MPs Gord Johns and Fin Donnelly toured Baynes Sound last Thursday morning to learn about ocean plastics and their effect on the Pacific herring spawn.
The tour was hosted by the Association of Denman Island Marine Stewards (ADIMS).
According to ADIMS, Baynes Sound is one of the most critical marine ecosystems in the Strait of Georgia, given more than one-third of all Pacific herring run through it. However, two to four tonnes of debris accumulates every year on the coast of Denman Island – some of which comes from nearby shellfish licensed areas.
“The health of our coast is the health of our salmon,” said MP Johns. “We cannot stand idly by while our sensitive ecosystems are being threatened by increased micro plastics and marine debris.”
Coho and chinook salmon rely on Pacific herring for a majority of their diet, while bottom feeders rely on herring for roughly half of their diet. Resident orcas rely heavily on salmon for survival.
“We need to look at different techniques to better manage these sensitive marine habitats and find solutions that protect incredible areas like this,” said Donnelly, Member of Parliament for Port-Moody-Coquitlam, and NDP Fisheries and Oceans critic, who travelled to Vancouver Island specifically to take part in the tour.
New Democrats are calling on the government to include a strategy for marine debris clean-up in the $1.5 billion Oceans Protection Plan.
“Marine debris and ocean plastics are just as harmful to our oceans as oil spills,” said Johns.