2024-06-18 Glenn Stevens - Clean and Safe Harbours Initiative

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Clean and Safe Harbours 
Southern Gulf Islands
How do we “preserve and protect” our unique amenities?
Our harbours and coastal marine environment

Current state
•Increased numbers of vessels permanently moored in 
Ganges harbour
•Many are used as liveaboards and are dilapidated     
•no sewage disposal
•no garbage disposal
•no oily bilge water disposal
•vessels have sunk and caught fire
•Moored in environmentally sensitive areas (eelgrass)
•Many illegal docks randomly placed causing congestion 
and navigation issues
•The SSI Trust has bylaws in place to regulate liveaboards 
and placement of docks but has chosen not to enforce by 
resolution

Options?
•Ban all dwelling on vessels and placement 
of buoys.  This is unrealistic.  
•Banning buoys rejected in a recent 
workshop hosted by the CRD and attended by 
Trust and other elected officials.
•CASHI and consensus at the CRD 
workshop recommend regulating use of our 
harbors.
•Both groups have independently come to 
the same solutions

Regulate 
mooring and use 
of the harbour
•Vessel registration and licensing
•Evidence of sewage/garbage 
disposal
•Insurance to cover costs of 
salvage/cleanup in the case of sinking
•A system to govern the placement of 
bouysto prevent overcrowding and 
renting bouys
•The intent is not to “kick” people out 
of the harbourbut ensure that those 
who use it do so in a way that preserves 
and protects it.

No action 
causes harm!
•Choosing to not enforce existing bylaws or 
replace the existing bylaws with one that they 
will fairly regulate and enforce accelerates 
damage to the harbour
•Choosing to suspend bylaw enforcement in 
perpetuity is not governing or not taking any 
action, does not preserve and protect
•Lets create a system that promotes a clean 
and safe environment for all stakeholders: that 
allows liveaboards, regulates placement of 
buoys, has a code of conduct to ensure all are 
treated with respect and are safe, and fairly 
and reasonably enforces the rules.

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