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Socio / Economic

Many BC coastal communities are considering the potential of shellfish aquaculture to revitalize their economies. In addition to facing issues of economic stability, coastal communities are also struggling to re-establish social and cultural stability.

The CSR is therefore collaborating with researchers from the social sciences and humanities to ensure that the growth of the BC shellfish aquaculture industry is compatible with the social and cultural values of coastal communities.

Important projects undertaken by the CSR and its collaborators include:

Integrating Shellfish Aquaculture and Marine Protected Areas in BC: A Framework for Planning

  • Rick Rollins , Department of Recreation, Vancouver Island University
  • Jeremy Rayner , Department of Political Science, Vancouver Island University
  • Chris Tollefson, Faculty of Law, University of Victoria

The development of shellfish aquaculture on the BC must address potentially competing interests regarding marine conservation, coastal tourism, First Nations interests, and the needs of local communities affected by these developments. This project explored approaches to planning and management of coastal areas that openly address these potentially conflicting purposes – and, thereby, seek to avoid the potential polarization of the perspectives of the different interest groups.

Strategies for Use and Protection of the Marine Environment

  • David McCallum, M.A. Student, Department of Geography, University of Victoria
  • Rick Rollins , Professor, Department of Recreation and Tourism Management, Vancouver Island University

Effective coastal planning takes into account the motives, behaviors, and values of various stakeholder groups. This project focuses on the attitudes and perceptions of Gulf Islands residents to different uses and protection strategies for the marine environment. The results of this project will be useful to inform multiple-use coastal planning and to prevent conflict and confrontation before they are created.

Wastewater Regulation and Shellfish Aquaculture: A Comparative Study

  • Professor Chris Tollefson, Faculty of Law, University of Victoria

Wastewater pollution is a significant impediment to the expansion of the BC shellfish industry. Currently, over 100,000 hectares along the BC coastline are under federal closure orders. The vast majority of these closures are due to fecal contamination of marine waters; shellfish harvested from these waters are dangerous to human health. Much of this contamination is attributable to point source discharges from local sewer and stormwater outfalls.

Non-point source discharges -- including effluent associated with private septic systems, agricultural activities, vessels and various shoreline and floating installations – also contribute substantially to this growing problem. With the population of the Georgia Basin projected to double by the middle of 21st century, the need for concerted, coordinated action on wastewater pollution is becoming urgent.

This study evaluated how five different jurisdictions (BC, NB, PEI , New Zealand and Washington State ) have approached the challenge of reducing wastewater pollution in coastal areas. Based on this evaluation, this study makes a series of recommendations for regulating wastewater in BC:

Socio/Economic Workshops

Coastal Zone Management and Shellfish Aquaculture in BC:
Information on the workshop and the workshop presentations

Smart Regulation and Shellfish Aquaculture Workshop
Please click on the title of the workshop presentation for a copy of the power point presentations.