Letter Supporting Dead Boats Disposal Society

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Bowen  Denman  Hornby  Gabriola Galiano  Gambier  Lasqueti  Mayne  North Pender  Salt Spring  Saturna  South Pender  Thetis 
 
200 - 1627 Fort St., Victoria, BC  V8R 1H8 
Telephone  (250) 405-5151    Fax  (250) 405-5155 
Toll Free via Enquiry BC in Vancouver 660-2421.  Elsewhere in BC 
1.800.663.7867 
Email  information@islandstrust.bc.ca 
Web  www.islandstrust.bc.ca 
 
 
February 12, 2020              File Number: 11-5020-30 
Abandoned and Derelict Vessels 
 
Via Email:  DFO.GGFund-Fonddesef.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca  
 
Sustainable Fisheries Solutions and Retrieval Support Contribution Program (Ghost Gear Fund) 
Fisheries and Oceans Canada 
 
Re: Support for the Dead Boats Disposal Society’s Application for Ghost Gear Removal Funding 
 
To Whom It May Concern: 
 
On behalf of the Islands Trust Council, I wish to extend our sincere thanks for Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s 
leadership in developing the Sustainable Fisheries Solutions & Retrieval Support Contribution Program  
(Ghost Gear Fund) to help preserve and protect the marine environment. I would particularly like to extend my 
support to the application being put forward by the Dead Boats Disposal Society for funding to pursue ghost 
gear cleanup projects in the Islands Trust Area of the Salish Sea.  
 
As Chair of the Islands Trust Council, I can tell you that the Islands Trust is a federation of special-purpose local 
government bodies elected by 26,000 people living within the Islands Trust Area and approximately 10,000 non-
resident property owners. The Islands Trust Area is located within Coast Salish territory and is the homeland to 
over 28,000 Coast Salish Peoples who have called this place home since time immemorial. Located between the 
British Columbia mainland and southern Vancouver Island, the Islands Trust Area includes 13 major and more 
than 450 smaller islands, covering approximately 5,200 square kilometers of the Salish Sea. The mandate of 
Islands Trust is to preserve and protect the unique environment and amenities of the Islands Trust Area through 
planning and regulating land use, development management, and education. We fulfill this role in cooperation 
with First Nations and other agencies, and through advocacy with organizations and community.  
 
Islands Trust Council commends the Dead Boats Disposal Society and its partners on their success in removing 
over 300,000 metric tons of derelict vessels and marine debris from coastal waters to date. The Society is now 
applying for funding from Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s Ghost Gear Fund to strengthen its capacity to locate 
and remove ghost gear from sensitive marine environments. We strongly encourage this initiative that will 
support our common interests in the conservation, protection and restoration of fish stocks and ecosystems, as 
well as species-at-risk, in the Salish Sea.   
 
Once again, let me reiterate our strong support for the Dead Boats Disposal Society application for funding from 
the Sustainable Fisheri

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