Cortes Currents

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Close to 600 people died in British Columbia’s June 2021 heat wave. As it occurred during an abnormally low tide, billions of mussels, clams, sea stars and other invertebrates are believed to have perished. Some of the marine devastation was on Cortes and Quadra Islands. A new record for the hottest temperature ever recorded in Canada was set, but a new study from the University of Bristol found worse heat waves in other times and places.

Lead author Dr Vikki Thompson, a Senior Research Associate at the University of Bristol, talked to Cortes Currents about the study and what it says about future heat waves.

“The heatwave last summer in your part of the world, in Western Canada and the Western U.S., was a shockingly extreme event,” she explained.

“After that happened, we were thinking was that the most extreme heat wave that the world has seen? Have there been more extreme heat waves in other areas? And using models, can we look at how it's going to change into the future?”

Our primary aim was to see if that it was the most extreme heat waves and to do that, we needed to find a way to compare the heat wave to other parts of the world.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - It has been three weeks since a federal court ruled that former Federal Fisheries and Oceans Minister Bernadette Jordan breached the rights of B.C. salmon farmers to procedural fairness, when she ordered them to phase out their operations in the Discovery Islands by June 2022. 

Now Cermaq Canada is returning to its site on Raza Island.

This is just across from the northern tip of Cortes Island, and in the unceded territory of four First Nations.

“People who live and work in the Discovery Islands have been sending me photographs of the Raza Island farm, which for some reason Cermaq is setting up. They've got the pens, they've towed houses down from the Broughton Archipelago and hooked them up. So far they don't have nets, but they have invested a lot of money dragging that equipment in there and setting it up,” explained independent biologist Alexandra Morton.

A Cermaq spokesperson emailed, “We will not be entering smolts in our Raza Island site this Spring and we are awaiting the Federal Government and DFO’s decisions on license reissuance, including the Discovery Islands region.  We have not received any clarification from DFO on their interpretation of the decision. Cermaq Canada wishes to seek agreements where possible, in any areas where we farm.” 

Morton added, “I guess Cermaq is hoping that the minister is going to be pressured into granting them this license, but what is alarming to me is they're putting it in Homalco Klahoose territory. They decided to make this statement in territory where the nations spent a lot of money and time to get rid of them.”

The Klahoose and Homalco are among the 102 First Nations that signed a joint letter calling for a transition of open-net pen fish farms out of BC waters.

Cortes Currents asked what they think of Cermaq’s return to Raza Island.

Chief Darren Blaney of the Homalco First Nation emailed, “We have said no, and we are getting our lawyer to send a letter telling them we do not want them there.”

The Klahoose and Homalco were among the seven Discovery Island Nations that Jordan consulted prior to making her decision about phasing out fish farms.

The other two First Nations claiming Raza Island are also in the group Jordan contacted.

“We Wai Kai and Wei Wai Kum were much more friendly towards Cermaq. Cermaq gave them the provincial tenures to their farms,” said Morton.

They are listed as members of the Coalition of First Nations for Finfish Stewardship, which supports fish farms.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents -The most recent Quadra RCMP report mentions five episodes.

The most dramatic was about a man who went missing on Cortes Island a week ago, but the RCMP now assure us he has been found alive and well. They did not want to release any more details, for privacy issues, but did say he was located somewhere off island.

One of the other reports concerns a TELUS truck which tried to jump the BC Ferry line. When the driver was told to go to the back of the line, he “started swearing aggressively at the worker, drove his vehicle toward her, and stopped. The matter is still under investigation.”

In the early evening of April 25th, 2022, Quadra RCMP responded to a complaint that someone was camping out on Harbour Brook Road.

“The complainant stated the male had a complete set up, including a tent, chair, and stove and was currently brewing himself a cup of coffee. Members attended and requested the male move as his tent was situated on the road and blocking local traffic. The male was cooperative and packed up right away. The male appeared to have been able to successfully finish his coffee before departing.”

On April 26th, the RCMP responded to a call of suspected mischief to a vehicle in the Surge Narrows parking lot. The driver found it hard to believe that the brake lines for all four of his tires would fail at the same time.

