Page 8— Ha-Shilth-Sa— January 13, 2022
Coastal communities ‘raise the alarm’ of ocean debris Pink plastic unicorns, green dinosaurs, cologne bo•les, grey rubber mats, and Styrofoam wash up on beaches By Melissa Renwick Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Tofino, BC - In early December, Nicole Gervais said chunks of Styrofoam started washing ashore on the northern end of Long Beach, near the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation community of Esowista on Vancouver Island. That section of beach, entitled T̓ ayus, has been closed to non-residents since 2020 to keep community members safe from COVID-19. Free from the disturbances of visitors and dogs, Gervais said large flocks of birds have returned to the beach to feed on bloodworms and sand fleas. But as the Styrofoam breaks down into smaller pellets after each high tide, Gervais said she’s increasingly worried about the Sandpipers and Oystercatchers. “They eat the broken bits of Styrofoam and it kills them,” she said. Gervais has been living on the edge of Long Beach since 1987 and said that she’s used to seeing plastic water bottles wash ashore, but she’s never seen this amount of Styrofoam. Unlike the Styrofoam used for docking floats, Gervais’ daughter, Gisele Martin, said the pieces that now litter the hightide line all the way to Schooner Cove have edges carved into them. It’s packing material, she suggested. Parks Canada said it’s aware of the Styrofoam and other materials coming ashore, which are typical at this time of year due to higher tides. But some coastal peoples, like Gervais, are concerned that the Styrofoam is a consequence of the Zim Kingston container spill from Oct. 22. Only four of the 109 shipping containers that were knocked from the cargo ship off the coast of Vancouver Island have been located. The Canadian Coast Guard believes the rest have sunk. During a media briefing after the spill, Canadian Coast Guard Deputy Federal Incident Commander Mariah McCooey said the watertight integrity of the overboard containers is “not that great.” It’s only a matter of time before the 105 missing 40-foot shipping containers rupture, said Alys Hoyland, Surfrider Pacific Rim beach clean coordinator. “The stuff that’s inside of those containers will start washing up on beaches,” she said. But without any way of tracking the Styrofoam, there’s no way of knowing where it came from. It’s “difficult” to identify the source of Styrofoam or packing materials, the coast guard said, adding that packing materials were not included in the ship’s manifest. The manifest, which identifies the contents of the overboard containers, has not been made public, and none of the local clean-up organizations, such as Epic Exeo, Ocean Legacy, Rugged Coast or Surfrider, have received a copy. Hoyland said that without knowing what’s inside the shipping containers, it’ll be “incredibly hard to prove the extent of the spread,” or to hold the ship’s owner accountable. Clean-up efforts have been ongoing on the north coast of Vancouver Island, where the four of the shipping containers were found. “To date, approximately 27,360 kilograms of debris has been removed from northern Vancouver Island beaches by the contractor, First Nations, and volunteers,” the coast guard said.
Photo by Melissa Renwick
Styrofoam is entangled in the kelp and driftwood along the high tide line on the north end of Long Beach, near Tofino, on December 16, 2021. “And the longer it took for the clean-up “There are more cargo ships to start, the worse it got.” Contents from the four containers “were traveling through the Strait spreading further and further with every of Juan de Fuca than ever tide,” Hoyland said. Despite having extensive knowledge of before. And with the frethe area, Tapp said it took at least a week quency of extreme weather before she was asked to coordinate cleanevents rising, we know more ups south of Palmerston Beach and Raft Cove. While accommodation, food and incidents are going to hapfuel were covered, wages were not. pen.” Moving forward, Hoyland said emergency response plans need to be developed in consultation with the First ~ Gord Johns, Nations whose territories are being Gord Johns impacted, as well as with the “environCourtenay-Alberni MP said. mental non-profits that have been leading Jurassic Point is in the final stages of “This is not just a case of some missclean-up efforts like this for decades on being cleared and the beaches where ing goods,” said Hoyland. “This is an these coasts.” debris was reported are now “considered environmental catastrophe that’s playing “We’re living in a changing climate,” to be clean,” the coast guard added. out on our shorelines right now.” she said. “We really need to start looking “The ship’s owner will continue to The coast guard said it continues to at these big picture changes that we can check the known accumulation sites for work with the ship’s owner and that make in order to keep the environment debris every few months and remove they’re taking “all measures considered and the ocean safe for future generaany debris likely to be from the MV Zim proportionate to the hazard posed by the tions.” Kingston,” the coast guard said. overboard containers.” The coast guard said that Quatsino, Ashley Tapp is the co-founder of Epic “The owner is working on a plan to con- Ehattesaht, Kwakiutl and Tlatasikwala Exeo, a non-profit organization based out duct a sonar scan of the area where the First Nations were all brought on by the of Port McNeill that focuses on clean-ups containers went overboard, around Cape ship’s owner to assist with beach cleanalong the north coast, where the containFlattery, and an assessment of risk that up efforts and to identify resources at risk ers were found. the overboard containers could pose to in the impacted areas. “We’re a little upset that they think the environment,” the coast guard said. Back on Long Beach, Gervais said she they’re done,” she said. As shipping supply demands increase, picks up what she can, but the amount On Dec. 14, Tapp returned to Cape Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns said of Styrofoam that’s tangled in kelp and Palmerston and Grant Bay, where cleanthere are more cargo ships traveling driftwood is too big of a job for one ups were held. Pink plastic unicorns, through the Strait of Juan de Fuca than person. plastic green dinosaurs, cologne bottles, ever before. And with the frequency of As the Styrofoam breaks apart and bebaby oil, grey rubber mats, Styrofoam extreme weather events rising, “we know comes more difficult to remove from the and packing materials remained on the more incidents are going to happen,” he ecosystem, Martin questions its impact beaches, she said. said. on the intertidal food and medicine her “You can’t just go and clean a beach The federal government needs to create nation relies on. and then wipe your hands of it,” Tapp a tactical response plan so that compaPeople travel from all over the world to said. “[Debris] keeps coming back.” nies are held accountable, said Johns. look at the scenery outside Gervais’ livGrey rubber mats linked to the cargo Currently, the delegation of authority ing room window. spill have also started washing up in falls in the lap of the shipping company, It’s beautiful, she admits, but it’s also a Florencia Bay and in the Hesquiaht Harwho often doesn’t have local ties to the responsibility. bour, said Hoyland. area, he said. “The ocean is alive,” she said. “It’s got By December Ray Williams reported Indeed, contractors hired by the owner a life of its own and we need to respect it. that large chunks of Styrofoam started of Zim Kingston to organize beach clean- It’s a responsibility to notice what’s hapwashing onto the beaches around Yuquot. ups on the north coast were not local and pening and raise the alarm.” Similar reports are being made from were unfamiliar with the geography of The public is asked to report any sightHaida Gwaii, said Hoyland. the area, said Hoyland. ings of marine debris they believe is from It’s “troubling” that this isn’t being “It was more than a week before any the MV Zim Kingston to the coast guard considered an environmental disaster, she kind of clean-up effort started,” she said. by calling 1-800-889-8852.
