Editor:
My wife and I, family and friends were at the Porpoise Bay Campground on the B.C. Day long weekend, Sunday, July 31, from about 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. We were visiting and shared a picnic, which we do every year – same time, same place.
We noticed many people carrying buckets and bags, empty towards the beach, full on the return trek to their campsites, which were situated in the southern parking area, closest to Sechelt. This activity carried on almost the whole time we were there, and at some point one of our party asked the collectors what they were gathering. We were told it was clams. The people were using small three-pronged hand rakes to dig in the sand and perforated cans to wash the sand off before placing their catch in the buckets and bags.
As some of these folks walked by our picnic area carrying their catch in clear plastic bags, we were able to see there were many more shellfish in the bags than the 75 that appears to be allowed on a fishing licence.
I phoned the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) report line from the picnic site and spoke to an officer, who took my name and phone number and said there would be a patrol made. We saw no sign of a patrol during the remainder of our time at the campsite, but I’m not surprised, as these officers are spread about pretty thinly.
Some of our group, who had been at the park previously, said the same thing was going on last year. We feel very strongly that there needs to be a DFO or RCMP presence at this particular beach during the B.C. Day holiday as this seems to have become an annual event for some people. I’m absolutely sure that thousands of clams were taken from the beach on Sunday and the great majority of them were taken illegally.
Drew McKee, Davis Bay