“A few days later, the complainant called back and advised after a very thorough mechanical inspection in the shop, the brake lines had all rotted at the same time and no foul play was suspected.”

Lastly, there was a 911 medical emergency shortly after lunch on April 28th, 2022. Someone was choking,”however, they were able to dislodge the obstruction from the person’s throat and no longer needed medical attention.”

After perusing the Quadra RCMP’s reports for several weeks, Cortes Currents emailed Cst. Rebekah Draht for further details.

“Due to privacy issues and because this area is a small town (even with the Islands), I don't put everything in my reports as I want to keep parties anonymous. I will answer what I can, but I have to be cognizant of what I am releasing keeps people anonymous.,” she replied.

There has not been a single arrest mentioned since Draht started filing weekly reports on April 10, so Cortes Currents asked, “When did the Quadra  detachment last arrest somebody?”

Cst. Draht emailed,”As we are four separate members working, I can't confirm this information.”

There weren’t any tickets mentioned during that three week period either, but she wrote that one was handed out on May 5.

 

Two men had a physical altercation on Quadra Island three weeks ago. Cst, Draht is not aware of any other recent cases of physical violence.

That same day, someone set fire to a trash can in Quathiaski Cove. This was the most recent incident of vandalism that Cst. Draht knows of.

There was a car theft five months ago. A 2005 Chevrolet Blazer was taken from someone’s driveway on December 28th or 29th, 2021, but Cst. Draht wrote that no subsequent car thefts have been reported on Cortes, Quadra or Read Islands.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Update 8:30 AM Monday May 9: Quadra Island RCMP say Leyland David Dowling-Ryerson has been found alive and well. They cannot give any more details due to privacy reasons.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - A dozen volunteers removed two puck-up truck loads of debris, from the beach between Hollyhock and Seaford, on Mother’s Day.

“Cortes Island has been the beneficiary of a big clean up that was sponsored by the federal and provincial governments last year, where they put eco-tour ships and they're out of work crews to work cleaning the beaches all the way up to the central coast,” explained Mike Moore, one of the Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI) volunteers.

“I had friends that were working out of the Goose Group and the west coast of Vancouver Island and the inside passage here. Spirit of the West worked the north and west side of Cortes Island and another group out of the Sunshine Coast worked the east coast of Cortes Island.”

Moore spoke to the need to keep cleaning this beach.

“We've had a winter's worth of storms, blowing things up, and this beach that we're working today from Hollyhock, basically up to Seascape Road. this is a huge collector facing the Southeast, the open straight of Georgia with Victoria, east Vancouver Island and all the Sunshine Coast communities. Anything that gets put in the water ends up right about here.”

There were isolated strands of rope, plastics and other debris, but the beach initially seemed relatively clean and expectations were initially low.

That was before some of the volunteers found piles of styrofoam, aquaculture debris and tires.

After the work was finished, the volunteers gathered around a campfire. Someone from the Hollyhock kitchen brought down some of the chocolatiest hot chocolate ever. There was also vegetarian and meat hot dogs.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - On Thursday, May 5, a top viral geneticist from the University of British Columbia testified on DFO’s failure to follow up on the findings of its own scientists, and those from the international community, regarding the threat Piscine Orthoreovirus (PRV) poses to the wild salmon population.

The audio that follows is taken from Dr Gideon Mordecai’s testimony before the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans.

“ In 2011 POV was detected by Dr. Kristi Miller's lab and functional examined that was suffering from disease. Her work was the first sign, but PRV might pose a risk to Pacific salmon.

I've recently reported in the Globe and Mail, the public were kept in the dark about risk research for 10 years. Had this work not being held back from the scientific community, perhaps some of the impact on salmon in BC from this virus may have been prevented. Since its discovery, PRV has been linked to diseases in salmon all around the world,” he said.

“PRV sent from BC to Norway has been shown to cause the same patterns of disease that occur on farms in BC, but DFO continues to ignore this results since the study was conducted in Norway. For some reason, DFO requires disease relationships to be proven within Canada. Can you imagine if we use similar thresholds in human medicine. The COVID virus would not be classified as a disease agent in Canada since the only human challenge trial was conducted in the U.K.”

