Government plans upgrades to local harbours

Ooops, time caught up to us and we’ve been tardy in our Daily News headliners, we’re playing catch up from last week here.

The Daily discovered the power of a press release in the in box last week on Thursday with a front page story on the federal government plans to fund local harbour improvements. It’s an item which we podunkicized on May 24, but as we’re tracking the headline stories, we should keep things current.

AREA HARBOURS BUOYED BY $750,000 UPGRADES PLAN
Facilities in Rupert, Port Ed and Port Simpson all in line for improvements
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Pages one and two

Three harbours on the North Coast will benefit from improvements made possible by $750,000 in funding from the federal government.

“The three sites are Fairview Harbour, the Port Edward Harbour Facility and the Port Simpson Harbour,” said Dan Bate, communications coordinator for Fisheries and Oceans Canada. “They are all public use facilities used by commercial and recreational boaters.”

The Fairview Harbour facility in Prince Rupert will benefit from the continuing phases of two ongoing projects at that site – the upgrading of the mooring system for the floating breakwater and repairs to the timber floats. The reconstruction of the floats will greatly increase the long-term life of the structures and maintain a high level of service to fishers and clients of that facility.

The Port Edward Harbour facility near Prince Rupert will benefit from a service-area repair project that will see the re-surfacing of the existing fill area and portions of the adjacent upland.

At the Port Simpson Harbour, past inspections of the wharf approach at the facility identified a number of deteriorated structural elements that are in need of immediate repair. Repairs will be undertaken to ensure continued access to the wharf and floats at the site.

“Safe and productive harbours are key to the economic viability of B. C.’s fishing communities,” said Dr. James Lunney, MP for Nanaimo-Alberni.

“Canada’s New Government is working to ensure that coastal communities have the infrastructure necessary for the benefit of all users.”

The projects will be carried out under Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s Small Craft Harbour Program in collaboration with the Harbour Authorities that manage and operate these facilities for the benefit of local users.

This cooperation helps the federal government to provide an operable system of harbours and facilities throughout Canada in support of commercial fishers and coastal communities.

In the meantime, British Columbia will also see an influx of new fisheries officers this year.

Twenty one out of 55 new recruits who recently graduated from the Fisheries and Oceans Canada Training program are heading for B. C.’s coast. The timing of the graduation means that the fishery officers will be in place just in time for the summer fishing season.

The next 30 months will involve hands-on field training under the guidance of senior fishery officers. The new fishery officers will learn to monitor fisheries to ensure compliance with a conservation-based, precautionary approach, as well as enforcement techniques and how to monitor construction developments and activities that might impact fish habitat.