Christianne Wilhelmson: The Strait of Georgia needs our protection, not our pollution

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      By Christianne Wilhelmson

      For most of us in the Lower Mainland, two of the reasons we love living here are the mountains and the ocean. But when we look to “the ocean”, it’s not the Pacific Ocean we’re gazing at but rather the beautiful, rich, and surprisingly “at risk” waters of the Strait of Georgia.

      Nearly two decades after the State of the Strait conference highlighted the stresses the strait was under, we’ve taken some significant steps toward its sustainability. Pulp mills have reduced their discharges of toxins, and Victoria is in the final planning stages to treat its sewage. However, for all its iconic beauty, the strait is a “working strait”, no different than any of the working rivers found throughout B.C. and Canada. For that reason, it’s under increasing daily stress and for the orca, salmon, and over 3,000 other species that call it home—including us—we need to be doing a much better job of protecting it.

      Today, the salmon making their way to and from our rivers and streams swim through waves of industrial and municipal pollution. That’s everything from land-based industrial chemical discharges along Burrard Inlet to discharges of fuel, oil, bilge, or sewage from ships entering our various ports. They are also exposed to a mixture of raw sewage and stormwater coming from our ancient combined sewage pipes at times of heavy rainfall and the partially treated sewage from the plants on the North Shore or at the mouth of the Fraser River

      Aside from the pollution dumped into their path, salmon have significantly fewer places to call home because of the incredible changes to our shorelines. Less than 10 percent of the strait’s coastline has avoided the affects of development. The loss of estuaries, eelgrass beds, and wetlands has not only taken habitat away from salmon but also from the many spectacular migratory birds that visit our shores.

      As salmon move through the northern Georgia Strait, they are faced with sea lice and other threats from 27 salmon farms in the region. With recent DNA evidence showing that a large portion of sockeye found infected with sea lice come from the Fraser River, this preventable stress on the health of our wild salmon may be threatening their very survival.

      It may seem that the strait is big enough to handle all we can throw at it. But with shorelines closed to shellfish harvesting due to contamination concerns, our orcas showing signs of increasing toxins in their bodies, and our salmon stocks declining, we’re seeing what many have told us for years—the strait has its limits.

      These are big problems, but there are solutions at hand that can turn things around. Georgia Strait Alliance continues to pressure Vancouver to upgrade its sewage treatment systems now. We launched the Clean Marine B.C. program to help marinas reduce their impacts on our waters. Our ToxicSmart program continues to educate people on alternatives to chemical cleaners, thereby reducing toxins going down our drains, and individuals region-wide are taking more responsibility for the impacts of their activities. We also know that if our fish farms are transitioned to closed containment systems, we can reduce threats to our salmon and the marine environment of the strait.

      But to keep the strait healthy for the long term, we need more than these changes. We must alter our attitudes and treat the strait as something we truly value, not somewhere to discharge our chemicals and garbage. By not taking the long-term and region-wide health of the entire strait into consideration, we risk it suffering “a death by a thousand cuts”. By bringing together all communities near and around the strait—including those in the U.S.—and all levels of government who are responsible for its care, we can ensure it remains one of the most spectacular places on Earth. Ignoring the health of this amazing body of water is something we do at our own peril and that of the many who call it home.

      Christianne Wilhelmson is the managing director of Georgia Strait Alliance, an environmental group that for nearly 20 years has been committed to the protection of the Strait of Georgia.

      Comments

      4 Comments

      JohnNewcomb

      Apr 1, 2009 at 3:43pm

      If Victoria destroys its landscape with some sort of mammoth sewage plant mega-scheme, it will not likely make any difference at all to the health of Juan de Fuca Strait. The research that has been done by the most reputable analysts did not recommend sewage treatment. Since then, several marine scientists and public health professionals have criticized this precipitous move to additional sewage treatment in the absence of evidence that it is needed. Because additional land-based sewage treatment produces oodles of greenhouse gases (unlike marine-based treatment), our environment will be worse off. Efforts to reduce the GHGs by "resource recovery" will result in several local creeks being seasonally "augmented" with treated sewage effluent. This is not good! For another perspective on this issue, go to our website of Responsible Sewage Treatment Victoria to read the facts: www.rstv.ca

      Shirley Fergsuon

      Sep 18, 2010 at 6:09am

      Are you related to Eric Wilhelmson living in Australia. We have lost touch & would like to contact him.
      Thanks. Shirley Ferguson

      Shirley Ferguson

      Sep 20, 2010 at 12:57pm

      Looking for Eric Wilhelmson whom we think may be your Uncle. Last heard from him 2yrs ago & are concerned re his whereabouts. Last address was 52 Horslay Way, Noranda, Western Australia.
      Hope you can help,
      Regards, Roy & Shirley Fergsuon