Dr Mordecai questions DFO’s reliance on research from industry funded sources who claim PRV poses a ‘minimal risk’ to wild salmon.

“Our review this body of work in my written submission for you, but the take home message is that salmon farms are a source of infection to wild salmon and infections that linked to disease, poor health and poor survival. Despite all this evidence, most of which was gathered by DFO scientists themselves, DFO have largely proceeded as if these findings did not exist and conclude that farms posed ‘minimal risk.’ As a consequence, salmon have not received the protection that they need.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Current - Quadra Island RCMP are requesting the public's assistance in locating Leyland David Dowling-Ryerson, who was last seen on Cortes Island a week ago.

He was last heard from early yesterday morning (May 7) and may have driven to North Vancouver in a black 2002 Volkswagen Golf with BC license plate JN803G.

Police are very concerned for his health and welfare.

Dowling-Ryerson is described as:

Caucasian male

40 years of age

5 ft 7 in (175 cm)

126 lbs (57kg)

Blond hair

Blue eyes

Anyone with information is asked to the contact Quadra RCMP at 250-285-3631.

If you wish to remain anonymous, please call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or visit their web site at www.crimestoppers.ca. They are open 24/7. Crime Stoppers is anonymous and does not trace or record calls.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Bruno Pereira was back in Montreal, visiting his family, when Cortes Currents first interviewed him. That was two weeks ago, on Aril 22. When he returned to Squirrel Cove, Pereira spoke further about three of his ‘babies’: - the Klahoose forestry, aquaculture and tourism sectors. Then word came that Bruno Pereira is resigning and will no longer be Senior Manager of Qathen Xwegus Management Corporation (QXMC). 

So Cortes Currents asked Pereira, “What happened? A week ago we were talking about your ‘babies’ and now you are leaving?”

“It's not a decision that I took on the fly. We've done so much in the past three years, but there is also my family back east,” he replied.

In the podcast above, Pereira says that it came a little earlier than anticipated, but returning to his family in Quebec was always part of the equation.

He originally expected to be in BC for about 3 to 4 years

“I’m a very intuitive instinctive person. I read my environment. I listened to my emotions and I feel it's just the right moment,” he explained.

“A lot of factors weighed in my decision. It's not an easy one. You mentioned my ‘babies,’ it's mostly all the friendships and the people that I have worked with, the people that I brought in brought on the team - because I started alone.”

No one has been chosen to replace him yet, but Pereira said there are lots of good candidates and he will stay on until July 15.

“Obviously the new person will come in with their own way of doing things, their own vision, but they won't be asked to build a corporation from scratch, which is basically what we did,” he said.

“Now it's more of let's steer the ship a little bit, and make sure it doesn't hit anything. The ship is already going. That's what I'm really proud of, of us, of the team, of the people that were around me for three years.”

Pereira sketched out the growth of QXMC from one person, when he arrived three years ago, to close to 80 employees today. The corporation’s cash flow has increased about 700% and QXMC’s profits now exceed $8 million a year.

These are approximate figures.

The physical manifestation of this growth is seen in the acquisition of the Klahoose Wilderness Resort, Gorge Harbour Marina, Goat 1 and a 14.3 acre property in Squirrel Cove. It is also evidenced by the expansion of the Klahoose agricultural, forestry and tourism sectors.

“A big thank you to everybody who accepted me, trusted me, and followed me. It certainly wasn't easy all the time. What we see on social media is usually just the highlights and the positive ones, but there was so much work in making this happen. The people that really supported the project and the vision know who they are. That's why QXMC completely overturned the situation. We did accomplish the reset of the corporation, as I was asked three years ago,” said Pereira.

“We have a solid foundation. We have quality assets, strategic assets, and the properties that we purchased and the equipment that we now own. It empowered us and allowed us to be able to basically not just dream but achieve our ambitions because now we have the tools and we have a splendid team. I can tell you the core of my team here, the QXMC people, are just amazing - second to none.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Recreational vessels are no longer permitted to moor at Cortes Island’s government docks for extended periods without prior approval from the Harbour Authority of Cortes Island (HACI).

“Just to clarify, it's recreational vessels that are looking for a month, three months or six months long-term moorage,” said Harbour Manager Jenny Hartwick 

Boats can still ‘sneak in’ and use docks overnight, at places like Squirrel Cove, providing there is room for them.

