducing the amount of material ending up in landfills.
The funding is part of the B.C. government’s far-ranging Pandemic Response and Economic Recovery initiative supporting all sectors that have been hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis.
Quick Facts:
Globally, it has been estimated that one garbage truck of plastic waste enters the ocean every minute, totalling eight million tonnes every year.
In 2019, the Great Canadian Shoreline Clean-up removed 163,505 kilograms of shoreline debris in Canada, an increase of 47,076 kilograms from 2018.
Slightly less than half of the collected debris in Canada in 2019 was removed from B.C. shorelines (77,836 kilograms).
Learn More:
Marine Debris in B.C. – What We Heard Report: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/environment/waste-management/zero-waste/marine-debris-protection/marine_debris_what_we_heard_report_final_web.pdf?fbcli
Small Ship Tour Operator Association–Wilderness Tourism Association: https://wilderness-tourism.bc.ca/projects/small-ship-tour-operators-initiative/
CleanBCplan: https://cleanbc.gov.bc.ca/app/uploads/sites/436/2018/12/CleanBC_Full_Report.pdf
The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup
1-877-427-2422
shorelinecleanup@ocean.org
c/o Ocean Wise, PO Box 3232, Vancouver, BC, V6B 3X8