qathet Regional District (qRD) will advise the provincial ministry of forests that it does not support an aquaculture use amendment application for West Coast Fishculture on Lois Lake.
At the August 23 regional board meeting, directors reviewed the application by the aquaculture company regarding a provincial crown land referral for aquaculture use in the lake.
Electoral Area C director and board chair Clay Brander, in whose electoral area the aquaculture operation is situated, said he wanted to revisit the application again because he had questions he’d like to ask.
He said in a staff report, it states that West Coast Fishculture has made an application at the request of the province to remedy unauthorized infrastructure that is sitting off the approved tenure area, located on Lois Lake. He stated that the ministry of forests staff advised the company to complete an application for tenure amendment so the site can be in compliance with the province.
“My question about this statement is, is this a tenure amendment to increase or modify the tenure area so that the unauthorized infrastructure currently sitting off of the tenure area can be made legal?” asked Brander.
Manager of planning services Laura Roddan said the current infrastructure being used is outside the water tenure area and the management plan that was approved in 2015. She said the applicant was asked by the ministry of forests to apply for amendment so that their water tenure can remain in good standing.
“They [the ministry] have requested this amendment application so that the infrastructure can operate on the existing tenure, so to be moved within the existing tenure area under an updated management plan,” said Roddan.
Brander said if the infrastructure is not in the tenure and is moved into the tenure, why is the tenure being amended, because it appears the tenure is remaining the same.
Roddan said the outer boundary of the tenure is not changing, it’s just the infrastructure within that boundary is increasing.
Ministerial steps
Brander said his second question was, what steps are being taken by other ministries?
“There’s two things that I don’t want to do,” said Brander. “We don’t want to be a fly in the ointment and potentially derail a plan the provincial government has to bring this thing back into order. I don’t think we want to be a local government that puts its head in the sand and ignores a bad situation.
“I don’t want our denial of this request to cause problems later on that ultimately derails the larger picture.”
Roddan said as was discussed at the August committee of the whole meeting, there are a number of compliance issues that West Coast Fishculture is working through.
“There are compliance issues related to their land-based infrastructure, so there are some compliance issues they are working through related to that infrastructure and impacts on water quality,” said Roddan. “That is under the jurisdiction of the provincial ministry of environment and climate change strategy. There are also some licensing issues related to the farming of the fish, which are under the authority of the federal department of fisheries and oceans.
“Staff have reached out to the various agencies since the committee’s meeting to develop a better understanding of what the status of those compliance issues are. My understanding is that West Coast Fishculture is working with the ministry of environment and the department of fisheries and oceans to bring the operations into compliance with provincial and federal legislation and regulations.”
Roddan said she understands West Coast Fishculture wants to remain a viable business in the qathet region. She said the referral of the aquaculture use amendment application is only one step toward bringing the operations into compliance.
Electoral Area B director Mark Gisborne said the Area B and C official community plans designate Lois Lake as a potential water source for the south of town community in the future.
“What we’ve seen with this operation is a lack of compliance on so many fronts,” said Gisborne. “I thank our staff for reaching out to the provincial and federal government ministries to find out how far out of compliance they are. Seeing the numbers of pollutants going in the lake has me really concerned. If we move forward with developing the Lois Lake water source, and the water is being polluted by this activity, that is going to cost us.”
Electoral Area D director Sandy McCormick said she is not a fan of fish farming unless it is contained on land.
“I know they provide jobs, and jobs are important, but I can’t support this kind of operation,” said McCormick.
Directors voted to not support the aquaculture use amendment, with Brander opposed.
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