“We're incredibly lucky we have five docks on the island. I think it is highly unlikely that boaters will come to Cortes looking for longer term moorage and we will not be able to provide this. It may mean that you don't get moorage at your first choice dock. We're doing our very best to make sure that everybody who is looking for moorage on Cortes will find it somewhere on Cortes.”

HACI was forced to adopt this policy because of the increase in recreational traffic over the past few years. Possibly as a result of the emphasis on local tourism during COVID, boaters have ‘discovered’ Desolation Sound. Destination BC is promoting this area as one of the best marine tourism destinations in BC. At the high point last summer, boats were rafted four deep at the Cortes Bay Dock.

“This makes it incredibly difficult if you happen to be the individual on the inside and you're trying to get out to go boating for the day. Or you are a commercial user who needs to access their vessel to get to and from work. You have to move three vessels simply to get your boat out!” said Hartwick.

She explained that HACI leases the docks from Small Craft Harbours, a Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) program.

“ The docks were put in place to support the commercial fishing industry and to support aquaculture, so that is the number one priority at all of the government docks on Cortes,” said Hartwick.

“Second is to support commercial usage of those docks. So maybe not for vessels that are used directly in aquaculture, but group boats that are running regularly or water taxis, and other types of vessels that are used for commercial purposes on a regular basis.”

HACI’’s mandate is to provide moorage for those parties.

“After we have met the needs of those users, we can offer any additional space at the dock to recreational moorage in our community.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - In 2007, Chief Ken Brown purchased 50% of a 34 hectare sub-tidal geoduck farm off Squirrel Cove, on Cortes Island. In the years that followed, the Klahoose First Nation bought their partner out. They were 100% owners when Bruno Pereira became General Manager of Qathen Xwegus Management Corporation (QXMC).

The next phase of Klahoose Aquaculture growth grew out of a series of discussions that Pereira had with Operations Manager Paul Muskee, more than two years ago.

“We were assessing our tenures and how we could improve the aquaculture operations within QXMC. We had geoducks, but we wanted more. We wanted to diversify. So, we basically decided to walk the beaches and go see what we have. Is there inventory there? Is there anything we can use, we can start,” explained Pereira.

This led to Klahoose harvesting clams and oysters, which they export to Vancouver and to Asia.

More recently, QXMC has started a pilot project for scallops and they sent the first little samples off last week.

Pereira referred to a DFO program called the Pacific Integrated Commercial Fisheries Initiative (PICFI) which was set up to increase First Nations' access to the commercial fisheries in British Columbia.

“We had PICFI representatives coming to Cortes and looking at what we're doing. PICFI helps us a lot in terms of grants and support for our projects. They've been huge supporters of Klahoose for the last six years at least,” he said.

The geoduck harvest started maybe a month ago and was proceeding well before the Chinese market shut down.

“Stopping is not the end of the world but if you stop harvesting, then you need to start all over again, which is sending three weeks of samples to the government to make sure that there's no poisoning, no presence of any types of unwanted viruses, bacterias or any other element,” said Pereira.

He added that there is a modest market for geoducks in North America.

A little more than a year ago, QXMC ventured into the seaweed market through a partnership with Cascadia.

“It grows like weed,” said Periera. “It's something you hear as easier, very resilient and doesn't need a lot of maintenance.”

QXMC hopes to consolidate its venture into the seaweed market and develop an even closer relationship with Cascadia.

“Seaweed is something we should be involved in and leading,” he explained. “Between geoducks, seaweed, scallops, oysters, and clams, I feel that we're covering a lot of ground. Most importantly, we were diversifying enough to mitigate risks. If something goes wrong with one species,” he explained.

“it's a lot of work, a lot of learning. It's not something that brings results right away in terms of capacity, profits or sales.”

He described Klahoose Aquaculture as a modest operation, but “one that I don't want to let go.”

“Even if it is something that doesn't bring massive revenues, massive profits, I would be okay with this because for me it's important to be part of this,” he explained. “We should be involved, as humans, trying to protect and control what's happening in the oceans and in the waters and help as much as we can.”